That China has nailed low-cost, high-quality vehicle production shouldn’t
surprise anybody who has strolled around a suburban shopping centre
carpark lately. We now buy more cars made in China than from anywhere
else - about one in every three new cars sold in Australia, in fact - and
that number is only going to grow as more new brands try their luck here.
What China hasn’t quite nailed, though, is a truly engaging driving
experience. The local market values comfort above all else, and so
Chinese vehicles can still sometimes feel soft and spongy, if not surgically
removed from the road beneath their tyres.
I’m not being mean, either. Chinese brands know this. GWM is now tuning
its vehicles in Australia through former Holden ride-and-handling ace Rob
Trubiani so they better suit our tastes. JAC is doing something similar with
another Holden alumni, Michael Barber.
Leapmotor knows it, too. And given the Chinese brand has access to the
entire Stellantis network - the latter owns 51 per cent of Leapmotor
International - it has called on Alfa Romeo’s experts in Italy, and
specifically the Balocco Proving Ground between Turin and Milan, to shape
its vehicles for the global market.
The result is this: the Leapmotor B05, an all-electric warm hatch - though
a hotter Ultra version is coming - that promises rear-wheel drive, perfect
50:50 weight distribution and a ride-and-handling package tweaked and
tuned in Italy.
Oh, and it should be cheap, too, with Leapmotor targeting a sub $40k
price point when it arrives towards the end of this year. So far so good, right?
So what’s the story behind the Leapmotor B05?
Pretty simple, really. This is cheap and cheerful motoring with a twist. The
target is vehicles like the MG MG4, and Leapmotor says it’s trying to plug
the gaps left by mainstream players, many of which have abandoned
hatchbacks in the mass shift to SUVs.
The twist is that it blends Chinese manufacturing, technology and pricing
with Italian driving dynamics, which, theoretically at least, should be a
pretty good best-of-both-worlds deal.
Who’s the buyer?
Anyone shopping in the small-SUV space could easily squeeze their life
into the B05, which offers more room than you might expect thanks to a
fully flat floor and a cavernous back seat.
Range isn’t much of an impediment either. The smaller 56.2kWh battery
delivers a claimed 401km of driving range, while the bigger 67.1kWh
battery ups that figure to 482km. In other words, this is not an EV confined
to the urban jungle.
First impressions?
I think this has to be one of the best-looking cars to come out of
China to date. There are no high-school science experiment vibes here,
just clean, simple and grown-up lines, an elegant profile and a set of
sizeab
le 19-inch alloys helping fill the wheel arches.
It also does the cheap-and-cheerful thing well in the cabin, where the more
low-rent materials are cleverly disguised. The perforated dash panel, with
its architectural edges, helps hide the fact the plastics feel cheap to the
touch, while higher-end features - including seat heating, a massive
sunroof and dual screens - lift the overall ambience.
Give us the top line on performance and efficiency. What’s it like to
drive?
Is this an electric Golf GTI competitor? Or something that will take on a
proper performance EV, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N? Nope, it definitely is
not.
But having driven the Chinese-market version, which felt like it had its
suspension swapped for mattress springs, I can tell you the version we’re
getting is way, way better.
While there’s no bristling aggression to the drive experience, the 160kW
and 240Nm on offer is plenty to get you moving, and the B05 now feels far
more composed and engaging from behind the wheel. The ride is very
good, too, smoothing out rough road surfaces without feeling entirely
disconnected from the tarmac below.
There’s now balance in the way the B05 tackles a winding road, with little
lateral body roll and steering that is light but direct. And the driver feels like
part of the experience, rather than just another passenger hanging on and
hoping for the best.
Honestly, it’s one of the better-driving products to come from China.
Tech and connectivity - what’s the word?
There’s a 14.6-inch screen in the centre of the cabin, and a second 8.8-
inch letterbox display in front of the driver. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
are present and accounted for, and there’s also wireless phone charging
and a 12-speaker stereo.
There are almost no physical controls or switches, though, with everything
- and I mean everything - controlled through the central screen, which is not for everyone. That includes adjusting the wing mirrors, picking a new driving mode or fiddling with the climate settings.
... and the lowdown on safety?
Leapmotor is targeting a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, which should
translate to five stars from ANCAP, too. There are seven airbags, 14
cameras and sensors, and a total of 21 active safety systems.
If that’s the good, the bad is that each and every one of those systems will
slowly sap your will to live, such is the binging, bonging, wheel-tugging
cacophony of alarms.
That’s not an issue exclusive to Leapmotor, and to its credit, the brand has worked on a solution.
You can now save your active safety preferences to your driving profile -
all on, some on or all off - so when you get in you can pick your profile
and go, rather than turning everything off individually every time you start
the car.
One thing we should know before a test drive?
An out-and-out sports car this ain’t, but I think you’ll be surprised by the
balance and coherence of the drive experience here. If it’s a cut-price
electric hot hatch you’re after, though, keep your powder dry for the Ultra
version.
Tell ’em the price!
We’re talking budget-friendly motoring here. Leapmotor hasn’t locked in
Australian pricing, but says the B05 will start at around $35,000 when it
arrives later this year.
