Leapmotor B10 goes the distance in a crowded electric crossover market

SINGAPORE – High certificate of entitlement (COE) prices have not dampened the car market’s appetite for compact electric crossovers. Enter the Leapmotor B10, the second model from the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand that launched here in late 2025.

Its arrival follows in quick succession after the mid-sized C10.

The brand is part of global automotive group Stellantis. Relying solely on the C10, Leapmotor has emerged as Stellantis’ No. 1 performer in Singapore, accounting for over 63 per cent of the group’s total registrations in the first eight months of 2026.

Admittedly, the other Stellantis brands here – Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Jeep, Maserati, Opel and Peugeot – do not have the same mass-market appeal as Leapmotor. The arrival of the B10 will likely give Stellantis a further boost.

The B10 is very much a C10 that shrank in the wash. It certainly looks similar, from the overall silhouette to details like the Porsche Cayenne-inspired tail lamps and flush Aston Martin-style door handles.

The overall design is simple with very few flourishes. If not for the test car’s eye-catching blue hue, this is not a model that stands out in a crowded carpark.

The infotainment touchscreen is sufficiently large to be user-friendly but not dominate the cabin. Thoughtful storage solutions, like the deep bin between the front seats and the pair of flip-up cupholders up front add to the car’s appeal.

A mounting bar on the dashboard ahead of the passenger seat is supposedly meant to mount plastic figurines, but it doubles as hooking points for takeaway food. Just as handy are accessible USB-A and USB-C ports on board.

The rear bench is wide enough to fit three adults with ease. The boot space would have been wider, if not for the subwoofer occupying one corner. There is also an oddly shaped storage bin under the bonnet.

Cabin materials are unpretentious, fitting the clean and utilitarian design.

The B10 has wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It connects remarkably quickly, and only once did it require the user to manually pair the phone.

The Leapmotor driver app doubles as a digital key that unlocks the car when the registered smartphone is within range. Tap the four-digit code on the central display and the car is ready to go.

However, the test car had a glitch that triggered the phone’s Apple Pay wallet instead of ignition. This was resolved with an on-site visit by the Leapmotor technician and the car worked as intended for the rest of the multi-day test drive.

In any case, the car has a keycard as a fallback. Tapping the card against the driver’s side wing mirror unlocks the doors; placing it on the wireless charging pad activates the drive system.

Flicking the column-mounted gear lever to “D” reveals that the B10’s 100 kilowatt motor is well up to the job in local traffic. Its compact size makes urban driving rather stress-free.

At under 30kmh, it makes a very audible motor sound, probably intended to alert other road users. Beyond that, it is a silent performer.

Its off-the-line sprint feels brisk. With 240Nm of torque – 80Nm fewer than the C10 – the car effortlessly keeps up with traffic on the expressways.

By default, the motor’s energy recuperation setting is rather aggressive, slowing the car down markedly once the accelerator is eased. This can be adjusted by a few taps on the screen but it will always revert to this setting at every restart.

The trick is to programme the preferred regen, steering weight and throttle response settings into the customisable hotkey on the steering wheel.

The chassis is unabashedly tuned for comfort. The suspension soaks up the bumps well, but the steering does not have much feedback, which is similar to the C10. At times, small corrections are needed to stay in lane. To compensate, the car has a very zealous lane-centring function that will tug the car back in line.

Curiously, the rear tyres on the B10 are wider than the ones in front. It is a layout typically reserved for high-performance sports cars and unusual in a mass-market family car. Consequently, owners cannot rotate tyres front-to-back to extend their service life.

At 67.1kWh, the B10’s battery capacity is larger than the 60kWh or so among class rivals. Direct-current charging speed peaks at 178kW, which is above the norm and more than sufficient to take advantage of the existing charging network in Singapore and across the border. Fully charged, the B10 has a range of 469km – around 40km more than its rivals.

The average energy consumption achieved during the test drive was 12.9kWh/100km and a projected total range of just under 400km, which is class-competitive.

The B10 is clearly a competent entrant in Singapore’s congested compact electric crossover market.

But there is something else about the car that is not immediately obvious – its relative price to the C10.

Picking the B10 over the larger model saves between $12,000 and $17,000, depending on the applicable discounts. This translates to a difference of around $200 in monthly instalments.

For growing families needing maximum cabin space, the relatively modest premium for the larger car is easy to justify. For everyone else, the vote is for the more energy-efficient and city-friendly B10.

Leapmotor B10

Price: $215,999 with COE before applicable discounts
Motor: Permanent magnet synchronous with 67.1kWh lithium iron phosphate battery
Transmission: Single-speed, rear-wheel drive
Power: 100kW
Torque: 240Nm
0-100kmh: 10.6 seconds
Top speed: 170kmh
Power consumption: 15.3kWh/100km
Charging capacity: 11kW AC; 178kW DC
Range: 469km
Agent: Cycle & Carriage
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Comparable considerations

BYD Atto 3 Evo ($256,888 with COE before applicable discounts)

The king of the segment has just been gently updated with tweaks to the lights and bumpers, along with a larger infotainment screen. Otherwise, the Atto 3 is still the practical and sturdy benchmark.

MG S5 Luxury ($208,888 with COE before applicable discounts)

Very slightly shorter overall than the Leapmotor, the MG is a sharp drive. The user interface is less screen-centric, with enough physical switches to make the car more immediately intuitive.

Proton e.Mas 7 ($238,988 with COE before applicable discounts)

Closer in size and positioning to the larger Leapmotor C10, the Proton e.Mas 7 is spacious and an easy drive. It does not boast the same level of app connectivity as the Leapmotor, so there is no digital key to start the car, which may suit some drivers just fine.