Road Tested by Hugh Maguire.
Likes:
Perfect around town
Cheap for an EV
Good equipment for the price
Dislikes
Limited range
Overly sensitive ADAS
Not engaging or fun to drive
So what’s the story?
Come to think of it there are less and less manufacturers producing really small city cars. It seems we live in an era where bigger is better. Look at the popularity of huge SUV’s many of which spend their time in an urban environment doing the school run. Small cars have low profitability for manufacturers so for them our love of the big SUV is great news.
A brief glance at the SIMI price list for new electric cars in Ireland and it is quickly evident that there is nothing new for anything less than about €17,000 other than one model. That car is the Dacia Spring EV priced at €16,995.
To give you a brief idea of what is out there we have the Fiat 500e but prices for that start around €27,600. Hyundai have the new and rather good Inster priced from €19,595. Other than those there is very little out there under €20,000 in the form of a small city EV.
So when Leapmotor announced the launch of a tiny city car powered by a battery some asked was it a wise decision. After all is there a market for cars like this?
I have been road testing the Leapmotor T03 city EV to find out. The T03 is available in one specification level with the only decision you have to make is what colour to choose. The T03 costs €18,950.
So how does it look?
It really is small measuring just 3.6 metres in length and just 1.65m wide. It’s tiny with very short front and rear overhangs and a boxy profile. That said it actually has quite a cute front end that bears some resemblance to a Fiat 500. Overall then no awards for being distinctive but its not unattractive either.
What is it like inside?
Simple and functional but actually quite well laid out best describes the interior. The cabin does feel roomier than you might expect no doubt due to the large windows and glass panoramic roof which is by the way standard equipment. There is a 10 inch central touchscreen with somewhat basic graphics but it works ok nevertheless. There is also an 8 inch digital driver display giving basic information such as speed, battery percentage and range. Unfortunately lots of functions are buried in the central touchscreen which I find both distracting and annoying. Additionally the infra red eye scanner triggers numerous warnings should you use the touchscreen or yawn for example. (it then suggests you pull over and rest). Frankly these interventions don’t aid safety and are just tedious in the extreme. That said it has 6 airbags, and numerous other safety aids via Leap Pilot.
It does have electric windows, and that glass roof, blind spot detection and lane departure warning but surprisingly for a car designed for city use there is no Apple Car Play or Android Auto. I think they made a bad decision not including that as particularly or busy city motoring these are a real must have.
The build quality is reasonable with no rattles or squeaks in my test car but there is a huge amount cheap hard touch scratchy plastics everywhere in the cabin.
Accommodation up front is decent but the rear is really just for kids or an adult who can suffer their knees under their chin for a very short distance. The boot is minuscule!
What powers the T03?
A 37.3 kWh battery powering an electric motor. Leapmotor claim a range off “up to 265km” but I had no hope of getting near that. Over my extensive road test which included city, motorway and rural roads it managed 166km. Its not that fast to charge either taking about 40 minutes to get from 30% to 80%.
So how does it drive?
It is obviously best around town where it feels nimble, easy to park and manoeuvre.The ride is fidgety and the handling questionable on a twisty country road. However it will hum along at motorway speeds (eating up range) but frankly you do feel somewhat vulnerable surrounded by SUV’s and trucks on the motorway.
Hugh’s Verdict.
The new Leapmotor T03 is truly a budget EV designed for short distance city and town use. In that it does deliver but with real compromises in terms of comfort, refinement and tech. It does offer the best balance of price and usability though.
It’s biggest rival is the Dacia Spring and it betters that in range and ride comfort at least. The Hyundai Inster is frankly a much better more rounded car but it is somewhat more expensive. So in summary if all you want is a truly budget EV then the Leapmotor T03 delivers. If you want anything more than that look elsewhere and be prepared to pay more.