Leapmotor T03 Review 2025

Most car journeys are in cities blighted by the stop-start trudge of rush-hour traffic. Yet as we relieve the tedium by making up words from letters on number plates affixed to enormous SUVs dawdling around us, there’s a penny-dropping moment — these are perfect conditions for a small electric car with a dinky battery. Ladies and gentlemen, here is such a car — find out if it should be on your radar with our full Leapmotor T03 review.

A Leapwhat, now? Indeed, Leapmotor isn’t a car brand many UK dwellers will have heard of before, although that could change dramatically in the coming years. It’s a Chinese manufacturer that’s paired up with Stellantis, the group which owns Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall and various others, to sell its models in Europe.

Gateway to the range is the city car-sized Leapmotor T03 which was joined for the UK launch by a family-focused SUV badged C10, with at least one additional model joining the line-up for each of the next three years.

Okay, the alphanumeric model names don’t exactly instil any sense of character but that can be overlooked given the tiny five-door, four-seater T03 delivers exceptional value for money at £15,995. Leapmotor? Cheap motor, more like.

So what exactly does that buy you? Leapmotor’s website proudly proclaims that the T03 has ‘everything as standard’, though they must have forgotten about Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And a DAB radio.

Those glaring omissions aside, you do get a lot of gear for your money. How do climate control, electrically operated windows, door mirrors and front seats, an eight-inch driver’s display, a 10-inch multimedia touchscreen, a glazed panoramic roof, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control and 15-inch alloy wheels all sound? Thought so.

In order to benefit from all those goodies and loads more, you’ll need to go for the top-of-the-range Leapmotor T03 but fear not because the most expensive model in the line-up is the only model in the line-up. That’s right, your sole T03 choice costs £15,995.

Similarly, there’s just the one electric motor and battery combination to go for in the Leapmotor T03. Mounted under the bonnet is a 95PS electric motor sending drive to the front wheels, dispatching the 0-62mph acceleration benchmark in 12.7 seconds.

Its 37.3kWh battery is sufficient for a WLTP Combined cycle driving range of 165 miles, while a 30-80% recharge using a DC public charging point takes 36 minutes.

How does the T03 stack up against other tiny electric tearaways? You could be driving a Dacia Spring for as little as £14,995, but that’s with just 45PS of power and a 140-mile driving range. There’s a more powerful version, although that only cranks output up to 65PS with no improvement in range. It costs the same as the Leapmotor T03 but isn’t as well equipped, so points dropped there.

Alternatively, you could be captivated by the cuteness of the Hyundai Inster. A little more power and a 203-mile range from its slightly larger battery are plus points, but it misses out on various of the Leapmotor T03’s fixtures and fittings as well as costing £7500 more. Yes you read that right — an extra seven-and-a-half thousand pounds, assuming there are no discounts being offered.

That's a lot of money but there's no doubt that the Inster is a much better car all round. But if you're on a budget, how does the cheap electric car stack up? Let's find out more in our Leapmotor T03 review. 

Leapmotor T03: Range

Don't judge a book by its cover, and that's the case with the Leapmotor T03. It might look quite simplistic on the outside, but the T03 feels a bit more grown up to drive. Granted, it can feel a little bit fidgety at higher speeds but when driving round town it rides well.

Shod with premium Continental tyres, they inspire more confidence than the cheap Linglong Greenmax EcoTouring tyres that act as the four contact points with the Dacia Spring. We certainly didn't experience any of the grip or traction issues in the T03 that we did in the Spring. 

The steering can be very light at slower speeds but this can make it easy to manoeuvre at lower speeds, such as squeezing into a tight parking spot. Speaking of which, the rear camera's moderately low resolution doesn't help much but you can easily see all four corners of the T03. At higher speeds we found it's better to pop it in the Sport driving mode as this adds a bit more weight to the steering. 

Refinement is good but wind noise can be an issue at higher speeds, while the whirr of the electric motor under acceleration is more prominent than rivals. That's if you can hear any of that over the irritating safety warnings constantly being triggered. 

With only one 95PS electric motor on offer with the Leapmotor T03, so there's no real decision to make here. 

Despite the more powerful motor in the T03, it weighs some 200kg more than the Spring, so it's only a couple of seconds quicker getting to 62mph from a standstill, taking a sedate 12.7 seconds. It can certainly feel a little sluggish to pick up initially but it's fine once you're up to speed.

We're still waiting to see when the Leapmotor T03 will be tested by Euro NCAP, so for now, it doesn't have a score.

Leapmotor is confident in the T03's body-cage structure and how it will keep occupants safe in a crash, while the car is dripping with safety tech. With three cameras, a multitude of radars and ultrasonic radars, the T03 has 10 Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) systems that many pricier cars don't have as standard.

That means you get Lane Departure Warning, Lane Keeping Assistance and Adaptive Cruise Control bundled in the T03, while there's also Forward Collision Warning, Automatic Emergency Brake, Intelligent Speed Assistance, Driver Drowsiness Warning, Blind Spot Detection and Door Opening Warning. 

