Quantum LEAP: The Leapmotor C10 REEV review

· The South African

Right, before we talk about the Leapmotor C10 REEV sitting in my driveway, we need a quick lesson. Pull up a chair. There will be no test afterward, but there might be a moment of genuine fascination. You’ve heard of hybrids or plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), but the Leapmotor C10 REEV is not one of those …

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Your typical hybrid has both an internal combustion engine (ICE) and an electric motor. And they can take turns doing the driving, like two colleagues sharing a desk. Often, they will combine their efforts and make for some pretty special performance. Either way, it’s a partnership, a marriage of convenience. Then there is the Leapmotor C10 REEV, which is a Range-Extender Electric Vehicle. Same ballpark but actually a completely different sport to a hybrid entirely …

LEAPMOTOR C10 REEV

The new Chinese SUV is peppered with plenty of slick European design cues. Image: Ray Leathern

What you need to cotton onto here, is that the Leapmotor C10 REEV only allows the electric motor to drive the wheels. Full stop. The 1.5-litre petrol engine is never invited to that party. Its sole job is to act as a generator. That’s right, it is a fuel-fed onboard power station that sits under the bonnet topping up the battery as you drive, extending your range like a well-trained butler. Pretty cool, eh? More about how it works later …

Because, for now, I’m distracted by the Leapmotor badge on the tailgate and I’m convinced I can make an anagram using all the letters. Come on, nine letters L-E-A-P-M-O-T-O-R. Can you come up with one? It’s a fun game to distract you from the fact that South African motorists were at the receiving end of a record-breaking fuel price increase this month (April 2026). R3.06 per litre, and R7.37 – R7.51 per litre for both grades of diesel, respectively. Worse still, preliminary estimates show even under-recoveries in May 2026 of R7.88 for petrol and R17.57 for diesel. So, now is definitely the time to investigate alternatives like the Leapmotor C10 REEV.

CLEVER LITTLE REEV

Imagine halving the number of times you need to visit a petrol forecourt? Well, it’s a reality with the C10 REEV. Image: Ray Leathern

For better or worse, this is the uneasy context in which the Leapmotor C10 REEV makes its entrance into South Africa. Price at R799 900 for the top-of-the-line Design model you see here, it genuinely is one of the cleverer ways to spend money on a family SUV right now. For those who don’t know, Leapmotor is a Chinese brand working under the mighty Stellantis Group. Think Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Citroen, etc … And they’ve been doing rather interesting things while everyone was watching the fuel price climb like a Proteas required run rate.

As mentioned, the electric motor solely responsible for propulsion makes 158 kW and 320 Nm of torque. That’s adequate by EV standards, but still plenty brisk enough to make a point at a traffic light when someone in an ageing German sedan gives you side-eye. The electric propulsion comes courtesy of 28.4-kWh battery, which, once again, isn’t particularly voluminous by pure EV standards. But that’s before you get to the impressive headline numbers.

WHY THE LEAPMOTOR C10 REEV?

You’re greeted with a simply, tech-filled, yet uncluttered cabin in the C10. Image: Ray Leathern

The electric-only range handles your daily commuting guilt-free and silently. Then, when you’re out on the open road, the 1.5-litre petrol engine is ready in reserve. It tops up the battery on longer runs without you ever having to stop somewhere to plug in or fill up with fuel. The claimed/combined cruising range is 970 km and it will bound to 100 km/h from standstill in just 8.5 seconds. That is, in fact, the entire plot of this movie.

During our week with the test unit, we drove well over 500 km and still had another 500 km ‘in the tank.’ During our time we consumed 7.0 l/100 km to keep the on-board battery happy. What’s interesting in a range extender is you have less control over the how and when it recharges. Of course, you can choose to drive smoothly, sedately and not floor the throttle everywhere. But when the ECU decides its petrol time, that’s that, engine revs rise till it’s satisfied.

THE LEAPMOTOR C10 REEV VERDICT

In the Middle East crisis, a range extender is a novel new approach to the family SUV. Image: Ray Leathern

Beyond all its technical gubbins, the Leapmotor C10 REEV is a brilliant, comfortable, tech-filled machine that’s great to spend time with. The Design trim brings a clean, modern interior, large central screen, decent materials and space for five passengers. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing it isn’t the tech, but rather brand awareness in South Africa. However, timing, as they say, is everything. And you can’t tell me the Leapmotor C10 REEV hasn’t arrived in the country at an inopportune time.

For now is the moment that South Africans’ relationship with the petrol pump has turned genuinely adversarial. As such, the Leapmotor C10 REEV offers a credible, practical sho’t left from that entanglement. Not a complete divorce, you see, but a firm renegotiation of terms. And as for that anagram of L-E-A-P-M-O-T-O-R? Turns out nine letters, and two Os, are absolutely brutal. The closest I got to something credible was T-R-A-M-P-O-L-E. It’s not a word. But I like it all the same.

THE FIGURES

  • Powertrain: Electric motor + 28.4 kWh battery and 1 499 cc 4-cyl petrol
  • Power: 158 kW, 320 Nm
  • Performance: 8.5 sec 0-100 km/h (claimed)
  • Economy: 7.0 l/100 km (tested), 5.6 l/100 km (claimed/combined)
  • Range: 970 km (claimed)
  • Tyres: Dunlop Sport Eco Maxx 255/55/R20
  • Price: R799 900

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