What is an REEV and sustainability elements in the Leapmotor C10

Firstly, let's settle what an "REEV" is and why isn't it called a hybrid. On a plug-in hybrid car, as is the case for the Suzuki Across, for example, the car can be moved either by the electric motor or the petrol engine. The same thing applies for full hybrid cars, which don't have a plug to charge the battery from a charging station, but which power the traction battery from the petrol engine or the regenerative braking system.

An REEV (Range Extender Electric Vehicle), such as the Leapmotor C10, works similarly, but here, the petrol engine has no connection whatsoever to the wheels. Basically, the electric motor is the only one that moves the vehicle, and the fossil fuel-powered one will only start to charge the batteries every now and then. The idea isn't bad, since in the end, the costs and complexity associated with the car are smaller, because you don't have the components required for the traction system installed and the petrol engine can be turned off for longer, depending on how large the battery is and how efficient the electric motor is.

Since you only need the fossil-engine for charging the battery and it's not being used to move a large and heavy vehicle, it can be smaller or have a lower power output, which could furthermore contribute to lowering production and operation costs, at least theoretically.

As far as sustainability is concerned, the C10 incorporates alternative eco leather materials, certified according to the OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100, as they are made from non-toxic fibers. At the same time, on the inside the car is made with sustainable textile and cellulose materials, which help reduce the carbon footprint from production by 30%.

Efficiency and range Leapmotor C10

The Leapmotor C10 is a fairly large and heavy in the hybrid version (there is a fully electric one, too), so I was pleasantly surprised by the efficiency of the electric motor, which over my tests used on average 11.7 kWh of energy per 100 kilometers. However, in order to benefit from the lowest possible costs, you will have to charge the battery, which is 28.4 kWh in size, instead of relying on the petrol engine for constant top-ups.

The petrol engine, despite not being connected to the wheels, will use quite a bit of gasoline in order to charge those batteries, depending on the driving mode you will end up choosing, and until the end of my test, the fuel economy for that one was 7.8 L/100 km, after 2 hours of driving through heavy traffic with the generator feature continuously active.

Because I didn't really have the time to charge the car in order to use it in pure electric mode, I preferred to use the petrol engine to keep the battery topped during my driving session, which is where this hybrid powertrain comes into play. After 2 hours of driving through the city, the car managed to add the equivalent of 7 kilometers worth-of range in the battery, part of the energy going towards the electric motor itself, as well as the climate system.

On the Leapmotor C10 you get 4 driving modes, which can be used depending on the traffic conditions and the type of road you are driving on:

  • EV+ is a driving mode that will favor driving using only the electric motor for as long as possible, only starting the generator once the batteries reach around 20% level. It's a suitable mode for city-driving especially;
  • EV is similar to EV+, the difference being that the petrol engine will start once the battery reaches a higher state-of-charge than 20% and also when you press the acceleration very hard;
  • Fuel is a mode where the petrol engine will start more often, in order to keep the climate system active and to charge the battery more often, as well as to deliver the required power for more prompt accelerations. At the same time, it's a good driving mode to use when it's colder outside or when you take a longer drive, where the 150 kilometers or so of electric range won't cut it;
  • Energy+ is the fourth driving mode which implies the continuous use of the petrol engine to charge the batteries and to deliver the maximum power possible at all times, regardless of the state-of-charge and how hard you press the pedal. It's also the least efficient mode, as it will use the most amount of gas;

I drove the car in the EV+ and Energy+ modes and I think the one called Fuel can be useful, too. Instead, the EV mode can be left aside altogether, as those who want to drive in pure electric mode can rely on EV+, being efficient enough, as well as being strong enough when it comes to accelerations.

The combined range on this version is up to 950 kilometers with a full tank and battery. The charging power using AC is limited to a modest 6.6 kW, while on DC, it goes up to a respectable 65 kW, enough for a decent 30-80% time of 18 minutes.

On the electric version, the range grows to 420 kilometers and the charging power, to 120-180 kW on DC, while on AC, it reaches 11 kW. Both versions of the Leapmotor C10 offer V2L capabilities (vehicle to load), which means that the car can deliver up to 3.3 kW of power to external consumers, such as a minifridge.

