2027 Leapmotor B05 review

Leapmotor seems to get a little bit more interesting with each new-model launch in Australia.

The Chinese brand's debut model in 2024 was the C10, a frumpy-looking, forgettable mid-size electric SUV. But then it gained an extended-range electric (EREV) powertrain, something still quite rare in Australia, and was subsequently followed by the smarter-looking B10 small SUV, now also available with both EV and EREV powertrains.

Now, Leapmotor is entering the small car segment with the B05 electric hatch.

It may just be Leapmotor’s most attractive car yet, cutting a lower, sleeker European silhouette when most Chinese electric hatchbacks are variations on a tall, rounded, transport-pod theme.

By the way, the name’s B-ZERO-5, not B-O-5. It’s an unfortunate name, but it denotes the car’s position as a small model, alongside the B10 small SUV… and the B03X, which is smaller still because it’s called the A10 in China. Oh, and the B05 is called the Lafa5 in China.

Say what you will about rival BYD’s sea creature names, but they’re a lot easier to keep track of.

The Leapmotor B05 is one of the few small Chinese electric hatchbacks sold here with rear-wheel drive. With Leapmotor talking about 50:50 weight distribution and European suspension tuning conducted by its partner Stellantis, owner of brands such as Alfa Romeo, the B05 looks a bit more interesting on paper than its rivals.

But is it in reality?

How much does the Leapmotor B05 cost?

Leapmotor Australia has launched the B05 with special promotional pricing, with the base Style variant available for $35,990 drive-away until December 31, 2026.

More and more small Chinese electric hatchbacks are arriving in Australia, and the B05 isn't the price leader among them.

It undercuts the model it lines up with most closely on paper, the rear-wheel drive MG 4 EV Essence 64, which is priced at $39,990 drive-away.

However, these rear-drive hatches are undercut by front-wheel drive competitors, including the BYD Dolphin Essential (from $29,990 plus on-roads; currently being offered for $28,888 drive-away), the GAC Aion UT Premium ($31,990 plus ORCs), and MG's own MG 4 EV Urban (currently priced from $29,990 drive-away).

Lightning Yellow is the standard exterior paint finish, and personally I love it – instead of the bold yellows seen on many cars, it’s more of a pastel yellow that brings to mind lemon curd or cheesecake or banana cream pie. Great, now I’m hungry. The other, more boring exterior finishes cost an extra $990.

To see how the Leapmotor B05 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What is the Leapmotor B05 like on the inside?

If you’ve sat in a Leapmotor B10, you’ll find the B05 interior very familiar.

It’s all very 2026 Chinese, from the huge touchscreen to the complete lack of buttons to the two scroll wheels on the steering wheel.

If none of that is enough to turn you off, then read on.

While the larger C10’s dashboard is swathed in soft-touch plastic, it all looks like one big injection mould and it comes across as cheap. The B05 and B10 feature hard plastic dashboards, but they’re much more stylish than their big brother, while soft-touch trim can still be found on the doors. There's a choice of Light Grey or Shadow Grey interiors in the top-spec Design LR, but the base Style can only be had in dark grey.

Like the B10, the B05’s dashboard features unusual cutouts that seem like logical places to mount accessories, if only Leapmotor Australia had any to offer. Best check AliExpress or Temu instead.

Leapmotor persists with its awkward NFC card instead of a proper key fob, which means you need to unlock the car by tapping the card against the driver’s side exterior mirror and then start it by placing it on the centre console.

The good news is you can bypass this tedious process entirely by using your phone as a key via the Leapmotor app, and by programming a four-digit PIN to enter when you want to start the vehicle.

You can also share digital key access with others, and if you have a teen driver – or somebody else you don’t trust – you can set up alerts so you’re notified if the vehicle leaves a geofenced area or exceeds a set speed limit.

The centrepiece of the cabin is a huge 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen running Leapmotor OS 4.0+, which features a row of anchored buttons along the bottom for functions such as temperature adjustment and the demister. There are also shortcuts across the top, as well as a customisable shortcut menu accessed by swiping down from the top of the screen.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have wireless connectivity, and we had no issues with the latter; the split-screen functionality also works excellently on this size of screen.

The infotainment system isn’t perfect. We noticed a little lag in our tester, for example, while the camera quality isn’t the best among the Chinese brands. There's over-the-air update capability, though naturally this can only make fixes to software and not hardware.

There’s a lot of clever software in this car. For example, you can automate routines, such as having the heated front seats come on whenever the temperature drops below a certain level. There’s also a 360-degree dashcam function that captures footage from the surround-view camera system, which can be saved to a USB drive.

