2026 Leapmotor C10 Owner Review2025 Leapmotor C10 Design owner review

Have you experienced any reliability issues with your vehicle since you purchased it?

Yes. The 12V auxiliary battery failed at 20,000km. According to the RACV roadside assist mechanic, it is a common fault amongst hybrids, and he recommended getting an Australian-made Century battery fitted.

Since then, we've had no further issues. The battery was changed under warranty; apparently, one cell had collapsed.

Have you had to make any warranty claims?

Yes. As above, it was a failure of the 12V auxiliary battery. As part of the changeover, LM Caroline Springs also did a full diagnostic on the vehicle's ICE motor and hybrid battery to ensure there was no underlying electrical system fault.

The dealership and LM customer care were excellent to deal with; in addition to working on the car, they arranged overnight accommodation and a loan car at their cost.

Has your vehicle been serviced at least once since you took ownership?

Yes. We've had two services completed, one at 10,000 and the second at 19,500, as initially services were to be done at 10,000 or 12 months.

But after pointing out that the kilometres displayed only related to overall distance covered, whilst the ICE had only done less than half that distance, LM have now amended the hybrid's service schedule to match the BEV version's service schedule of 20,000 or 12 months. My next service is now set for 40,000, probably in another two months' time.

Overall, are you satisfied with your ownership experience so far?

Yes. Apart from the initial ADAS settings, which have now been sorted via three OTA updates, we have been extremely happy with our choice.

LM are very responsive to complaints/suggestions regarding how to improve the cars. In my case, slowing as the car approaches bends on highways.

The local CEO and head tech met up with me and came for a drive. Not long afterwards, an OTA amended the settings and negated the severity of that system.

The car is a joy to drive and is great fun to push into corners and accelerate out of, much like my previous Audi Q7.

For some, the suspension settings may be a touch firm, but I've always built or purchased cars to drive rather than just steer.

If I purchase again, I see no reason to change brands, but more power and AWD would be nice. The next model of the C10 has 220kW, and the AWD version has 440kW, but both of these are full EV, which at the present time wouldn't suit our needs.

David’s experience with the 2025 Leapmotor C10 Design

If you're like me and struggle to switch on a computer, let alone use one, the move to a screen-heavy car is a big step, but I found with 30 minutes of tutorial by the dealer, I was comfortable driving home.

Over the next couple of weeks, all the little changes to settings, etc., fell into place and with the three OTA updates; it's rare I need to change anything but the HVAC settings.

All regular use settings, such as phone, music, heating, maps, etc., are on permanent display at the bottom of the centre screen, and driver settings such as EV or engine settings, screen configuration, etc., are all on a drop-down menu at the top of the screen.

The car is very comfortable, it was the only one of all the cars in the mid SUV size and priced around the $50K mark that I could get the seat back far enough, and I was able to lie down in the back if we went away and slept in the car.

After 12 months and more than 33,000km, the car is still squeak-free, and I love the chance to drive it. At the time, it was the only Chinese car l tested that was sure-footed at highway speeds or on winding or dirt roads and able to tow. Even with over a tonne behind it, there's no real loss of power.

The Dunlop Esport tyres have proven to be very good under all conditions, albeit now they're worn down a bit, they are quite noisy on rough, chipped tar roads otherwise, they are almost silent.

Performance is more than adequate for most drivers unless you run on pure EV and the battery gets below about 25 per cent. If I charge to 100 per cent and run the battery down to 10 per cent before engaging the motor I get between 110 and almost 140km out of the 28.4kWh battery.

On a recent 895-kilometre trip, with fuel at $2.50 a litre and power at 29c a kW, it cost me $78 for the trip.

The manufacturer recommends 91ULP, but I find using 98ULP reduces my fuel use by as much as two litres per 100km, with a low of 4.2 litres per 100km in ideal circumstances, and keeping the battery at over 30 per cent.

The other consideration is insurance costs, for me, on a rating one with only three claims in 50 years, it cost me $69 a month, cheaper than my previous Audi.

The couple of things l dont like about the car are the lack of a key fob, you either use a NFC card placed on the driverside mirror to unlock the car and into the phone charging slot to start it, or use the phone app to unlock/lock the car and a password to start it. LM are now rolling out a keyfob and will also provide one for previous C10s.

The other issue with the NFC or phone app is the charging cable; it locks in, and you need to either use the phone app or get into the car to unlock the cable, not much fun in pouring rain if you're not undercover.

The door handles, whilst sleek and recessed, can be awkward to use one-handed. A simple solution may be the provision of a handle attachment that is now available for Teslas, and is more reminiscent of a conventional door handle.

The only other real gripe is the HVAC system. It's overcomplicated, and on auto is not very adaptive to the temperature set. On a cold day, I'll set the temp to, say, 23 degrees, but it still pushes out cold air until I go into the system and switch on heating. In this day and age, the system should only need ventilation, recycling, and temperature settings, with the system reactive to the temperature set.

I've owned over 50 cars, from home-built street cars to Audis, BMWs, etc., and all setting the heating/cooling as per the temperature setting.

There are a couple of neat tricks up the car's sleeve too, like removing the front seat headrests, and the seats recline to make a 'bed', and you can set up a camp mode so that as you rest/sleep. The air-conditioning continues to keep the car at whatever temperature you set it for.

Some complain about it not having Apple CarPlay or Android Auto other than via a dongle or QD link. I originally set the car up for AA via dongle, but now don't bother. Spotify gives me the music I want, plus I can have either FM or DAB radio.

The next model is reported to have AA and CP along with an 800V architecture, thus making for a faster charge time. I rarely use public chargers, and in my purchase deal was supplied with a 7kW wall charger.

Like all cars, nothing is perfect, but for me the C10 REEV is as near as I can afford to perfection for our needs, and, apart from a more powerful version, or possibly getting the bigger D19 when it arrives here, I don't see myself changing cars or brands.

MORE: Explore the Leapmotor C10 showroom