This Cayenne-sized (& Cayenne-looking) Leapmotor C10 comes to Malaysia with an introductory price of RM 149,900.
As if there isn’t already enough choice currently for those in the market for an electric SUV over here, there is to now be just one more option in the form of the newly-launched Leapmotor C10. This particular local premiere offering from the Stellantis-partnered Chinese marque lands wearing a price tag of RM 159,900, but there is currently an introductory discount of RM 10,000 available for it from now till 30th November.
Now for those who are wondering how what exactly sets this C10 apart from a rather crowded field of competitors, one of its biggest USPs is that it is a fair bit bigger than the rest of its similarly-priced rivals. This almost D-segment SUV measures in at 4,739 millimetres long, 1,900 millimetres wide, 1,680 millimetres tall, with a wheelbase length of 2,825 millimetres, which hence puts it on par size-wise with the Tesla Model Y (which costs RM 25,000+ more).
Another one of the C10’s strong suit meanwhile comes from just the way it looks, which with its Cayenne-esque rump will most definitely one day see for someone to mistake this Chinese SUV as a Porsche at 50 paces. The face of this Leapmotor on the other hand does seem to have cribbed some design cues from this new EV-era of smart, while its standard set of 20-inch ‘Trident’ alloy wheels would looks not unlike what could be found on a Maserati.
Though there is funnily enough a good reason as to why those alloys might not be out of place on the C10, as it would also be remissed to mention here that Leapmotor is currently touting that this very SUV has benefited from ‘driving optimisation by Maserati’. Those expecting for the C10 to be a cut-price Levante Trofeo however will be somewhat disappointed here… but the 218 PS and 320 Nm of torque churned out from the single rear-mounted e-motor powering this sole variant available locally could nevertheless still squirt this 2-tonne behemoth from 0-100 km/h 7.5 seconds, and onto a top speed of 170 km/h.
Moving the conversation onto what powers the aforementioned e-motor now, the C10 packs a 69.9 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that supposedly sees for it to be capable of up to 424 km of WLTP-rated driving on a single charge. Charging though is unfortunately not to be this Leapmotor’s strongest suit, as it can only accept a (comparatively low) maximum of 84 kW and 6.6 kW of DC and AC charging power respectively.
Having said that, Leapmotor is still to be quoting for the C10 a relatively decent 30 to 80% top up time of just around 30 minutes at the maximum DC input. And with the maximum AC input meanwhile, the same recharge would take 6.1 hours to complete.
Finally onto the topic of its interior here, the C10 brings with it quite a sizeable standard equipment list to match its sizeable cabin space. Starting with the non-tech stuff first, Leapmotor is currently promoting for this e-SUV’s seats to be upholstered in a liquid-resistant and baby-friendly Oeko-Tex Standard 100 ‘silicone leather’ seat upholstery.
On the tech-ier side of things with the C10, found on the minimalist dashboard of this e-SUV are a 10.25-inch fully digital instrument cluster and 14.6-inch floating central infotainment screen. Now the latter display has been proclaimed by its makers as being virtually lag-free in its operation from utilising a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chipset, but this speed is all but naught for some buyers when knowing that it unfortunately does not feature Apple CarPlay or Android Auto integration.
The other tech toys worth highlighting with this C10 includes for it to feature a 12-speaker 840 W surround sound system with AI sound effect, dual-zone auto climate control system with PM 2.5 filtration, heated and ventilated powered front seats, a wireless phone charging pad, ambient lighting, and a mix of USB outlets including a pair of 60 W Type C ports. This Leapmotor e-SUV also nets a NFC card key, as well as a 2.1 m² panoramic glass roof with electric sunshade.
In terms of driving tech on the other hand, the C10 comes equipped with a 360º surround view camera and a Level 2 ADAS suite that brings with it adaptive cruise control, intelligent speed assist, traffic jam assist, forward collision warning, AEB, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist and emergency lane keeping. This e-SUV also packs within it 7 airbags, as well as the usual brace of passive safety features.
There are currently 4 exterior colour options for the C10: Glazed Green, Pearly White, Canopy Grey, or Tundra Grey, complemented by two interior colour choices: Criollo Brown (available only for Glazed Green) and Midnight Aurora. The warranty package is generous with a 6-year/150,000 km warranty on the vehicle, and an 8-year/150,000 km warranty for the battery.
Stellantis Malaysia will be spearheading the sales, distribution, and after-sales services for the C10 with 18 point-of-sales locations this year, and plans to add on 9 more in 2025. There will also be 16 authorised service centres by 2025, with six of these locations already scheduled to be operational by Q4, 2024.
