The Leapmotor B05 electric hatchback will arrive in UK showrooms in July, priced from £28,995.
Undercutting the rival Cupra Born and Renault Megane, it offers an official range of 300 miles and can be charged at up to 174kW, giving a 30-80% refill time of 17 minutes.
It sends 215bhp and 177lb ft through its rear wheels for a competitive 0-62mph sprint time of 6.7sec.
The B05 will be offered in just one trim level, bringing a panoramic sunroof, 19in alloy wheels, electrically adjustable front seats and a 14.6in infotainment touchscreen that controls many key functions.
Autocar has already had an early taste of the B05 in its native China. Our first impressions can be read below:
Leapmotor B05: China's Golf shows signs of promise
In China, the Leapmotor B05 electric hatchback is called the Lafa 5 – the only model in the firm’s rapidly growing line-up with a ‘proper’ name. What pressing corporate strategy underpins that decision? Apparently company founder Jangling Zhu thought it sounded nice.
That’s according to Tianshu Xin, CEO of Leapmotor International, the joint venture with Stellantis that distributes the firm’s cars internationally. He says Zhu “wanted something different” because “this car is very sporty and aimed at different customers”.
Disappointingly, the Lafa 5 has been rebranded the B05 for international markets so that it fits more logically into the line-up alongside the similarly sized B10 SUV. Although 'B' is used by Leapmotor for what are traditionally C-segment models, so make of that what you will.
Regardless of its name, a short early taste of the B05 on a Chinese test track suggests Zhu is right that this is a different propositio from the firm’s other models – and one not without some appeal.
Measuring just under 4.5m long with a wheelbase of 2.7m, the B05 sits in classic Volkswagen Golf family hatchback territory – although as an EV with a rear-mounted motor powering the back axle, the Volkswagen ID 3 Neo is a more direct comparison.
But I mention the Golf because there are definite hints of Wolfsburg’s finest in the styling of the B05. No bad thing, I’d say. It’s actually quite pleasant up close and definitely not another generic Chinese offering.
The standard B05 is offered with a range of power outputs and battery sizes, although the UK will only take the most powerful version with the biggest battery. That means it will offer 215bhp of power, yielding a 0-62mph time of 6.7sec, with a 67.1kWh battery giving a range of 300 miles on the WLTP test cycle. Efficiency officially averages 3.91mpkWh and it can be fast charged at up to 170kW. That’s competitive for a car of this class.
