Leapmotor T03 review

Is the Leapmotor T03 a good car?

Leapmotor will trade on maximum value for money when cars start to trickle through in the coming months. With its sights set firmly on Dacia and its sizeable market share, the T03 is a credible alternative to the Spring EV, and should win fans on kit count alone. There are a few quirks to the driving experience and it does look a little ungainly, but as a first step into EV ownership (or second car in the household) there’s really very little not to like.

How much does the Leapmotor T03 cost?

‘The importance, worth or usefulness of something’. That is, apparently, the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of ‘value’. So while the Leapmotor T03 may not be the cheapest electric car on the market (albeit second only to the Dacia Spring) UK brand director Damien Dally insists it is “the best value” vehicle currently on sale.

At first glance, that’s hard to argue. There is only one specification, but the equipment list is long – much longer than the Dacia’s, certainly. For £15,995 (or £199 per month with £199 down) you get big-car kit such as alloy wheels, a panoramic roof, all-round electric windows, a rear-view camera and keyless go. Inside, there’s a 10-inch touchscreen and eight-inch digital instrument cluster, air-conditioning, so-called ‘Sporty Style’ seats and a multi-function steering wheel. It even boasts a total of 10 advanced driver-assistance systems. 

That’s before you peel back the slightly gawky-looking body and peer under the skin. Beneath the swathes of cheap-feeling plastic, you’ll find a reasonably chunky 37kWh battery, which Leapmotor says is good for 165 miles of range. That’s not the stuff of fantasy, either – even on our fast-paced, largely rural test route on a cool winter’s day, mileage dropped largely in line with distance driven. 

Along with the single battery offering, there’s also just one electric motor to go with it. It’s a front-mounted motor with 95bhp and 158Nm of torque – more than you get in the Dacia Spring. The Leapmotor is quicker to 62mph, taking 12 seconds compared with the 13.7 seconds the Spring needs.

Leapmotor might be a new name in Europe, but it has the backing of Stellantis, which owns a majority of the firm. Stellantis hopes to have 500 “points of sales” for Leapmotor across Europe by 2026. The T03 will also be produced at Stellantis’ Tychy plant in Poland, where the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600 and Alfa Romeo Junior are made.

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This might seem like a back-handed compliment, but the most important thing you can say about the way the Leapmotor T03 drives is that it feels like a normal car. From the outside, you might have a preconceived notion that it will flop around on its comically thin tyres and have all the balance of a mid-game Jenga tower. 

Overall, though, it is decent enough to drive. The ride can be a little bouncy due to the short wheelbase, but it’s not particularly crashy and should suit most urban uses. Refinement is reasonable up to the national speed limit, where that upright stance and tall glasshouse does drum up a bit of wind noise – the upshot being excellent all-round visibility.

There are some characteristics that are a result of the T03’s dinky proportions. For example, the tiny wheels can mean you’re correcting the steering a little more often on roads with camber, and it’s more susceptible to tramlining, too. The overactive safety-assist systems don’t help in this regard, either.

A 95bhp electric motor sends power to the front wheels via a single-speed automatic, and with a 0-62mph time of 12 seconds, the T03 is quicker than a Dacia Spring (which takes 13.7 seconds). However, the T03 isn’t as responsive as you’d expect of a small electric car. There’s a slight delay in the throttle mapping, which means you often have to floor it if you want to make an eager pull away from a junction. However, once under way, we found it to be much more responsive.

On the motorway, the electric motor’s power does tail off, although not to an extent that it makes overtakes particularly anxiety-inducing. There’s enough power here for the T03 to hold its own. It’s pretty refined, too, at speed – there’s not much road noise, because there’s simply not a lot of tyre in contact with the tarmac.

In its strongest setting, the regenerative braking system almost enables one-pedal driving. There are different modes for the steering, too, although you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart; there’s an unashamed focus on ease of use here, rather than any level of precision or driver feedback.

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There’s only one version of the Leapmotor T03 and it comes with a 37.3kWh battery for a range of 165 miles. A Dacia Spring will return 140 miles from its smaller 26.8kWh battery. 

The T03 weighs 1,203kg – a chunky 229kg more than the Spring. That’s thanks mainly to the T03's generous levels of standard equipment, rather than the larger battery, which is a Leapmotor creation and utilises the brand’s ‘cell to chassis’ technology, incorporating the unit itself into the body of the car. Thin 165-section tyres also contribute to the T03’s range, as do brake regeneration and a low drag coefficient of 0.26. 

While the T03 initially comes in one trim level, there’s potential for Leapmotor to launch a more basic version with less kit and likely a lighter kerb weight, which would increase the range even further.

DC fast charging is standard, though, with Leapmotor claiming a peak rate of 45kW – 15kW more than the Dacia. T03 owners are unlikely to be rapid-charging on a regular basis, but should you need to, the handy front-mounted charge port will allow for a 30 to 80 per cent top-up in just over half an hour. The T03 also comes with an on-board 6.6kW AC charger that can offer the same top-up in 3.5 hours. 

