2025 Leapmotor C10 Design Review: Pricing and equipment are big selling points for China’s latest Tesla Model Y fighter, but how does the rest of the package hold up?
Another week another Chinese electric SUV designed to tackle the Tesla Model Y. This time it’s the Leapmotor C10.
As EV Central’s audience is pretty clued up when it comes to EVs, you’ve probably already heard of Leapmotor.
But just to reprise for newcomers (welcome!), it was one of the many start-up Chinese EV makers with little success or profile until the global auto giant Stellantis bought in and announced plans to take Leapmotor global.
Australia is one of the first markets to benefit from that expansion and the C10 is the first of many BEV and plug-in hybrid models that have been scheduled to head our way.
READ MORE: Each-way bet! Plug-in hybrid just as important for Leapmotor in Australia as BEVs; C10 and B10 PHEV SUVs on the way!
READ MORE: Target BYD Shark 6! Leapmotor lands in Australia and declares it is studying a pick-up truck as ambitious global expansion ramps up
READ MORE: That’s Gotta Hurt: Jeep Avenger flops in latest ANCAP crash testing, while new Leapmotor C10, XPeng G6, Volvo EX30 and Zeekr X EVs star
2025 Leapmotor C10 Design price and equipment
While XPeng has tech, Zeekr has styling and Deepal has … um … a name that makes it sounds Indian rather than Chinese, Leapmotor majors on low pricing and high equipment.
There are two models in the range, the $45,888 Style and the $49,888 Design (prices are exclusive of on-road costs). So essentially, the C10 starts $10,000 under the existing Model Y (the updated Juniper Model Y has crept higher in pricing). It is the cheapest mid-size electric SUV you can buy.
Unlike some rivals like the Model Y and XPeng G6, the C10 is mechanically identical across its models lines. They both come with a single 160kW/320Nm e-motor mounted on the rear axle and the same 69.9kWh LFP battery pack secured into what’s called the Leap 3.0 Platform.
So it all comes down to equipment.
Externally, the C10’s anodyne shape is adorned with LED auto headlights, a fixed panoramic sunroof and powered pop-out doorhandles.
Internally, both cars get dual-zone climate control, power adjustable front seats, a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel and a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen with embedded navigation, digital radio and integrated audio and video apps all playing though a 12-speaker audio system.
They also both include Vehicle to Load, although right now there’s no adaptor available to access the system.
Among some other stuff, the Design adds a power tailgate, faux leather seat trim, a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, multi-colour ambient lighting and swaps from 18- to 20-inch alloy wheels,
Safety equipment levels are a C10 highlight, with no less than 17 drive assist systems supported by a battery of cameras and radars. Autonomous emergency braking is there of course, along with adaptive cruise control. There are no less than four different functions helping you stay in your lane (more on all this below).
The C10 also gets seven airbags, five-star ANCAP, two ISOFIX couplings and a multitude of camera views with startling clear graphics.
But missing from the kit are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. Neither are compatible with Leap 3.0 apparently and so the C10 won’t get this feature until an upgrade to the newer Leap 3.5, but that’s years away.
Leapmotor tries to compensate for that absence with high-end computing power, Bluetooth, wireless smartphone charging, wifi, over the air updates, four USB ports and its own QD Link phone mirroring system.
You’ll also have to do without a traditional key in the C10. Access and starting is via a Near Field Communications (NFC) card or the smartphone app. Nor is there a spare tyre and premium paint adds $990.
The C10 comes protected by a seven-year/160,000km warranty while the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years/160,000km.
Service intervals are 12 months/20,000km and capped price servicing comes out at $2000 for five years. Roadside assistance is offered for five years.
2025 Leapmotor C10 Design: What we think
The eye-catching value equation and bland exterior do not prepare us for what lays inside. Not a lot.
Leapmotor has really embraced screen-based controls here. There’s not a physical button to be found on the centre console or dashboard.
