Leapmotor B05 review

Stellantis presents a new Chinese take on the electric family hatchback

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Electric hatchbacks like the Volkswagen ID 3 Neo and Renault Megane have a new Chinese rival with the launch of Leapmotor’s aggressively priced B05.

With the brand’s own £1500 ‘grant’ taking its retail price down to £28,995, the Spanish-built B05 undercuts both European competition and its MG 4 EV compatriot. Yet the resulting low cost doesn’t appear to mean a low specification, because the B05 promises 215bhp and a 300-mile range as well as a long list of standard kit.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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With a single rear-mounted electric motor and 50:50 weight distribution, Leapmotor’s 4.4m-long five-door could also be a threat to the sporty Cupra Born. Indeed, to maximise driver appeal, it comes with three driving modes, including Sport, and launch control. You can even fully switch off the stability control, just like in the Cupra.

That said, the B05 is nowhere near as aggressive in appearance as the pricier Born. It’s a more rounded, understated hatchback that continues a theme set by Leapmotor’s previous models, such as the B10 crossover, with a light bar and headlights featuring a three-part running-light design. The swoopy angle on the nose helps to give the car a competitively low drag coefficient of 0.26. Impressive, although it doesn’t explain the lack of a rear wiper. Good luck seeing out the back in a British winter.

As standard, the B05 runs on 19in ‘aero’ alloys wrapped in 225-section Hankook rubber, while frameless doors and black detailing on the side skirts and roof add to the sporting vibe. By contrast, the Lightning Yellow paint of my test car is strangely pale in the metal; it’s more like British Leyland’s old Primrose Yellow. Five other not particularly vibrant colours are available, ranging from Metallic Black to Starry Night Blue.

INTERIOR

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Things are even duller inside, because your colour choices are grey, a different grey and black.

The standard kit aboard the B05 does help to inject some colour, in the functionality sense. Every car gets heated, vented and electrically adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel and a cooled, 50W wireless phone charger, while a metre-long panoramic sunroof with an electric blind means your grey or black interior can at least be bathed in sunlight.

The seating position, the pedal placement and even the adjustability of the steering wheel feel absolutely spot on. The materials on the seats and arm rests also provide great support.
Sam Sheehan
Senior staff writer

The seats are comfortable, too, with soft cushioning wrapped in artificial leather, while the general fit and finish is very good.

The infotainment system uses a broad 14.6in touchscreen while the instrument cluster is a slim 8.8in LCD display. Both are clear, with sharp graphics, and the touchscreen offers quick responses and smartphone-like interaction.

However, aside from some buttons on the steering wheel to control media and driver assistance features, there’s no mechanical switchgear.

This contrasts with both the Megane and the recently revealed ID 3 Neo, which has gained a suite of buttons in response to European customer complaints relating to the old ID 3’s touch-sensitive interface. Even the MG 4 (which admittedly has sub-par infotainment tech) has mechanical switches for its climate controls, meaning the B05’s digital stuff requires more of your attention.

Some icons are at least permanently accessible on the B05’s big touchscreen but, most frustratingly, the climate controls are on a separate page.

In the back there’s enough head room for a six-footer to get comfy and plenty of knee room, although there's no room to tuck your feet under the seat ahead. At least the flat floor means middle-seat passengers don’t need to straddle a tunnel, like they would in non-bespoke EVs such as the Vauxhall Astra Electric.

That said, the B05’s boot is pretty small for the class, with 345 litres of cargo space ensuring that it lags behind the Megane by a significant 95 litres, due in part to the B05’s lack of underfloor storage and narrower top. Even the technically related ID 3 Neo and Born each beat the B05 by 40 litres.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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If the thought of a 215bhp, rear-wheel-drive hatchback excites you, don’t forget that’s about 100bhp short of the Born VZ and incoming ID 3 Neo GTI. A claimed 0-62mph time of 6.7sec sounds decent but the B05 doesn’t feel that quick on the move.

It has a more relaxed delivery of torque – and even a flat-out sprint to 60mph with the launch control (yes, there's launch control) and Sport mode engaged does little to arouse the senses. The Born VZ provides more of an off-the-line thump and even a regular MG 4 feels more energetic.

Adjustable regenerative braking, including a full one-pedal driving mode, helps to reduce the workload in traffic, while there’s very little in the way of wind noise when you pick up the pace.

RIDE & HANDLING

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The story is much the same in the bends: the B05 doesn’t feel rear-driven until you switch off the stability control on damp Tarmac. The resulting low-speed kicks of oversteer notwithstanding, the B05 can’t match the Born’s sporting credentials. Its steering feels too disconnected and its comfort-focused suspension (MacPherson struts up front, multi-link at the rear) is too relaxed. It feels safe but unengaging.

It’s much better at being comfortable, mustering a supple ride that’s genuinely quite pleasant. I drove it on the smooth surfaces of Germany, but the occasional speed hump and road imperfection suggested that the B05 will take well to British roads.

It’s just a massive shame to discover that the standard suite of 21 ADAS functions includes some of the most annoying I've experienced. The lane keeping assistance tugs the wheel very aggressively and there’s an orchestra of bings and bongs that are hard to tell apart. Despite Leapmotor saying you can customise the steering wheel’s shortcut button to switch them off, they never all seem to go away, forcing you to spend time in the touchscreen’s ADAS sub-menu before setting off.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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The B05 averaged 3.9mpkWh on my mixed test route, equating to a real-world range of about 260 miles. That’s decent compared with the Megane (at least until Renault updates it later in 2026), and while the Extended Range MG 4 and bigger-battery Born both easily beat this, they cost more to buy.

A maximum charging speed of 174kW also makes the B05 class-competitive at the plug, affording a 10-80% top-up in 24 minutes.

VERDICT

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It would be frustrating to live with this, to say the least, especially at a time when other brands have greatly reduced ADAS annoyances. But there is hope: Leapmotor says it’s taking on feedback and could retune UK cars before they reach the roads in late July.

They marr an otherwise quite likeable hatchback that's roomy, comfy, pleasingly traditional in its design and of course very affordable.