A Stellantis product, the T03 gets a slightly better level of warranty coverage than the rest of the group’s EVs. There’s a four-year, 60,000-mile warranty, plus eight years and 100,000 miles of cover on the battery.

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The exterior of the Leapmotor T03 is a pretty simple design. There are rounded features to give it a friendly look and Leapmotor says the faux grille was shaped to look like a smile. The proportions are tiny, especially when you see the side profile and the wheels sitting at each corner. 

The ‘cell-to-chassis’ platform is bespoke to the T03 and allows it to have traditional ‘city car’ dimensions, although Leapmotor claims interior space is on a par with what you would normally see in a supermini. With no internal combustion-engined version, there’s greater scope to efficiently pack the electric powertrain within the T03’s body.

Step inside the T03, and you’re met with a pretty basic-looking cabin. There’s just a cup-holder and a slot for a smartphone as a centre console, while between the front occupants there’s another small storage spot, a button for the parking brake and a cup-holder for the rear passengers. The doors offer up a reasonably sized bin for water bottles. 

We found the interior quality to be pretty decent in most places. Sure, there’s hard, scratchy plastic on the dash and doors, but it all feels well put together. The usual touch points are covered in higher quality materials – for example, the leather-clad steering wheel and chromed door handles. 

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The largely crisp central screen does plenty of heavy lifting; the interior is almost completely devoid of buttons – everything from the radio and navigation, to the climate control and ADAS functions, is operated through the main display. 

The menus aren’t the least intuitive we’ve used, but you’ll need to play around for a bit to familiarise yourself with the layout. It’s capable of over-the-air updates, which given our sat-nav froze mid-route, can only be a good thing. Some systems, like the ability to switch off the over-sensitive lane-keep assist, are locked whilst driving, which seems unnecessary.

What also seems unnecessary is the incessant series of bings and bongs from the various safety systems. This is a Chinese-car blueprint, and is as bad here as in any new model we’ve tested; what should be a help feels more like a hindrance, especially in conjunction with constant nudges to the steering as you inevitably brush the white line on a country road. If there’s one thing Leapmotor could learn from its European alliance with the giant Stellantis Group, it’s how to temper these systems for western tastes – and our tighter, more winding roads.

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In many areas, the Leapmotor T03 has got the Spring pretty well beaten. The good news continues inside, where there’s demonstrably more space to stretch out. Perhaps not in the front, where you will quickly make close acquaintance with your passenger – but the back offers more headroom than you might expect, and just enough kneeroom for taller adults. As a four-seater, there’s no fold-down central armrest in the front or the back. 

The boot measures 210 litres, which is considerably down on the Dacia (308 litres), but the rear bench folds (in one piece) to free up a bit of added cargo capacity. It’s big enough for a weekly shopping trip or a weekend away for two adults, but the shape is annoying. It seemingly needlessly curves around the rear lights, reducing access, and there’s a rather large loading lip, too. Neither is there any underfloor storage.

This isn’t the kind of car you’ll buy to lug big loads, but it’s as versatile as you’d hope for something in the city-car segment. underfloor storage.

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The Leapmotor T03 hasn’t been assessed by Euro NCAP yet, although the maker says it will provide great protection to occupants in a crash thanks to its body-cage structure. This uses a one-piece, all-aluminium anti-collision beam and ‘high-strength’ steel, and comprises 60 percent of the T03’s body. 

Levels of standard safety kit are impressive. There are three cameras and five radar sensors, which help implement the T03’s 10 driver-assistance functions, many of which you would expect to be fitted as standard in a family hatchback rather than a budget city car. These include lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automatic speed assist with traffic sign recognition, driver tiredness detection, blind spot detection and an automatic emergency brake. 

But the burning question for interested customers will be around the dealer network and aftersales support. The good news is that thanks to its tie-up with Stellantis, Leapmotor already has 44 UK retailers up and running, with that number set to almost double by the end of 2025. Owners will be also supported by a standard four-year/60,000-mile warranty – trumping the three years offered in mainland Europe.

Leapmotor T03 alternatives

There are very few all-electric rivals to the Leapmotor T03 at this £15,995 launch price. The most obvious is the Dacia Spring, which sits either side of the Leapmotor at £14,995 for the Expression variant, and £16,995 for the Extreme. While the Dacia has a bigger boot and a much more recognisable badge, the Leapmotor has more range and is better equipped. 

A slightly leftfield alternative is the £17,990 Microlino. It’s a modern interpretation of the classic Isetta bubble-car design from the Sixties, so it’s certainly got plenty of character. The Microlino’s 114-mile range isn’t the best, though, and neither is its performance, as it tops out at 56mph. In reality, it’s more of a city-based car than the Leapmotor.