There’s no driver-operable parking brake (it’s completely automatic) while external mirror adjustment, most headlight functions, air-conditioning, most audio functions, drive modes and regenerative and one-pedal braking are operated through the screen.
Thankfully, the drive selector (drive, reverse etc), indicators and wipers are still on stalks while audio volume can be controlled via a thumbwheel on the steering wheel.
And Leapmotor has sensibly retained a speedo in front of the driver and not followed the likes of Tesla and Volvo’s centralisation of controls beyond commonsense.
Even with swipe-down shortcut to some frequently visited functions, it’s still pretty clutzy with lots of drilling required. It doesn’t help the voice assistant isn’t that assisting. “Please put it another way” was a common response to requests.
But the real pain was the intrusiveness of speed, driver and lane keep monitoring. A multitude of different bing-bongs, an obvious attempts to influence steering and even a request from the driver monitoring to remove sunglasses and hats! Gone.
Sadly, some of this stuff could only be switched off with the C10 stopped and in Park. Not helpful.
Leapmotor says it’s been making OTA improvements to these systems and has more planned. Keep working on it guys!
Happily, there was no repeat of cars refusing to start or brake, as occurred during the international Aussie media drive in Italy last September.
Quell all the ding-dong bing-bongs and the C10 proves to be an entirely acceptable drive.
Stellantis has called on engineers from Maserati to tune the independent suspension and that results in a comfortable ride that really does suit the urban family hauling duties most C10s will surely be applied to.
That’s accompanied by a bit of roll and vagueness in corners at speed, but this is a family SUV and not a, er, Maserati.
The neat ride is supported up by a powertrain that’s adequate rather than effusive. Strong tip-in performance is great around town, but a single motor Tesla would dispense with it easily. The C10 has multiple drive modes – eco, comfort, sport and even a mix and match custom mode, but none change its character.
The electric assist steering can be rotated though three modes as well and the best of them is probably comfort, that is light and easy to twirl. But no-one will be buying the C10 to delight in feel-some steering.
Nor if they fancy fast charging times. The claim is an economy rate of 19.8kWh per 100km – which we undercut to a still thirsty 18.8kWh/100km on the predominantly open road test drive. Combine that with the battery’s slow 84kW DC fast charging rate and a longer trip is going to involve a fair time stationary and plugged in.
But back to the basic body to conclude. The C10 is just a fraction shorter than the Model Y overall and in wheelbase and it shows up in the generous interior space. The second row is cavernous, comfortable and comes with adjustable air-con vents and USB ports.
The boot is also sizable at 581 litres with a wet bin under the floor. Split-fold the rear seat and that expands to 1410 litres. You can also fold all seats flat to create a bed. Curiously though, there is no front trunk – or frunk – to add more storage under the bonnet.
2025 Leapmotor C10 Design: Verdict
The lower the price of a vehicle the more you can forgive its faults. That’s the simple reality.
The C10 certainly has faults. Controls are too centralised, the driver nannies are awful, DC charging is too slow and the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be THE dealbreaker for some people.
But the equipment levels are high overall, the drive experience is good enough once you eliminate the nannies, interior space is excellent and did we mention that price?
The primary concern is Leapmotor’s bonafides. Can it actually build vehicles that have sustained quality, durability and reliability? Only time will tell.
But given the price (we did mention that right?), it’s easy to see why some people would – and sorry in advance for this terrible and hopelessly obvious pun – take the leap.
SCORE: 3.5/5
2025 Leapmotor C10 Design specifications
Price: $49,888 (plus on-road costs)
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, medium SUV, RWD
Range: 420km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 69.9kWh
Battery warranty: 8 years/160,000km
Energy consumption: 19.8Wh/100km (WLTP)
Motors: 1 rear permanent magnet synchronous, 160kW/320Nm.
AC charging: 6.6kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 84kW, CCS combo plug
0-100km/h: 7.5 seconds
