My wife sometimes has trouble remembering the colour of the car I am testing. But no trouble last week as my test car, the Leap B10, came in Purple.
Colour is always important when buying a new car, especially for first-time buyers who may have had a favourite colour in their mind for years.
According to Google, the colour purple is associated with a variety of meanings, including wisdom, creativity, royalty, power, ambition and luxury. It can also represent magic, extravagance, peace, pride, independence and wealth. Do you fit into any of those categories?
Leap is the latest Chinese brand to come to Ireland. It’s a company that was only founded in 2015 and didn’t sell its first car until 2019. Yet in six years it has already sold over one million cars worldwide.
The B10 is Leap’s third model to be introduced to Ireland, following on the T03 city car and C10 SUV. The B10 is a mid-sized SUV that is designed to be budget-friendly while still providing modern technology and a huge amount of interior space for five well-built passengers.
Leap say they expect their main competitors in the Irish market for their B10 will be the BYD Atto 2 and Kia’s Elroq, but it’s larger in all dimensions than both of those cars.
Later in the year, there will be a Hybrid version of the B10 and two more electric EV models, so by the end of 2026 Leap will have six cars on sale in Ireland.
Externally the car looks very solid. Inside you get a minimalistic look. The dash is dominated by a 14.6-inch display which works well. There are no old-style buttons on the dash. As mentioned earlier the interior is really spacious with plenty of leg and head room.
The boot is a decent size, officially 525 litres and you also get a Frunk at the front, which has 25 litres of space. And like their European counterparts, the Chinese don’t supply spare wheels either.
Prices start at €32,984 and the range in the small 56.2kWh battery is approximately 360km, while the larger 67.1kWh battery which I drove, should give you close to 430km with a full charge. It’s a fine spacious car with a good range and has a very competitive price.
Leapmotor now have seven dealers in Ireland: Bright Airside, Swords, Dublin; Bright Navan Road, Dublin; Dan Seaman Motors, Forge Hill, Cork; Fitzpatrick’s Garage, Naas; Greenhall Motors, Buttevant, Cork; Joe Norris Motors, Navan and Kennys, Tuam Road, Galway.
Apart from the Dawn Purple version I drove, other colours available are Night Blue, Metallic Black, Galaxy Silver, Light White and Tundra Grey.
Most new cars open when you approach with the fob in your pocket. However, Leap cars are opened by moving the fob card over part of the driver’s wing mirror. Don’t be caught out if you ask for a test drive and cannot figure how to get into the car. You might also have to ask where the small button is to open the boot.
James Brooks, who is the Opel MD in Ireland, is also overseeing the Leap segment in Gowans and he says that Leap will benefit from the reputation and experience of their extensive dealer network. James is encouraging Irish motorists to ‘Take the Leap’ and take a test drive in one of their new cars.
