Whenever I see “EVs are expensive” I have one question:
How much you think a base model Dacia Sandero costs?
If you guess £15,715 OTR, you are most certainly correct! The days that a Sandero (with steel wheels mind you) was £6995 or £5995 are gone.
Sure, during that time, a Sandero had grey bumpers, no air conditioning, and maybe a couple airbags, this is how expensive cars have become.
Would you consider that expensive? I sure hope so, because the amount of commenters I see that say that “EVs are expensive” just haven’t seen what any car: petrol, diesel or battery electric, actually costs.
P.S as a bit of extra reading: search the list price of a base model 1.0L turbo petrol VW Golf is, and leave a comment in the video or below!
Introducing – The Leapmotor T03
This is one of the many vehicles from Chinese manufacturer Leapmotor – alongside the C10 (large SUV).
As of writing, there will also be a B10 smaller SUV and a B05 hatchback coming later in 2026 to rival cars such as the Vauxhall Astra and a replacement for my beloved Ioniq 38kWh
Specifications
At a Glance:
| Total Battery Capacity (kWh) | 37.3 |
| Available Battery Capacity (As Tested – kWh) | 37.8 |
| CCS Max Charge Speed (kW) | 48 |
| WLTP Combined Range (Miles / km) | 163 / 262 |
The T03 comes to the UK with a 37.3 kWh battery pack, which is rated for 163 miles WLTP combined. To put into context my first electric car, a Mk1 ZS EV, also had 163 miles of range, and that was also considered a good value EV back in 2019 (at £31,000 list price!), and now it is possible to get for less than £14,495 (I’ll explain this in a bit).
Equipment levels are excellent for the T03 at this price point:
- Infotainment screen (with the ability to add Android Auto and Apple Carplay with a dongle, which I have listed below, although disappointingly not available as standard currently.)
- Glass roof with electric sun blind – brilliant on a car of this size and price
- 15″ alloy wheels (no steel wheels!)
- Air conditioning (and yes, it does also have a heater, which was mentioned at EVs Up North by an interested passerby!)
Driving and Positives
I have to say, the comfort is a pleasant surprise. The seats are actually really comfortable (even though they don’t look like it) and have a great design that helps to brighten up what is otherwise a fairly functional, but well built cabin.
Another aspect that for the most part in town, it’s refined enough that it isn’t annoying. However, I want to say that outside of towns and cities, when you need to take this on a dual carriageway or motorway, it is not a pleasant experience.
Wind noise becomes very present, and overall vibration, especially on concrete roads (I’m looking at you A180 and A46!), is not particularly tolerable for long journeys.
Clearly however, if you are buying the UK’s cheapest car as a motorway cruiser, you need to do your homework again.
(I’ll help out: check out the BYD Seal Review or the Mustang Mach-E!)
The Insurance factor is definitely a huge bonus, particularly for newer drivers.
That low horsepower rating means the insurance quotes should be significantly more affordable, making this a genuinely attractive option for someone buying their very first car.
For context, I did an insurance quote assuming me (~mid 20s, employed, 20,000 miles per year), and my quote came to £301, whereas my Ioniq was £523 for the same.
A 1.0 petrol i10, which this is easily much worse as a car, was £292. I don’t expect this to change signficantly in terms of difference for a younger driver either.
Sure, objectively it is more, per year but I would absolutely rather have a T03 than a base spec Hyundai i10, of which it is just under £3000 more expensive to buy! That is (by my maths), 375 years of additional premiums.
Any Problems?
The Infotainment Software: few glitches that will hopefully be fixed via those Over-The-Air (OTA) software updates.
For starters, the navigation system was bizarrely defaulting to French, and now I know there is a Grimsby on the outskirts of Paris as a result.
Secondly, the T03 occasionally resets its settings, defaulting the speedometer and range back to kilometres. While you can easily switch it back, it’s pretty annoying.
On a related note, there is currently no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which is a huge miss in this day and age, though I suspect a software update is coming soon (the European variants have AA and Carplay), and you can buy this dongle (Affiliate Link) that works with both the T03 and C10 which suffers from the same problem.
Finally, there is a problem with the ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). Whenever the car detects a HGV as you are overtaking on ACC, it believes that the car is about to hit the HGV and slows down accordingly.
Obviously this is very annoying, and potentially quite dangerous. I have mentioned this to the dealer, and I expect a software update would repair this. As a fallback, you can select the regular cruise control, which is quite good as I don’t know of other cars that can switch between the two, and that is working fine.
FYI: this car that I had on test had ZERO updates to its software, and most issues (such as the mileage) I know had already been resolved.
Is it really £14,495?
This is where I have to be honest with you on pricing. Strictly speaking, you can find the OTR price of the T03, and you’ll find the price is £15,995.
However, zero people* (*I hope) have paid that price.
First of all, at the time of filming (make sure to check out Evans Halshaw Leapmotor Hull), you could get a PCP from £169 deposit and £169 a month. That is cheaper than an equivalent PCP from Dacia for the Sandero by quite a large margin.
Secondly, the actual OTR price had been reduced by the LEAP “Grant” which is supposed to be matching the current UK Government Grant. It’s currently available until the end of December 2025, however I expect Leapmotor to keep going but just hasn’t announced it.
This is a national deal as well, and therefore unlike local deals for a Sandero, this realistically means the T03 is, well and truly, £14,495 OTR.
The only way to increase the price is colour options, and frankly for the price of the whole car I wouldn’t bother!
So, Should You Buy One?
When you look at the figures, that advertised offer of just £169 deposit and £169 a month becomes the cheapest way for someone to get into a brand new car, not even an electric vehicle. If the absolute lowest monthly payment is your primary goal, this car should be at the top of your list.
It perfectly suits City/Local Drivers. Its great manoeuvrability, quick low-speed responsiveness, and decent efficiency make it ideal for running errands, popping to the shops, and doing the school run. That’s its comfort zone, and that’s where you’ll get the most range out of it.
If you want a second runabout car: t’s small, easy to park, and has two ISOFIX child seat points in the back. It’s an excellent, well-specced, and inexpensive electric second car that can handle all those short, local journeys without tying up the main family vehicle. Think the person who just needs the car to take the kids to school, or to the shops.
Also: First-Time EV Drivers: The initial cost, plus the fact that the low horsepower rating should keep insurance quotes down, makes it a sensible and appealing way to have a first car that doesn’t cost the earth, both financially or physically.
So there you have it: I was very impressed with the T03, and I think as long you temper your expectation of it being really for cities and town driving, I think you’ll be very surprised how capable the UK’s cheapest car can be.
Wishing you a happy day, every day!