Guard Mode is Leapmotor’s version of the pet mode found in other brands, and keeps the air-conditioning on while displaying a message on the touchscreen. Camp Mode keeps the air-conditioning, USBs and vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality on, even when the car is locked.

A simple, 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster sits ahead of the driver, displaying key information like speed, energy consumption and remaining range. There’s no head-up display.

You’ll find a USB-A outlet for smartphone mirroring, plus a USB-C charging outlet, awkwardly positioned on the second level of the centre console facing the front of the vehicle.

An air-cooled 50W wireless phone charger is conveniently located at the base of the centre stack, next to a pair of cupholders.

The entry-level Style – which wasn't available to drive at the launch drive – features cloth seat trim, but the Design LR upgrades to what Leapmotor calls ‘TechnoLeather’. That sounds like a niche dance event, but it just means synthetic leather upholstery.

The TechnoLeather-upholstered seats are comfortable, though there’s only heating – and no ventilation – for the seats up front. The seats proved supportive in more spirited driving, but they still have the cushy, comfortable feel Chinese seats are known for.

In the Design LR, there’s also a fixed panoramic glass roof with a sunshade, but of course there’s no button for this – you need to use the touchscreen or voice assistant instead.

Leapmotor claims there’s a total of 25 storage spaces in the B05 cabin, including a well-sized storage cubby at the rear of the centre console that can even be used as a tissue dispenser if you fit the right size of box.

We didn’t play Count von Count and go looking for all 25 storage spaces but you should probably find them and memorise them, lest your children go hiding any food in them for you to find much, much later…

Rear-seat legroom is good for this class of car, and at 180cm tall I could sit comfortably behind my own driver's seat position, though toe-room can be constricted depending on the position of the front seats.

The B05's dedicated EV platform means there’s no centre driveline hump and therefore a flat floor – good news for a centre-seat occupant.

As for headroom, it’s plenty comfortable for someone 180cm tall. There are air vents and map pockets back here, plus a fold-down centre armrest with cupholders and both USB-A and USB-C outlets.

The B05 has 357L of boot space, and a two-level boot floor. This gives you a spot to put the standard Mode 2 and Mode 3 charging cables, as there’s no storage space (aka frunk) under the bonnet.

Another thing we must ding the B05 for is the lack of a rear wiper, which we were keenly aware of when the heavens opened during our launch drive.

To see how the Leapmotor B05 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What's under the bonnet?

All B05s in Australia feature a single-motor rear-wheel drive electric powertrain with 160kW of power and 240Nm of torque, but there's a choice of two different batteries.

We observed energy consumption of 14.6kWh/100km across the launch test route, which consisted primarily of high-speed rural roads.

The B05's range figures stack up well in the segment. Its most direct rival, the MG 4 EV Essence 64, has 452km of WLTP range, which puts it neatly between the B05 Style and Design LR.

To see how the Leapmotor B05 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How does the Leapmotor B05 drive?

The Leapmotor B05 is a generally nice car to drive, but it has two key issues. While they’re separate issues, they both revolve around how the steering feels.

In short, the steering communicates too much when you don’t want it to, and too little when you do want it to.

This small hatchback boasts a solid ride and handling balance, but is let down by steering that’s lacking in feel when you take it on a more challenging drive than the daily highway commute.

It’s telling that all the cars at the launch were toggled to the Sport steering mode, which at least dials in more extra artificial weight than the other two modes. But the steering, while acceptably weighted in Sport mode, communicates little of what’s going on underneath.

If there wasn’t all this talk of European tuning and 50:50 weight distribution, this lack of steering nous would be more forgivable. However, Leapmotor is pitching this as less of a transportation pod and more as a fun-to-drive hatchback.

And indeed, it’s a tidy handler, with a composed feel through winding roads and good body control. Grip proved good from the Hankook tyres, including when a deluge of rain fell on our test route.

Ride comfort is good, too – it’s on the firmer side, but across some rougher rural roads the B05 performed admirably at keeping impacts from reverberating throughout the cabin.

It does feel more grand tourer than hot hatch, despite what’s on the spec sheet. But that’s no bad thing, as it’s comfortable to drive and doesn’t fall over in corners. We just wish the steering provided a better connection between you and the vehicle.

As for the other steering issue, it’s the incessant tugging of the lane-keep assist.

It’s often the case with Chinese cars – the active safety and driver-assist technology lets the game down.

