Leapmotor T03 review

At £15,995, there are precious few new cars being sold in the UK that undercut the T03. Hand over £199 and Leapmotor will lease you one for £199 per month over four years. Though if you can find £2,800 Dacia will lease you a Spring for £189 over the same period… oh how we love a price war.

How many people will be willing to take a chance – or as Leapmotor puts it, take a leap – on a little-known brand is another question. Understandably Leapmotor doesn’t have a sales target for the UK, it just wants to do what so many other Chinese start-ups haven’t: survive.

So what do I get for my pittance?

The T-nought-III rides on 15in aluminium alloys with skinny tyres, and comes with a two-tone finish as standard. Colour choices are Light White, Starry Silver and Glacier Blue. Though anything but white will set you back £650. A panoramic sunroof (surely in a city car it’s just… a sunroof?) lets a bit more light into the cabin.

The screens and multifunction steering wheel are coupled with 4G connectivity and Bluetooth to hook up your smartphone with, but this’ll be for media playback only. There are three driving modes – Standard, Sports and Eco – which adjust the regen and throttle response accordingly. Voice control also exists, though we’re yet to try it.

As discussed, there’s a handful of driver assist systems all competing for your attention (ugh). Namely lane departure warning, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, blind spot detection, and a system that’ll warn you about oncoming traffic when you open the door.

You also get rear parking sensors and a reversing camera, automatic air con, an electronic parking brake and keyless start (you just get in and the car is on immediately). The driver’s seat is manually adjustable six ways; the front passenger’s only four. Meanwhile the steering wheel is finished in synthetic leather. Mmm, rubbery.

Boring question: any warranty to speak ok?

Sure is. The warranty is four years, trumping Dacia’s standard three years, if not as lengthy as some manufacturers (Kia’s seven year deal springs to mind).

But Leapmotor reckons that if you’re buying it on lease (as it predicts most customers will), by the time the warranty runs out you’ll be handing the keys back anyway.