: Matt Vosper In summary, the Omoda E5 has a decent enough specification and is not completely unattractive. The seven-year warranty and keen pricing, along with an extensive UK dealership, will hook more than a few in. But the car feels strangely like the Eric Morecambe line from the 1971 sketch with André Previn: “I’m playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order.” Leapmotor C10 Along with the T03 small electric car, this £36,660 family SUV was launched in Italy recently. It’s slightly longer than the Omoda, but such small distinctions put it into a different order of family SUV, competing with such cars as Tesla’s £44,990 Model Y, last year’s worldwide best-selling car. Other rivals include the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which starts at £43,330, Skoda Enyaq at £36,970 and the £42,860 Toyota bZ4X. At £36,660, this family SUV is cheaper than rivals made by Tesla and Ford Leapmotor was formed in 2015 and produced its first car in 2019. Founded by Zhu Jiangming, an electrical engineer, the company specialises in integrated manufacturing (it makes 60 per cent of the T03) and naked ambition; it has plans for a five-model range and sales of 250,000 this year. In 2023, Stellantis purchased a €1.5 billion, 20 per cent share in Leapmotor. Together, the two companies have a half share each (Stellantis has 51 per cent) in Leapmotor International, a joint venture which is responsible for design and manufacturing outside of China. The C10 is one of its first models in the market and marks the company’s first use of its own EV chassis/floorpan – which features cell-to-chassis technology, which saves weight and build costs. There’s only one drivetrain, a rear-drive, 215bhp/236lb ft motor powered by a 70kWh LFP battery. The top speed is 106 mph with 0-62 mph in 7.2 seconds and a range of 262 miles, which means a low-to-middling efficiency of 3.1miles per kWh, a bit less than rivals such as the 283 mile range Tesla. Similarly, the maximum fast charging is only 84kW, which means a 10-80 per cent recharge will take 40 minutes, far slower than the Tesla (which will accept 250kW) while also slower than European and Japanese rivals. The operating system is only 400 volts, although Leapmotor’s jam-tomorrow-packed presentation majored on the over-the-air update potential, implying it could have up to 800-volt capability soon, which would speed the rate of charge of the battery. To look at; it’s not exactly distinctive. But the window line and front end are attractive and the whole is reminiscent of the Kia EV9, if not as standout as that car. Colours other than white help in this respect and I’d go as far to say it’s more of a looker than the Tesla. The Leapmotor has an attractive front but is hardly distinctive; resembling the Kia EV9 Inside, you can see what they were getting at with a sparse, Tesla-like feel, particularly the facia. As with the Omoda, almost everything is controlled by the touchscreen including: adjustment of the steering-wheel position and power assistance; door mirrors; heater and air-con; and other functions, which require several keystrokes to access. The regenerative braking has several settings including “one-pedal” driving – but they, too, are hidden in a sub-menu which you can’t get to unless stationary in Park. It’s all very frustrating and very typically Chinese, where high tech novelty is considered a premium quality. There is a voice-control option, but it didn’t seem to understand a word I said. An illustration of the frustrating muddle-headed choices made by Leapmotor designers is that it took only two finger stabs to call up the excruciating 256 colours for the interior ambient lighting, but four to turn on the foglights… The interior is functional, but a bit cheap in the materials even in the top model Design trim, which is the only version offered in the UK. I thought the artificial leather wasn’t nice to touch, the seats were uncomfortable with poor lumbar support and the synthetic felt in the door trims was horrible. The lack of grab handles in the ceiling seemed a strange omission in a car which was continually compared with expensive German rivals. Useful, however, is the ability to fold the front seat flat to fit in super-long loads. The Leapmotor suffers from cheap materials; artificial leather that isn’t nice to touch and uncomfortable seats with poor lumbar support Credit