Leapmotor T03 Review & Prices

Chances are you haven’t heard of Leapmotor - it’s a Chinese car manufacturer that only sold its first vehicle in 2019, so a relative newcomer. But it’s part-owned by manufacturing giant Stellantis (owners of Peugeot, Vauxhall and Fiat among others), and so is pressing into the European market with this - the Leapmotor T03.

It’s a small, cheap electric hatchback that couldn’t be more clearly aimed at the bargain-basement Dacia Spring - but promises more range, better drivability and to feel more like a ‘real car’.

It’s a bit like buying a TV from a supermarket - it may be from a manufacturer you’ve never heard of, and just a bit cheaper than makes sense - but you can be confident that at the very least, there’s a big European company making sure that it’s safe, competent, and that you can get it repaired if you need to.

The T03’s styling stands out from the aggressive-looking alternatives. It has a smile-like grille and big anime eyes for headlights, while its tall body sits on tiny alloy wheels. A two-tone paint finish adds a little visual interest, but the Leapmotor feels a bit like an electric Fiat Panda, where the styling is as cute and non-combative as possible.

That tall silhouette should provide a decent amount of space for passengers, considering the car’s dinky dimensions. From what we’ve seen so far, expect the rear seats to comfortably accommodate six-foot adults.

Unfortunately something does have to give and in this case it’s the boot - at just 210 litres, it’s much smaller than the Dacia Spring’s 308-litre space. It does have the Fiat 500 Electric beaten, though…

The T03 has a simple dashboard design with oval air vents and plenty of flat, clear surfaces. That does mean physical controls are at a premium - almost everything is controlled through the 10.1-inch central touchscreen, while the driver gets an 8.0-inch instrument display which covers off the basics of speed and battery charge state.

Speaking of the battery, the T03 uses a 37.3kWh battery pack, which is larger than the one on the Dacia Spring. Correspondingly, you get a higher electric range of up to 165 miles, versus 140 miles for the Spring.

You can charge at home at up to 6.6kW - good for a 30-80% top-up in 3.5 hours. The same charge will take 36 minutes from a public station, which is quite a long time and reflects the T03’s slow maximum charge speed of 48kW - though again, this is on par with other cheap EVs, and is significantly faster than the Spring.

All this points to the T03 being great as a second car, station commuter or similar - but predominantly a car that’s charged up at home rather than out and about.

We’ll get behind the wheel of the Leapmotor T03 very soon, but in the meantime why not check out our best Leapmotor T03 deals here on Carwow? You could also see which other electric cars we recommend, and remember that if you want to sell your old car you can do that through Carwow too, with our network of trusted dealers bidding to get you the best possible price.

At less than £16,000, the Leapmotor T03 is the second-cheapest electric car on sale in the UK. It’s undercut by the Dacia Spring – not by very much, but every little penny does count.

There’s only one trim level, but it does come very well equipped for a budget car. You get those two big screens, a panoramic sunroof, two-tone paint, a reversing camera, climate control, keyless start and plenty of driver assistance tech. It’s likely that once the brand is more established in Europe Leapmotor will launch a more basic, lighter-weight T03.