How does it feel to drive the Leapmotor C10 and how it fairs against Chinese rivals

When it comes to driving the Leapmotor C10, it fairs pretty well, but there are a few things to keep in mind before you get behind the wheel. First of all, I like it that this large SUV is very easy to drive, even in the city. Sure, its ability to get around tight spaces and park it effortlessly will depend on the physical space you have available, but the steering is very soft and precise.

On the highway and at higher speeds, it gets a little heavier, but not too stiff, unlike the BYD Seal U DM-i; still, it could be a little heavier in order to offer even better feedback. I advise you to deactivate the lane keep assistant, which gets triggered a bit too often for my liking and which doesn't really offer you much space to work with, meaning that it will keep you locked in a correction course, when you might actually want to do some maneuvering yourself.

At the same time, the adaptive cruise control, which is activated similarly to Tesla cars, by pulling the gear selector two times down, is a bit jarring and can't quite keep a steady speed smoothly. It's pretty tiring and I wish for better optimizations here, to accelerate more gently and just enough, so that it doesn't need to apply braking force every few seconds. BYD fairs better in this regard.

The noise level coming from the outside is pretty low, even at higher speeds, so Leapmotor worked on soundproofing the C10 and I like this. The car isn't very dynamic, so don't expect to take on corners more aggressively, but unlike the Seal U DM-i, it's comfortable and you won't feel much of the road imperfections or potholes.

Accelerations are decent, if not very convincing, as I tested the version with 215 horsepower. The issue isn't with the power, but rather how it's being delivered. Leapmotor goes for a Mercedes-like approach, with linear, rather than powerful accelerations, which isn't bad comfort-wise, but you'll need to get used to the fact that the car won't be the quickest in an overtaking. The electric version has more powerful motor options, up to 299 horsepower, but I don't know if they're available in Romania.

You can select the sport mode from the settings (there's no button available for that), although I didn't notice the accelerations to be much quicker.

There are 3 driving modes on the Leapmotor C10:

  • Comfort, which offers moderate accelerations, softer steering and low regenerative braking;
  • Sport makes the steering heavier and improves accelerations, although not by much, while regenerative braking is amplified;
  • Customized, where you can select between different steering, acceleration and braking settings;

I wish that regenerative braking could be customized even in comfort mode, without needing to go in the customized driving setting, because when in standard mode, the car almost doesn't apply any braking at all. The other option, stronger, is more convincing, but I would still love to have a bit more.

I noticed that, at a speed in excess of 70 km/h, the car applies around 50 kW of regenerative power, which I was able to get up to around 70 kW by applying some braking force myself.

The braking pedal itself required a bit of getting used to, as well. You will notice that, although the pedal can be pressed a long way, most of the braking force happens in a pinch, which makes smoother braking a bit more difficult in the beginning. At the same time, as you're getting close to a full stop, you will notice that the car will "release" the braking pads a bit, without you lifting the foot off the pedal.

It's not necessarily something dangerous, but it will give you the impression that you won't stop in time and you might press the pedal with more force, causing a more sudden stop. There is a setting available in the driving submenu related to the smooth braking, which can either be activated or deactivated, but I didn't notice a different behavior.

Technologies on the Leapmotor C10

Folks at Leapmotor definitely took inspiration from two different sources when creating the operating system for this car: from BYD and from Tesla. From BYD it kind of makes sense, since we're talking about Chinese carmakers, so there's a good chance they're both using the same supplier for the OS, only adapted for each model.

The inspiration from Tesla comes from the design of the car's interior, as well as some UI elements, such as the cruise control, the system for detecting vehicles around you and system animations. The part about the animations and the interface aren't that big of a deal, as you will get used to them and are fairly intuitive, but what baffled me was the lack of physical buttons around the car.

Seriously, besides the buttons on the steering wheel, which aren't that many themselves, as well as those for opening and closing the windows, you'll be hard pressed to find a physical button on the inside of this car. Even the hazard lights button is placed above the driver, in front of the rearview mirror.

The first thing you do when getting in a new car is set your seat and side mirrors. The seat is fine, you have the buttons on the side to adjust its backrest, as well as the position on height and length, same for the passenger, but what about the side mirrors?

Buckle up: you'll need to get in the settings app, in the driving / ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), in the side mirrors submenu and then you can use two buttons on the steering wheel for adjustments. I wish I was joking, but this is literally how you adjust the mirrors on this car and I needed a Google search to figure it out.