Of all the B05’s safety features, it’s the lane-keep assist that aggravates the most. It’s simply far too sensitive, chiming incessantly even when you’re within the lane markings.

Our first attempt at turning it off saw it turn immediately back on while we were still in the settings menu, which reminded us of HAL 9000. “I’m sorry Will, I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

It turns out, it’s connected to the driver attention monitor, so you need to turn that off first. Oh, but turning off the driver attention monitor doesn’t stop pop-ups from appearing on the touchscreen warning that your attention has been diverted. The system, therefore, remains annoying, just slightly less so.

On a couple of occasions we also had a warning pop up advising us to fasten the driver’s seatbelt correctly, even though it already was. The only way to stop that annoying chime was to unbuckle our seatbelt and then re-buckle it. Leapmotor says this issue is being fixed, which is good because it’s bloody annoying and we could see drivers potentially unbuckling their seatbelt while still driving just to shut up this alert.

Leapmotor has provided a clever solution to customising the B05. Instead of doing the awkward jumping through touchscreen menus every time you start the car to turn off various features, you can simply program a driver profile, assigning your preferred setting for the various features – even if this means switching them off.

This profile can in turn be accessed via two presses of the left-hand steering wheel roller. It’s pretty quick and painless, and just requires you to spend a few minutes when you first buy the car to tailor these settings. You can even set up different settings for different users of the vehicle.

Would it be better if all these systems were simply programmed appropriately to begin with? Yes. It’s also entirely possible Leapmotor could fix some of these gripes with future over-the-air updates. However, this programmable profile function is an acceptable solution to the problem.

To see how the Leapmotor B05 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

There are two trim levels in Australia.

2027 Leapmotor B05 Style equipment highlights:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Tyre inflator kit
• Launch control
• Automatic LED headlights
• Automatic high-beam
• NFC and Bluetooth key entry
• 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster
• 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Satellite navigation
• DAB+ digital radio
• Integrated surround-view dashcam recorder
• Over-the-air software updates
• Wireless phone charger
• 6-speaker sound system
• Cloth upholstery
• Automatic climate control
• Rear cargo blind
• In-vehicle Wi-Fi
• Leapmotor Connected Services, including remote climate control, vehicle status and location monitoring

Lepmotor B05 Design LR adds:

• Fixed panoramic glass roof with power sunshade
• Power-folding exterior mirrors
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Rear privacy glass
• TechnoLeather upholstery
• 6-way power driver's seat
• 4-way power passenger seat
• Heated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• 12-speaker sound system
• Rear centre armrest with cupholders
• Multi-colour ambient lighting

Is the Leapmotor B05 safe?

The Leapmotor B05 has a five-star rating from independent safety authority ANCAP, based on testing conducted in 2026 against the latest, strictest protocols.

Leapmotor says the B05 has the most ADAS (advanced driver-assistance systems) of any of its models to date, with 21. Instruction videos for each can be viewed on the touchscreen.

Standard safety equipment includes:

• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver attention monitoring
• Front cross-traffic assist
• Intelligent speed limit assist
• Lane-keep assist
• Emergency lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic assist
• Surround-view camera with transparent chassis view
• Rear parking sensors
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Front, front-side, curtain, and far-side airbags

How much does the Leapmotor B05 cost to run?

Leapmotor offers eight years of capped-price servicing, with services costing between $215 and $470. It says every second service is more expensive because battery fluids need to be changed.

To see how the Leapmotor B05 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the Leapmotor B05

SUVs may significantly outsell passenger cars, but the small electric hatchback segment is getting increasingly competitive.

The Leapmotor B05 has an uphill climb in Australia. While other Chinese brands like Geely have become juggernauts seemingly overnight, Leapmotor's sales volumes remain significantly lower.

That's despite each new model being not only more interesting than the last, but more compelling to boot.

The B10 is a smart small SUV, but if you can forego its higher seating position and upright body, the B05 makes for an intriguing choice for a small EV.

Its rear-wheel drive layout and European-like design call to mind the MG 4 EV, though it's not quite as entertaining to drive, while its driver-assist systems still need work and there's a frustrating lack of physical switchgear – both complaints we can lob at almost every other Chinese car on the market.

There are cheaper electric hatchbacks from other Chinese brands, and the B05's steering stops it from living up to its potential as a more European-tuned alternative to the rather bland commuter cars that dominate this segment.

Nevertheless, the B05 is Leapmotor's most compelling car yet in Australia, and gives us hope for what's to come.

Interested in buying a Leapmotor B05? Let CarExpert find you the best deal here

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MORE: Explore the Leapmotor B05 showroom