Leapmotor, Stellantis’s big-value Chinese brand that’s sold by Vauxhall, Citroen and Fiat dealers, has revealed the B03, a new small electric hatchback with a maximum claimed range of 242 miles and an interior that’s designed to take much more than just the weekly shopping.
Think theatre-style flip-up rear seats, a front passenger seat that folds flat and a separate box for wet and muddy kit and you can see why Leapmotor’s clever thinking is already going down well with UK buyers.
This latest model is due on sale in the UK in early 2027 and the B03 will follow the company’s usual approach of offering one trim level rather than a menu of different versions and myriad options. So heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, an efficiency-boosting heat pump and a 360-degree parking camera will all be standard.
The B03 shares its basic underpinnings with the B03X crossover which I drove recently, although this time the body is a conventional hatchback rather than an SUV. At 4,175mm long, 1,790mm wide and 1,550mm tall, the B03 is relatively compact, but with decent room inside. It gets a two-tone roof, slim LED headlights and rear lights that Leapmotor describes as emoji-like.
Inside, the main story is what you can do with the space. The rear seat bases flip upwards to make room for taller loads behind the front seats (something Honda pioneered some years ago with the Jazz), and apparently, you could then fit a bike behind the front seats. Of course, the seats have a catchy name – LeapFlex – the arrangement gives owners an alternative to simply folding the backrests down and loading things through the boot.
You can do that, too, with the rear seatbacks folding flush with the floor, while the front passenger seat also folds flat for longer items up to 2,470mm long. The driver’s seat can also recline to 149 degrees when it’s time for a break.
The boot holds a decent 405 litres with the rear seats in place, rising to 1,305 litres when they’re folded, making it roomier than a Vauxhall Corsa. The B3’s boot floor can sit at two heights, too, or it can be removed and stowed away to free up the full height of the luggage compartment.
Then there’s a Leap Box (of course there is!), a 90-litre compartment beneath the boot floor with an easy-clean finish for muddy or wet things. The cabin also has 30 storage spaces in total, spread across the centre console, doors, seats and boot.
Underneath it all sits a 53kWh battery, built into the car’s structure to help free up interior space. The battery not only delivers the 242-mile maximum claimed range, but rapid charging at an impressive 133kW can take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in a claimed 21 minutes. Starting at 30 per cent reduces that to 16 minutes – not bad stats for a small, affordable supermini.
The B03 can also supply power to electrical kit through its 230V vehicle-to-load system, while the standard heat pump uses waste heat from the battery to help warm the cabin and improve efficiency.
A 194bhp front-mounted motor drives the front wheels, with 0-62mph in a brisk 7.6 seconds and a top speed of 101mph. Comfort, Standard and Sport driving modes alter the acceleration response, steering feel and the amount of braking used to recover energy – of course, you select them through the central screen.
That screen measures 14.6 inches and it’s paired with an 8.8-inch digital display ahead of the driver. The bigger screen can show two apps at once, so navigation and media don’t have to take turns, while there’s also ‘Hey Leap’ voice control for accessing functions without working through the menus.
Owners can also use the Leapmotor app to schedule charging, pre-heat the battery and switch on the air conditioning remotely. A new physical key allows keyless entry and starting without taking it out of your pocket, alongside the option of using your phone to unlock the car.
The cabin has a few less obvious details, too. Patterns on the seats, trim panels and speaker grilles are inspired by Morse code – I’ve no idea why – while images of Leapmotor’s Leapy mascot are hidden away on some surfaces and in storage areas. There’s more fun to be had with ambient lighting that can pulse away, disco-style, to your music or provide alerts linked to parking sensors and door-opening warnings.
Standard equipment is generous and includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic lights and wipers, heated folding door mirrors and an electrically adjustable driver’s seat. Synthetic leather upholstery comes in black, with grey available at no extra cost. The five paint finishes are Light White, Sunstone Orange, Seaweed Green, Galaxy Silver and Sandstone.
There’s plenty of safety kit, too, with seven airbags and 21 driver-assistance systems, supported by 14 sensors and cameras. These include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and a system that can brake for approaching traffic while reversing. Door-opening warnings alert occupants about to get out of the car of approaching vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians. There’s also an automatic lane-change function with the adaptive cruise control, which is activated using the indicator when conditions allow, plus reminders to keep your hands on the wheel when using cruise control or lane-keeping assistance.
The B03’s arrival will follow another expansion of Leapmotor’s UK dealer network. The business, part of the Stellantis-led Leapmotor International joint venture, began operating here in March 2025 and now has more than 90 retailers. It plans to take that beyond 100 by the end of 2026.
Sign up to Steve Fowler’s weekly DriveSmart newsletter for all the latest car news, reviews and insider tips
Read MoreIconic Citroën 2CV is back as a cut-price EV - complete with roll-back roof and egg storage
I drove VW's marvellous new electric Tiguan - with one key issue
Vauxhall is reinventing the estate car and it's great news for dogs
Fiat introduces clever new watermelon car that switches from a people carrier to a pick-up
Peugeot goes back to the 80s with concept car that previews the new 208
Smart revives tiny two-seat city car from the nineties
BYD unveils seven-seater EV that charges in just nine minutes
