Our opinion on the Leapmotor T03
With a wave of new brands coming to market in recent months, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. But the Leapmotor T03 manages to do so by being a small electric city car that’s packed with kit and all for a competitive price. It’s not without its flaws, but when it’s priced so low and features so much standard equipment, it’s easy to overlook the foibles of its intrusive safety systems and the frustrating infotainment touchscreen. The refined driving experience also goes a long way to making up for its shortcomings elsewhere.
About the Leapmotor T03
While Leapmotor is a relatively new brand to UK customers, it benefits from being a part of the wider Stellantis group, so it has piggybacked on sister brands to fast-track its UK dealer network, with around 80 franchises due to be open before the end of 2025.
The Leapmotor T03 is the smallest car that the company sells – it’s joined by the Leapmotor B10 and Leapmotor C10 electric SUVs in the line-up – and it’s also one of the cheapest cars currently for sale in the UK, with list prices starting from £16,000 before any discounts have been applied.
For the money you get a compact five-door city car with a four-seat interior, plus a long list of equipment. There’s just one model offered, but it comes with the sort of kit that you’d be happy to get in a car costing twice as much. There’s keyless entry, a panoramic glass roof, a reversing camera, a 10-inch touchscreen, a multifunction steering wheel and a host of safety systems.
We’ve put the Leapmotor T03 against the Dacia Spring in our real-world twin test, with the T03 coming out on top due to its greater refinement, long list of standard equipment, and superior interior packaging. However, we weren’t fans of its complicated infotainment system and over-zealous safety-assistance warnings. We also included it as part of our six car small EV range test, where the T03 got the closest to its official claimed range.
Leapmotor T03 prices and latest deals
While a £16,000 asking price is already impressive, there are even greater savings to be had courtesy of some competitive discounts that are on offer direct from Leapmotor. You can find out more about these via the Auto Express buy a car service.
Performance, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed
A single motor drives the front wheels in the T03, delivering a healthy output of 94bhp and 158Nm, which is pretty impressive for such a small car.
While those numbers comfortably out-punch the Dacia Spring, the Leapmotor does weigh more, too. At 1,175kg, its kerbweight is closer to most typical superminis than city cars, but it’s still significantly lighter than the majority of EVs on the market, which (as we’ll see later) bodes well for its efficiency.