Leapmotor B03X (2026 - ) review

All B03Xs come with a moderately sized battery which officially is good for up to 237 miles of range but call it around 200 miles in the real world. If you can charge your B03X at home on a dedicated off-peak energy tariff a full charge will cost less than a takeaway coffee. When you do need to top-up on the go public charging will be more expensive, though you shouldn’t need to hang around too long as the B03X can top up from 30 to 80 precent in 16 minutes. While the B03X doesn’t qualify for the Electric Car Grant, at the time of writing Leapmotor is offering its own £1,500 ‘Leap-Grant’ which mirrors the lower level of the government’s official scheme. Given all the features offered as standard the B03X offers decent value for money and company car drivers will gain further advantages thanks to the Benefit in Kind incentives for going fully electric.

Leapmotor is a new brand in the UK and while it’s been around for a decade in China, it is still too soon to know how its cars will fare in the long run. Leapmotor offers a four-year/60,000 warranty on all its cars and the battery gets a separate eight-year/100,000-mile cover. Electric cars have fewer mechanical parts than an equivalent petrol or diesel car, however they are heavily reliant on software and occasionally the odd technical gremlin can creep in. The B03X will receive regular over-the-air (OTA) updates to fix any bugs and improve the car’s functions over time. To add further reassurance Leapmotor has teamed up with Stellantis which owns familiar brands like Peugeot, Vauxhall, Jeep, Citroën and Fiat. This has helped Leapmotor to build a large dealer network to provide sales and support. We’ve been living with a Leapmotor B10 on long-term test and while it has been dependable so far, we have been experiencing some frustrations with the app-based digital key.

The B03X is packed with seven airbags plus an array of sensors and cameras which provide 21 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). These include lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, front and rear collision warnings, adaptive cruise control and driver attention monitoring. Leapmotor is expecting the B03X to receive a full five-star rating from safety body Euro NCAP, but for our safety score we have marked it down because of its over reliance on a fiddly touch-screen. Yes, we know there’s a voice assistant but it’s too tempting to delve into the submenus on the central display. We didn’t find the safety systems as overbearing as in other Leapmotors we've tested and there is now the option of configurable driver personas which allow you to preset your preferred combination of features before you set off. However, there’s still room for improvement and Leapmotor has already suggested further software updates are likely to arrive over-the-air in due course.

The B03X’s greatest strength is its use of space. In the back there’s much more room than in a Renault 4 and for extra flexibility the rear bench folds up to provide a walk-through area with a totally flat floor. This is a similar trick to the ‘Magic Seat’ configuration in the Honda Jazz. The B03X has also taken a leaf out of the Ford Puma Gen-e’s book by adding a waterproof compartment under the boot floor which provides the perfect storage for muddy boots or a cavernous compartment for taller items. Up front both seats are electrically adjustable helping you to get comfy, however even in the lowest position you still sit very high up and the steering wheel doesn't adjust much for height or reach. While the B03X focuses on practicality we’d have liked the interior to be more interesting, but instead you are met with a sea of grey plastic and bamboo charcoal faux-leather upholstery. Another gripe was the air-conditioning which kept defaulting to a rather wheezy eco mode. This was less than ideal on a baking hot test drive in southern Spain, but with a bit more planning we could have preconditioned the car’s temperature using the Leapmotor app. Out on the road the B03X is set up for comfort and it copes relatively well with larger speed bumps, however it is less refined over rough surfaces which cause it to profusely bounce around.

Like other models in the Leapmotor range the B03X is offered with just one trim level so you only need to choose the colour. All the features you could possibly want are fitted as standard – though they are all controlled via the large 14.6-inch touch screen so finding them is not always easy. The bottom row of widgets and the shortcut tray are both configurable, but the icons are small and confusing. If you persevere, you’ll find ambient lighting, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel among necessities like the wingmirror adjustment. We do like the 360-degree camera which gives confidence when manoeuvring and other features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger and ‘Pet Mode’ to keep your four-legged friends happy. The overall design is rather bland, though, and Leapmotor’s attempt to inject some personality with face-shaped taillights and graphics of Leapy, the brand's Minion-like mascot, all fall a little flat.

The B03X is a small family car and while it has a reasonable amount of power it is not designed to be driven enthusiastically. There are three drive modes – Comfort, Standard and Sport – but the steering is incredibly light regardless of which one you choose. This is fine around town, but it doesn’t inspire much confidence in the corners or at higher speeds. The good news is Leapmotor says this can be changed via an over-the-air update, so hopefully this will improve once the cars arrive in the UK. Meanwhile, the regeneration modes do change how quickly the car slows down when you take your foot off the accelerator, but the strongest setting is very grabby and makes it tricky to drive smoothly. Ultimately, the B03X is best kept in its standard settings which won't set your world on fire but they will allow you to pootle along as you go about your day-to-day business.