Review: Leapmotor C10 Plus - the RM129k SUV that makes Malaysia's EV market look overpriced

Somewhere in the spec sheet of the Leapmotor C10 Plus is a number that changes how you read everything else about it: RM129,000.

Hold that figure in your head, because this is a D-segment sized SUV with an 81.9kWh battery, claimed 510km of WLTP range, 299 PS, and more rear legroom than some things with a chauffeur. On paper, the maths doesn't look legal.

The catch-hunting instinct kicks in immediately, and rightly so, because there are catches. But the two things that matter most in a family SUV, the way it drives and the way it swallows people, are exactly the two things this car gets right. Let's start there.

It drives properly, which nobody saw coming

Value for money EVs usually drive like appliances, competent in a straight line and completely uninterested beyond it. The C10 Plus doesn't. The rear-mounted motor's 299 PS and 360 Nm give it genuinely brisk pace, the kind that dispatches a lorry on the NKVE without drama, but the surprise is the chassis underneath.

The ride is settled where cheap EVs fidget. Road and wind noise are hushed to a level that some pricier rivals don't manage. Point it down a scruffy trunk road, the kind with patched tarmac and cambers that change their mind mid-corner, and it stays composed instead of crashing about.

Two tonnes of SUV shouldn't flow like this at this price. It's not a driver's car and doesn't pretend to be, but it's the difference between a car you tolerate and one you look forward to.

The space is absurd

The cabin is the other half of the value story, and it's vast in a way that photos flatten. Rear legroom is limo-adjacent. The floor is flat, so the middle seat is an actual seat rather than a penalty box.

The seats themselves are plush enough for a Penang run without anyone negotiating a stop to stretch. Families cross-shopping smaller EVs at similar money should sit in the back of this before signing anything, because as pure metal-for-money, nothing nearby touches it.

Now, the annoyances

Fair is fair, so here's the other column.

There's no Android Auto and no Apple CarPlay. In 2026, on a brand-new car, that's a gap, not a philosophy. Aftermarket boxes can restore it, but paying extra to add something a cheaper EV does out of the box is a strange ask. Whether it's a dealbreaker is up to you. It shouldn't have to be a question at all.

The aircon vents are adjusted through the touchscreen. Not the temperature, the vents. On a 34-degree afternoon in a Shah Alam crawl, you don't want to prod through a menu to aim cold air at your face, you want to grab the vent like humanity has done since the dawn of the blower fan.

And the key ritual. Your phone can unlock the car, fine. But to actually drive, an NFC card must be initially placed on the centre console, every single time.

The ordinary pocket key that the industry perfected two decades ago has been innovated out of existence, and by the third school run the novelty will have worn entirely off. The thing is, when you're not in a rush, this thing is fine, but when you're in one, it becomes something that you question, especially when there's many EVs that allow you to just walk in, slap the gear selector in drive and move without even touching a key in your pocket. 

You have to try this out to figure out if this is something that'll annoy you. 

About that 800V badge

The C10 Plus also happens to be the cheapest 800V EV in Malaysia, undercutting the Xpeng G6 by RM30k, and it's worth a paragraph of straight talk because the badge implies more than it delivers.

800V normally promises ultra-fast charging. Here, DC charging peaks at 180kW, or 30 to 80 percent in about 22 minutes. Decent, very decent actually, double the old C10's speed, but the G6 claims 10 to 80 in 12 minutes and even some 400V cars charge harder.

The ceiling comes from the battery we think: Leapmotor chose standard LFP cells, and there's a defensible logic there, since gentler charging and LFP's marathon-runner chemistry should mean a pack that holds its health well past the warranty.

The limit is perhaps the chemistry, pehaps hardware and perhaps not software, so is it permanent? We do not know. All we can hope for is they can bump it up via an update. 

In practice however, the sting is smaller than it sounds. Most public DC chargers in Malaysia sit around the 200kW mark, so the C10 Plus already pulls close to what the network actually serves, while the G6's 12-minute claim needs a 350kW hub you'll struggle to find.

What the 800V system quietly does deliver is efficiency, which is part of how the car can technically achieves its 510km figure. So treat the badge as a footnote, not a reason to buy.

For those wondering how fast the Leapmotor can charge via AC or at home where most people use AC charging, the Leapmotor C10 Plus has the ability to go as fast as 11kW, so about a good night sleep for its battery to be stacked up with charge again.

Verdict

The C10 Plus makes its case the old-fashioned way: it's genuinely good to drive, enormous inside, honest on range, and priced RM30k or more under everything its size. The gaps are real, with the missing CarPlay, the touchscreen-managed vents and the NFC card ritual all decisions that put the interface ahead of the human, and charging is merely adequate rather than the revolution the 800V badge hints at.

One practical caveat before anyone signs. These are runout, fully imported units with no local assembly planned for now, since the CKD programme covers only the 400V car. 

If you're really into the C10 Plus, buy it for what it is, a huge, well-sorted family SUV at a price that embarrasses the segment, and the C10 Plus is easy to recommend. Just go in with clear eyes about the tech quirks, because they're daily companions, not launch-week teething issues.

Leapmotor C10 Plus specifications

Drivetrain: Fully electric, rear-wheel drive (RWD)
Max power output: 299 PS (220 kW)
Max torque: 360 Nm
0-100 km/h: 6.2 seconds
Top speed: 190 km/h
Battery / Range: 81.9 kWh LFP battery, up to 510 km (WLTP)
Charging: Up to 180 kW DC fast charging, up to 11 kW AC charging
Safety features: 7 airbags, TPMS, 360-degree camera, full Level 2 ADAS suite (Leap Pilot) including AEB, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping and lane-centering functions, blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert with braking