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First drive: 2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.

First drive: 2025 Leapmotor T03
The little T03 claims to offer the best value of any electric car in the UK, but can this new budget contender from China really beat the Dacia Spring at its own game?

   



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2025 Leapmotor T03

3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

It's another day, and that means there's another Chinese manufacturer joining the horde of brands making their way into the European market. This one is called Leapmotor, and it's launching with its T03 budget electric hatchback, intended to rival the Dacia Spring. The company is backed by Stellantis, the Franco-Italian organisation behind Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat, but will that grounding help Leapmotor put the little T03 up there with the best compact electric cars?

Test Car Specifications

Model: 2025 Leapmotor T03
Price: £15,995
Engine: 70kW electric motor
Battery: 37.3kWh lithium-ion
Transmission: single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 95hp
Torque: 158Nm
Emissions: 0g/km
Range: 165 miles
0-62mph: 12.7 seconds
Top speed: 81mph
Boot space: 210 litres

Styling

The Leapmotor is remarkably close in size to the old Volkswagen e-Up, but it doesn't look anything like the cool little VW hatchback. The stumpy, sit-up-and-beg shape has shades of Renault Twingo about it, and even a little Fiat 500L, albeit a scaled-down version. Leapmotor goes on about cute styling and a smiling face, but though the T03 is rounded and inoffensive, it isn't really very characterful or especially attractive. But then it isn't ugly, either, and though it doesn't have the image of a Honda e or even an Ami, we suspect would-be customers won't be put off by the design.

Interior

Normally, small, cheap cars feel small and cheap inside, and while the T03's cabin isn't the widest, it is surprisingly well appointed. Yes, the plastics are quite hard, but they don't feel thin or cheap, and the textures are all quite pleasant. Everything also feels well screwed together, and you get two screens on the dashboard.

One is a sharp and user-friendly, but otherwise fairly unremarkable digital instrument display, while the other is a touchscreen that feels a bit basic at times, but responds quickly to inputs and is pretty simple to navigate. The manual air conditioning is a bit tricky to use through that interface, but generally speaking, it's quite a useful system that works every bit as well as those used in other small cars, if not better.

Some of the tech is a bit irritating, including the camera system that's constantly monitoring you and the satellite navigation tech that warns you every time you approach a kink in the road, but all that stuff can be switched off, and the speed limit warning technology, which is a constant bugbear in any new car, has a special shortcut to deactivate it. That's handy, because it has to come on by law when the car is started.

Practicality

As is the norm with Chinese cars, the T03 has put quite a lot of focus on rear cabin space, and the room back there is fairly generous, even though you only get two back seats. Still you can put two adults back there without too much trouble, and though they won't be especially comfortable on a long journey, they'll cope on the sort of short trips for which the T03 is designed. However, providing that space has left the boot a little on the small side, and petrol-powered alternatives such as the Kia Picanto and Toyota Aygo X have more luggage space on offer.

Performance

With only one T03 variant on offer, every example comes with the same 70kW electric motor that drives the front wheels through a single-speed transmission. Effectively, it’s an automatic, with just two pedals and no manual gear changes. That means it’s fairly punchy, with ample in-gear acceleration, and though the official 0-62mph time sounds a bit sluggish, it doesn’t feel that slow on the road.

Perhaps more importantly, the motor is hooked up to a 37.3kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which provides enough juice for 165 miles of driving on a single charge, according to the official economy test. That’s more than you get from a Dacia Spring, even in top-of-the-range form, and our test suggested it would be achievable for those who keep away from motorways. Given the performance figures, those fast roads aren’t really the T03’s home turf, although it can cope on faster stretches.

Whatever, the range is sufficient for the type of work to which the Leapmotor is best suited – driving around town – and the charging is adequate for the environment in which most customers will use it: at home. The 6.6kW AC charging capacity means it takes three-and-a-half hours to top up the battery from 30 to 80 per cent, and a full charge should be easily achievable overnight. The 48kW maximum DC charge speed is a little less impressive, but getting from 30 per cent to 80 per cent in 36 minutes will be enough for most customers’ needs.

Ride & Handling

The T03 is unashamedly designed for urban use, and it performs very well in that environment. The steering is light and the car is very manoeuvrable, while the compact dimensions make it easy to position and visibility is good. The inclusion of cameras as standard is useful, too, especially when parking.

Head out to a faster road and the T03 feels less composed. The steering is quite numb even in Sport mode, and it always feels a bit low on grip and stability, although there isn't actually as much body roll as you might expect when you try to chuck it into corners. There's always a sense, though, that this is not the T03's home turf, and the same goes on motorways, where the car always feels a bit lightweight.

However, the T03 is surprisingly comfortable in any situation, and though it may not have the absorbency of a big limo, it's pretty supple and composed around town, soaking up most of the bumps quite happily. One or two will make their presence felt, and the ride somehow gets less settled as the speed builds, but the Leapmotor is among the most comfortable small EVs out there.

Value

This is the T03’s big selling point, because prices start at a mere £15,995. That makes it fractionally more expensive than the Dacia Spring, but only the base model. Alongside the more comparable, top-of-the-range Spring, the T03 is about £1,000 cheaper. And it comes with way more standard equipment.

With only one trim level to choose from – in fact, the only option for T03 buyers is the paint – the Leapmotor comes with a sunroof, 15-inch alloy wheels and a digital instrument display, as well as the touchscreen navigation system, a reversing camera and LED lights. And let’s not forget the Leapmotor has 30hp more than the Spring and the battery is about 10kWh bigger.

Verdict

As an urban runabout, the T03 is not perfect, but it is very good indeed. It doesn't feel that homely on the motorway, and the boot is a bit small, but in any other situation it performs admirably, and it offers lots of space, kit and quality for the money. It's a new, capable and well-equipped car for used-car cash, and that's bound to draw some buyers in.



James Fossdyke - 27 Sep 2024



      - Leapmotor road tests
- T03 images

2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.

2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.2025 Leapmotor T03. Image by Leapmotor.








 

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