Leapmotor T03... am I the only one?
Discussion
Yes, it's the update you've all really been waiting for on Pistonheads:
Repeat after me, class: "nothing has broken or fallen off"
But, for the vanishing small number of readers who are interested in this clever car, here's an update on the range now that better weather is here.
The official range is quoted at 165 miles. Autocar said they only managed 120 - goodness knows how they managed that, since many other journalists managed considerably more that that, they must have hammered the thing.
My last few charges to 100% have shown a range of 193 miles, and some owners have reported 200 miles. Would you actually get that? Well since EVs are most efficient around town, you might manage close to that if that's your regular motoring. Mines a mix of town and dual carriageway, so I average 5.3 mpKwh, however this last few days the car has managed an amazing 7.2 mpKwh!
If you read the reviews for the latest Citroen E3 electric car, it gets nothing like these figures, and many much larger and considerably more expensive cars aren't much better.
How often do I charge to 100%, and how far do I go on a charge? Generally, I charge to 100% all the time. This is because it's an LFP battery, much more tolerant of full charging than NMC batteries. Whilst it's generally not a good idea to sit at 100% even with an LFP battery, all my charging is done away from home, so driving home brings it down from a full charge anyway. Also, I use my car most days, so it's never sitting too long fully charged.
How far do I go on a charge? I've no idea - I don't really pay attention. I just put juice in it whenever it wants it, or whenever it's parked near a convenient charger. Charging and range anxiety are just not an issue, you learn to incorporate charging into other daily things. At the shops? Just plug it in while it's parked. At the gym? Just plug it in whilst you're on the treadmill. Coffee with friends? Just plug it in whilst chatting over your machiato. If I know I'm going to visit where one of the cheapest chargers I use is located, I'll run the battery down to about 30% - it will cost about £6 to fill it to 100%. Charging really just becomes an unnoticed part of life, and not a chore.
The adventure with this remarkable little car continues!
Repeat after me, class: "nothing has broken or fallen off"
But, for the vanishing small number of readers who are interested in this clever car, here's an update on the range now that better weather is here.
The official range is quoted at 165 miles. Autocar said they only managed 120 - goodness knows how they managed that, since many other journalists managed considerably more that that, they must have hammered the thing.
My last few charges to 100% have shown a range of 193 miles, and some owners have reported 200 miles. Would you actually get that? Well since EVs are most efficient around town, you might manage close to that if that's your regular motoring. Mines a mix of town and dual carriageway, so I average 5.3 mpKwh, however this last few days the car has managed an amazing 7.2 mpKwh!
If you read the reviews for the latest Citroen E3 electric car, it gets nothing like these figures, and many much larger and considerably more expensive cars aren't much better.
How often do I charge to 100%, and how far do I go on a charge? Generally, I charge to 100% all the time. This is because it's an LFP battery, much more tolerant of full charging than NMC batteries. Whilst it's generally not a good idea to sit at 100% even with an LFP battery, all my charging is done away from home, so driving home brings it down from a full charge anyway. Also, I use my car most days, so it's never sitting too long fully charged.
How far do I go on a charge? I've no idea - I don't really pay attention. I just put juice in it whenever it wants it, or whenever it's parked near a convenient charger. Charging and range anxiety are just not an issue, you learn to incorporate charging into other daily things. At the shops? Just plug it in while it's parked. At the gym? Just plug it in whilst you're on the treadmill. Coffee with friends? Just plug it in whilst chatting over your machiato. If I know I'm going to visit where one of the cheapest chargers I use is located, I'll run the battery down to about 30% - it will cost about £6 to fill it to 100%. Charging really just becomes an unnoticed part of life, and not a chore.
The adventure with this remarkable little car continues!
Puzzles said:
Interesting to read. Are they part of a larger group?
I might be mistaken but I think one took over the Renault dealership building near me.
They are part owned by stellantis and are utilising the stellantis&me dealers I might be mistaken but I think one took over the Renault dealership building near me.
I’m not a massive fan of the T03 but the rest of the range looks quite smart. I think Leapmotor will be one of this brands that doesn’t shout but will quietly gain ground.
Their B05 golf rival due next year looks good and the 2 SUVs they do are good value
SteBrown91 said:
They are part owned by stellantis and are utilising the stellantis&me dealers
I m not a massive fan of the T03 but the rest of the range looks quite smart. I think Leapmotor will be one of this brands that doesn t shout but will quietly gain ground.
