Bought a Leapmotor B05 - Mini Review
Its...ok.
It really is. Nothing special, but coming from a 1.6 diesel Ford Mondeo this feels practically space age. Looks good from the front and side, rear seems high. No frunk (front trunk), 300+ litre rear boot space, its not massive but is deep. Big enough if you're not going on holdiay in it. 19inch wheels are nice. Interior is surprisingly roomy and of all the circa 30,000 pounds Chinese cars I've tried (Jaecoo, Omoda, Cherry, Xpeng, MG, Deepal) this definitely has the best build quality and spec for the money. Lots of tech, heated seats and wheel. Touch screen is big, responsive and easy to use. Its fine. Some controls can be assigned to tactile buttons on the steering wheel. Interior colours are a combo of grays and more grays, dull, but the faux leather is very nice and again feels well made. Full glass roof adds element of space and can be closed to any degree. Handles ok, surprisingly spongey, but in a good way. I leave the steering on sport as it gives the most feedback. Smaller UK roads are notoriously poor and i live in a relatively rural area. The seats afford more comfort and do the suspension a favor. Leapmotor claim 0 to 60 of 6.6. With launch control in sport mode, it is way faster close to 5. It is seriously quick. ADAS safety features are a pain, but can all be turned off. Range is just south of 300 miles or 480 freedom units. Battery charges from 10 to 80 % in 18 mins on a fast charger. Rear wheel drive and decent handling mean you can chuck it around, but it does roll a lot. Feel like they could have put 18inch rims on it and dropped the ride height.
Its hard to say if this a hot hatch. Having owned a few I'd say no. Its certainly quick enough, but doesnt have the stiffness or theatre in looks or sound to be one. What it is, is a very well equipped, well built, decently quick and comfy, cheap to buy and run small family car.
20 replies
just leaving a comment so i can come back later to read the not massive but deep rear boot jokes
Look similar to the MG (but better) do you know the company behind MG (siac, I think) is the same for leapmotor?
I don't, I know that Leapmotor sold a 20% stake in themselves to Stellantis so they could get a large, European wide dealer network, but they have very little if not nothing to do with the design of the cars.
TIL of this entire brand, let alone the model itself.
More pictures please, especially of the inside🙏
Also what about repairability? Did you look into this? For me that’s the scary part with electric vehicles for now.
What OS is it running for its screens?
Well in the UK you get 4 year, 60,000 mile warranty, (100k for the batteries) so in terms of no fault damage or repairs I'm covered and don't have to worry though i am well advised that electric cars are cheaper to maintain due to less moving parts to go wrong.
OS is their own, but runs on Snapdragon processors.
what's the mechanic network like? can you take it through europe without having to be towed back across the channel for repairs?
I don't know and dont intend to find out. I wont be driving it on the continent.
it's good in the uk then?
Yes. Its just very fine. Not going to blow anyone away, but the overall package is very good value.
thinking mostly about the service network, still.
There are definitely Leapmotor dealerships in Germany. I don't know how dense the network is but they do exist.
There are a lot fewer things that can go wrong in an EV than in an ICE car. They tend to not break down very often. Having said that, repairs can get pricey, as many components can only be swapped out in their entirety. And the battery is of course always a pain point (similar to the engine in an ICE car).
I'd take a very close look at the warranty. Read the fine print or get someone to do it that knows this stuff. Also, make sure you have a repair facility within a reasonable distance. All in all, I haven't heard anything particularly negative about Leap Motor, so it's definitely a brand I'd consider, even though it's associated with Stellantis. It seems to be one of their rare bright spots.
My next car, in probably 10 years, is gonna be an EV, so I’ll take a closer look at the repairability at that time, but I’m keeping my eyes open about what people are saying online about their experiences.
I’d also want to be sure that you can change the battery and not have to buy a new car once it’s dead.
The battery is likely to outlast the car. Battery swaps are definitely possible.
how much does it call home?
? What do you mean? Call China? Dunno yet.
having worked with introducing a european road vehicle to the chinese market, they have a... different approach to road safety. the china equivalent of the euro6 emissions standard required a persistent connection to the government cloud so the vehicle could report its CO and SO
2readings. every second. geotagged. with 1m precision.You can turn all that off here (UK). Cars are just extension of our phones these days, by which people may complain our cars shouldn't have their privacy invaded, but if you're carrying your phone in your car there is virtually no difference.
the difference is that i can disable features on my phone without breaking any laws.