Then, you might be wondering: how do I activate the electronic parking brake? There's no button for that, you simply put the car in neutral by pressing the button on the gear selector and it activates automatically.

What gave me a shut down was turning the vehicle off once I reached my destination, something so simple. There's no button on the dashboard for that, neither is one on the key (which is actually a credit card-type access card). To completely turn this vehicle off (at least the electric motor), you need to put the car in "Parking", get the card, keep it close to the side mirror on the driver's side, which is when the car will lock itself and only then the electric motor will be turned off.

So, if you need to wait inside the car for 15-20 minutes for whatever reason, you will do so with the electric motor turned on. Maybe for some, that's not a problem, but during that time, the battery level will decrease, especially if the climate system is turned on or if you're playing on the infotainment system.

Another big drawback on this car, which might make you say goodbye right now, is that there's no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity on board. Neither wired or wireless. You can connect the phone via Bluetooth and this was a compromise solution for me for the couple of days I tested the car, but it's not something I can deal with on the long run. I talked on the phone using the car's integrated app, everything good there and I also listened to music on Spotify, but using the integrated music app and that's about it. There's no access to Google Maps or Waze, only through using the installed navigation app (which albeit offers real-time traffic conditions and is pretty decent) and there's also no access to apps such as NextCharge, which I use to find charging stations around.

You may find some apps in the built-in app store, but it's not guaranteed and who knows how and for how long they will work, if they won't receive over-the-air updates.

The fact that Leapmotor didn't install up to this point Apple CarPlay or Android Auto apps on a car that's been sold in Europe for a few months now is pretty worrying and a big problem for a starting price of 30.000 euros.

Otherwise, the part regarding the digital experience is good; you'll find shortcuts for the most basic functions on the bottom side of the central tablet, such as for climate control, heating and ventilation on the seats, but I want them to be physical controls, so that I can focus on the road.

Comfort in the Leapmotor C10

I saved the best for last. Leapmotor C10 is one of the most comfortable cars that I've driven, considering its price. I'm not referring to the suspension here, but rather to the space inside and the choice of materials. It's obvious that engineers here took inspiration again from Tesla and I personally like that.

There's plenty of space in the front and a lot of space in the back. You can house three adults on the backseat without much issue and they'll have plenty of headroom, as well as legroom, even if they are taller. The floor is completely flat in the backside, which helps greatly when going from one side to another. I think this might be the most generous car as far as the backseat goes that I've driven to date and that says a lot.

The front seats and the backseat are all made of a leather-like material and besides the fact it's sustainable, it also feels great to the touch and is very comfortable. The same material can be found on the doors and on the dashboard and I like the attention to the quality of the materials in the C10.

The sound system is a 12-speaker unit, brandless, but it sounds decent, if not extraordinary. I wasn't able to increase the volume too much, maybe because of the Bluetooth connection limitations, which is where the CarPlay connection might have come in handy.

The space in the trunk is a bit limited, to 400 liters, which is not great for a car that's over 4.7 meters long, but I'm willing to forgive it for the very spacious interior.

Conclusions Leapmotor C10

Leapmotor C10 starts at 30.000 euros in the Style version and the Design trim tested by me goes for 42.500 euros. Depending on sales and if you prefer the fully electric version, the price could go up or down a few thousand euros.

As far as I am concerned, it's a very interesting car; in the beginning, you'll be thrown off by the lack of buttons and the complicated tech side, but you'll likely get used to it and you'll appreciate the comfort and good materials. It's not a car dedicated for those that like to go fast, but rather for those that want to enjoy a more relaxed and comfortable driving, and the price isn't too bad for what you're getting.

Its biggest drawback and one that I can't get over is the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, things that Leapmotor didn't fix yet and I don't even know if they ever will, to be honest.

A big rival to this car is the BYD Seal U DM-i, which I've tested recently and which didn't leave as good an impression as this model on some aspects. BYD fairs better on the ergonomics and buttons side of things, but loses on the comfort when driving and a little bit regarding interior space, offering a slightly larger boot, in return. There's CarPlay and Android Auto support in the Seal U and the fuel and energy consumptions are similar to those on the C10, but the range and charging speeds on DC are lower than here.