We certainly welcome this level of safety tech on a cheap EV but the way these systems encroach into the cabin and the steering borders on the ridiculous. With a wave of dings, bongs, beeps and nudges from the steering wheel at almost every turn, no wonder Leapmotor didn't bother with a DAB radio in the T03. You'd struggle to hear it much of the time.

It's also a faff to turn these warnings off thanks to the cumbersome menu and the fact you have to be stationary to do this. Hopefully these can be tempered with an over-the-air update in time. 

The boot on the Leapmotor T03 is small. At 210 litres, it's just under 100 litres less than the boot capacity on both the Dacia Spring and BYD Dolphin Surf. It also doesn't offer a split rear seat, only folding down as a whole bench should you need more space, lacking the flexibility of the 50/50 split seat design found in the Dolphin Surf.

That's if you can get into the boot — the T03 doesn't have a physical boot release, so you have to give the touchscreen control a good jab with your finger to open the tailgate. If you do need a bit more storage, there is a useful 35-litre compartment under the Leapmotor's bonnet. 

It's better news inside, with a decent amount of room on offer. Those up front will find a similar amount of space as they would in the Spring, but those sitting in the back will certainly be more comfortable in the T03, with a bit more leg and headroom for taller passengers.

There's a reasonable amount of storage areas with a cupholder and phone compartment in the front, while there are some good-sized door pockets and a second cupholder in the back.

The build and finish of the Leapmotor T03 is better than what the low price point might suggest. For instance, the doors shut with a decent thud rather than the tinny clang that you get with the Dacia Spring, while the interior materials are good on the whole as well.

There's a leather steering wheel for starters, which is better than the workmanlike plastic alternative in the Spring. You'll also find touches such as chrome door handles and soft-touch materials, though as per most small cars, there is a large amount of hard-wearing plastics used around its cabin. 

The Leapmotor T03 gets an 8.0-inch digital instrument display that's supported by a 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen, which is your only access point to various of its controls and settings. That's a a pain, as the menu system isn't the most intuitive to get to grips with — the icons are too small and its not as responsive as we'd like. Its screen resolution could with being sharper as well.

Things don't get much better when you find out it doesn't support Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Leapmotor has furnished the T03 with a built-in navigation system that appears to be trying to imitate Google Maps, except in terms of functionality or sophistication.

There is Bluetooth connectivity but in our time with the T03 it suffered occasional drop-out, leaving you with the delights of an FM radio for company — there's no DAB here.   

The big selling point for the Leapmotor T03 is going to be price. With only one model on offer, pricing is very simple — you'll be paying £15,995 for one. 

With the Dacia Spring starting at £14,995 for the entry-level model with a woeful 45PS motor, so the extra outlay of the T03 might look the better value. 

Another rival is the BYD Dolphin Surf which starts at just over £18,650. It feels like a more grown-up option and even the base model is well-specced.

Beyond that and you're going to have to dig quite a bit deeper for a compact EV, with the likes of the Citroen e-C3, the Fiat Grande Panda Electric and the Hyundai Inster all costing over £20,000. 

Chances are, though, that you're not looking to pay for one outright, with Leapmotor offering some very attractive PCP deals on a T03. This currently sees a £169 deposit followed by 47 monthly payments of £169. All with 0% APR, £623 and what Leapmotor has coined a Leap-Grant, saving you a further £1500.

Get yourself a home charger like the Pod Point Solo 3S and a suitable electricity tariff that's geared towards cheap overnight charging, and the Leapmotor T03 should be nice and cheap to run — it could cost you as little as £3 to charge on the right tariff.

Car tax has changed on EVs and just like any other car, they are subjected to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). This is currently charged at £195 a year from year two onwards.

The Leapmotor T03 falls into insurance group 25 — the same as a better-specified Dacia Spring but higher than a BYD Dolphin Surf, which sits in group 14.   

Leapmotor T03: Range and charging

With a 37.3kWh battery, the Leapmotor T03 has an official WLTP Combined cycle range of up to 165 miles on a full charge. That's 25 miles more than the Dacia Spring and 28 miles more than the BYD Dolphin Surf in Active spec. As is always the case though, real-world range can vary and will be less than the quoted test-condition range. 

The Leapmotor T03 has a 6.6kW AC charger, and if you're using a 7.4kWh home charger, you're looking at about 3 hours 30 minutes to charge up. If you're going to be charging via a three-pin plug — not something with recommend — you're looking at about 10-11 hours to charge. 

Things are nice and simple with the Leapmotor T03 range as there's just a single, nameless trim level available. As we've mentioned, there are some odd omissions but overall it's well-specced when you consider the price.

Here's what you get as standard with the Leapmotor T03:

• 15-inch alloy wheels
• Built-in navigation
• Rear parking sensors
• Rear camera
• 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen
• 8.0-inch digital instrument display
• Panoramic roof
• Automatic air conditioning
• Electric windows
• LED lights

Curious about optional extras? Don't be as there aren't any beyond choosing the colour. Mint Green is the standard one with Canopy Grey, Glacier Blue, Light White and Starry Silver all costing £400 extra.