They do blend in a bit, but you don’t have to be much of a car enthusiast to have noticed an influx of new Chinese brands entering the UK marketplace in recent years.
It’s hard to make a case for it being a bad thing, though. Sure, they might be a bit bland in terms of styling, and the majority are full EVs, but they’re selling well here because they offer superb value for money. And as we know, us Brits love value.
The latest Chinese car to land on my driveway has been the Leapmotor B10, a smallish SUV to rival the likes of Kia’s EV3, Volvo’s EX30, Jeep’s Avenger, and MG’s S5.
Sure, it’s not going to win any design awards, true to form, but the slim light bar on the front is mildly distinctive, and the side profile does have a whiff of Porsche Macan about it. Not that that’s necessarily a good thing, of course.
The interior is every bit as innocuous, too. There are acres of light-coloured “leather” in my test car, some sort-of-shiny silver bits of trim, and the now seemingly mandatory vast central display.
Like most cars, pretty much everything is in this display. And it works pretty well, but that’s no excuse to bury things like wing mirror adjustment and regen control in sub-menus. Minimalism can work, but there has to be some allowances made for practicality.
And practicality, it’s fair to say, is as good as it should be. Boot space is pretty good at 430 litres, and there’s generous space in the rear seats. There’s also a 25-litre “frunk” which adds some useful storage, along with various clever cubbies in the cabin.
True to the Chinese form, the added touches and standard equipment is what sets the Leapmotor B10 apart. It costs £29,995 which isn’t bad for an EV with 270 WLTP miles of range from a 67.1kWh battery, but it’s when you start adding options that it becomes properly appealing. And that’s because there aren’t any options.
It drives as well as you might expect, with soft suspension and predictable dynamics, but it’s an EV with 215bhp, so don’t go into it with any predispositions about excitement and you’ll probably quite like it.
There aren’t any trim levels, no boxes to tick beyond your paintjob, you just get all the trimmings. And that includes a panoramic roof, a beefy stereo, heated and ventilated seats, a powered tailgate, and smart alloy wheels.
Yes, there are rivals with more range and, yes, there are more interesting cars to drive and live with, but you can’t deny it’s a lot of car for the money.
The other thing you need to know about Leapmotor is it’s now majority-owned by the Stellantis group and that means, unlike many other Chinese brands you’ve never heard of, there’s a decent dealer network.
There are some of the usually annoyances from the built-in driver aids, and the lane-keep assist needs some work because it’s a bit grabby, but aside from these it’s hard to find things to dislike about the Leapmotor.
If you’re being particularly unkind, you could suggest there’s little to like about it, but then you’d just have to come back to how much you get for such an attractive price.
Because, when all’s said and done, most motorists just want something cheap, comfortable, and easy to live with. And on all those counts, the B10 definitely delivers.
