2026 Leapmotor B05 Brief Drive: Budget Chinese warm hatch transforms after Italian attitude adjustment
It’s not often I find myself questioning the smarts of the great Albert Einstein, but on the Leapmotor B05, I’ve got some questions…
See, the wild-haired physicist said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result. But I have just done, or at least driven, the same thing twice, and the result was so shockingly different it would have made Einstein’s hair stand up. Or stand more up.
The point, which we’ve finally reached, is that the first time I drove the all-electric Leapmotor B05 hatch, it was the Chinese-market version. It had potential, but was way too soft and spongey in its ride to be really considered a warm-hatch option.
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But I’m happy to report that the vehicle that will be arriving in Australia towards the end of this year (and wearing a circa-$35k price tag to take on models like the MG4) is very, very different to the Chinese version I sampled.
Leapmotor says it recognised that Chinese driving tastes differ from those in Europe and Australia, so the B05 was handed to Stellantis engineers in Italy, with global-tune development work carried out at Alfa Romeo’s Balocco Proving Ground between Milan and Turin.
The result, according to Leapmotor, is “a different animal”. And that does not feel like an overstatement.
Made in China, finished in Italy. That’s the recipe for the new B05, which might be one of best driving EVs to come out of China to date.
The suspension and chassis have been reworked for global markets, and Leapmotor says the changes go beyond simple tuning. Even the suspension mounting points have been altered to lower the centre of gravity and deliver a sportier feel.
On paper, the B05 has the right ingredients. It is rear-wheel drive, has a 50:50 weight distribution, and its battery is integrated into the chassis to improve stiffness. But let’s be clear, the B05 is not a hot hatch.
None of that is really a negative. There is a harder, faster B05 version, called the Ultra, coming soon, but this B05 now feels connected to the road, and to the person driving it, while maintaining a comfortable ride. The steering is nicely weighted, the body control is far better than before, and the ride quality manages to stay comfortable without feeling sloppy.
There is still enough performance, too. The rear-mounted electric motor produces 160kW and 240Nm, and while it never feels wild, the rolling acceleration is strong. From about 20km/h onwards there is more than enough punch to make the B05 feel alert.
Over a couple of hundred kilometres of freeways, country roads and tighter bends, it felt far more resolved than the Chinese-market version. Quiet, comfortable, more engaging and simply better put together.
Two battery options are expected for Australia. The smaller 56.2kWh battery offers a claimed 401km WLTP driving range, while the larger 67.1kWh pack lifts that to 482km. AC charging is rated at 11kW, while DC fast charging tops out at 168kW, enough for a claimed 30 to 80 per cent charge in 17 minutes.
It also looks the part. I think this is one of the best-looking Chinese EVs yet, with a more grown-up and premium design than Leapmotor’s C10 and B10 SUVs.
It rides on 19-inch alloy wheels as standard, and while there is a subtle roof spoiler at the rear, the styling is more clean and mature than overtly sporty.
It measures 4430mm long, 1880mm wide and 1520mm high, and its flat EV platform helps free up useful rear-seat space. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had plenty of knee room and headroom, while rear passengers also get air vents, twin USB ports and fold-down cupholders. Boot space is listed at 345 litres with the rear seats in place, growing to 1400 litres with them folded flat.
The rest of the cabin is clever rather than premium. There are still plenty of budget-friendly plastics, but the design does a good job of making the interior feel interesting rather than cheap, with a perforated dash inlay, architectural-style ledges and a large glass roof helping lift the mood.
Tech arrives via a 14.6-inch central touchscreen and an 8.8-inch driver display. The main screen controls most of the vehicle’s functions, which can still be fiddly, though the locked climate control bar at the bottom of the display is welcome.
Leapmotor has also added a shortcut for things like mirror adjustment via a steering wheel button, which is a small but welcome touch. Digging through screen menus to adjust your mirrors is the kind of thing that can make you question the direction of the entire automotive industry.
Another important new addition is the ability to save driver profiles, including your preferred active safety settings. That means things like lane-keep assist, overspeed warnings and driver attention alerts can be switched to your preferred setup with a couple of taps rather than a frustrating dive through menus every time you set off.
That matters, because the B05’s active safety systems can still be annoying. There are plenty of bings and bongs, and the lane-keeping system can be too eager to tug at the wheel. Leapmotor is far from alone here, but the easier profile system at least makes it less painful to manage.
There are other quirks, too. There is still no physical key or start-stop button, so you are using a key card, your phone or a passcode system to access and start the car. A proper key is coming in 2027, but until then, the current setup remains.
The tech can also feel a little clunky. At one point, after selecting reverse, there was a five- or six-second wait for the screen to wake up and show the camera feed. Maybe I am impatient, but that sort of delay gets frustrating fast.
So, has Leapmotor built an electric hot hatch? Not really. But has it built a far better, more polished and far more convincing version of the B05 than the one I drove in China? Absolutely. I’ll have to wait until I drive it on Australian roads for a final verdit, but for now it is feeling like one of the better-driving cars to have come out of China to date.
The European chassis work has made a massive difference, turning what felt like a underdone EV hatch into something way more cohesive and enjoyable. The faster Ultra version should have a much stronger foundation to build from, but even this regular B05 now feels pretty compelling.
2026 Leapmotor B05 price and specification
Price: $35,000 (estimate)
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, hatchback, RWD
EV range: 401km-482km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 56.2kWh or 67.1kWh
Battery warranty: TBA
Energy consumption: TBA
Drivetrain: Rear-mounted electric motor, 160kW/240Nm
AC charging: 11kW
DC charging: 168kW
0-100km/h: 6.7 secs