Their B05 golf rival due next year looks good and the 2 SUVs they do are good value
Ah that makes complete sense I m not a massive fan of the T03 but the rest of the range looks quite smart. I think Leapmotor will be one of this brands that doesn t shout but will quietly gain ground.
Their B05 golf rival due next year looks good and the 2 SUVs they do are good value
All together class, "nothing has broken or fallen off..."
At nearly 5000 miles in 6 months, I've used it far more than I thought I would! It's still running well.
Any drawbacks? I'd say the ride is a bit crashy at times, but then, because the car is so capable you have to keep reminding yourself that it's a small car, and small cars usually have busy rides, so I suppose it's the same as other cars. But a smoother ride would be nice.
The lack of Android auto is a big deal for many, but not for me - the satnav is good, and Bluetooth works well for phone and music.
I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens but every car has them, this car's isn't the worst of its type. But more switches would be nice.
And slightly wider seat bases would be nice, if, like me, your own er...rear is wider than average!
Other than that... whooosh!
At nearly 5000 miles in 6 months, I've used it far more than I thought I would! It's still running well.
Any drawbacks? I'd say the ride is a bit crashy at times, but then, because the car is so capable you have to keep reminding yourself that it's a small car, and small cars usually have busy rides, so I suppose it's the same as other cars. But a smoother ride would be nice.
The lack of Android auto is a big deal for many, but not for me - the satnav is good, and Bluetooth works well for phone and music.
I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens but every car has them, this car's isn't the worst of its type. But more switches would be nice.
And slightly wider seat bases would be nice, if, like me, your own er...rear is wider than average!
Other than that... whooosh!
Thanks for keeping the updates coming.
The efficiency figures are pretty amazing.
Any signs of wear and tear? I had an mg4 on lease and generally good build quality, but cheap carpets got scruffier than I would have hoped after a couple of years. Got a few stone chips too but no worse than anything else, and as it had over 400bhp it didn't hang around so hardly surprising
The efficiency figures are pretty amazing.
Any signs of wear and tear? I had an mg4 on lease and generally good build quality, but cheap carpets got scruffier than I would have hoped after a couple of years. Got a few stone chips too but no worse than anything else, and as it had over 400bhp it didn't hang around so hardly surprising
Edited by drgoatboy on Friday 15th May 14:05
drgoatboy said:
Thanks for keeping the updates coming.
The efficiency figures are pretty amazing.
Any signs of wear and tear? I had an mg4 on lease and generally good build quality, but cheap carpets got scruffier than I would have hoped after a couple of years. Got a few stone chips too but no worse than anything else, and as it had over 400bhp it didn't hang around so hardly surprising
I've had floor mats and seat covers on from new, to protect them so hopefully still good. It's a cheap car of course, but the fabric seats look well made. The efficiency figures are pretty amazing.
Any signs of wear and tear? I had an mg4 on lease and generally good build quality, but cheap carpets got scruffier than I would have hoped after a couple of years. Got a few stone chips too but no worse than anything else, and as it had over 400bhp it didn't hang around so hardly surprising
Edited by drgoatboy on Friday 15th May 14:05
The car still looks like new, paintwork looks good. Time will tell how everything ages, but when you think back to the horrors of Austin Metro's etc, I don't think quality could be any worse than those days.
How the car will age underneath though, for example, in the longer term remains to be seen - were I the legal owner I'd be tempted to do some preventative rust proofing - the car is built to a price. Be interesting to see what they are like 5/6 years down the line.
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Trundling along continues without drama, which I'm mighty happy about. 100% trouble free? Almost...
The car lost it's ability to make phone calls, so the 12v battery was disconnected for a few minutes to reset everything, and it was back to normal after that. I'll live with that...
I've just been away visiting friends, the car managed 155 miles on a mixture of dual carriageway and fast A roads, including some steep hill climbing over the Dales. Given the official range is 165 miles, and that EV's are less efficient at higher speeds, I'd say that was a good result. Given that it equates to about 2.5 hours of driving, at which point I'd be stopping for a coffee/loo break anyway, the need to recharge the car at that point is hardly an issue. Fir those that wonder, it took about 50 minutes for a full charge charge to 100% - not lightening speed for sure, the cars "fast" charging speed is only 50 kWh, but hardly terrible on the occasional longer trip. Locally, I never run the battery that low on a daily basis.
Surprise and delight features? The ability, in this hot weather, to use the phone app to instruct the car to start the Aircon a few min before you get inside - lovely!
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