Leapmotor launched their newest vehicle in South Africa last week. The B10 Hybrid EV.
Unlike usual car launches, the brand gave journalists the vehicle along with an accommodation voucher and encouraged us to drive it out and enjoy it over the weekend.
At first, the plan was simple. A private cabin in the heart of random woods or a glamping experience with my wife to just enjoy each other's company. However, once she informed me that she was unavailable that weekend, I entered the WhatsApp chat with just the boys and asked "How about a night at Harties or somewhere on Saturday?"
They were all available and keen. Apart from that, one of my best friends has planned to take the ultimate leap of faith this month and get married, so I thought that getting him away for a night before he takes the plunge would be an excellent idea.
The plan was now aggressively sensible. We were going to do a quick, responsible overnight trip to Hartebeespoort on Saturday night.
After a game of football on Friday night, my friend and I sat over a cup of tea and began looking for places to stay at. Most resorts in Hartebeespoort enforce a strict two-night stay, so our options were limited.
Sitting around drinking tea on a Friday night felt like surrendering to middle age. We needed one last, chaotic sip from the fountain of youth.
At the launch, Leapmotor's executives heavily emphasized the B10's youthful vibe and adventurous spirit. Suddenly, that marketing spiel didn't seem so far-fetched. The energy in the room shifted and over that lukewarm cup of tea, the script flipped completely: "Forget Harties. Let's go to Durban."
Curing range anxiety
My immediate reflex, as a motoring journalist who has spent a significant amount of time in EVs, was a cold sweat. The last time I attempted this exact Johannesburg-to-Durban route in a fully electric vehicle — the capable but grid-dependent iCAUR 03T — it was an exercise in logistical anxiety.
A trip that should take six hours stretched into an exhausting nine-hour ordeal. It was dictated by charging infrastructure, meticulous battery management and the creeping dread of range depletion. I vividly remember arriving at off-grid chargers, paying premium prices and anxiously watching the battery percentage drop as we crept back into Joburg with barely 13% charge in pouring rain.
But the Leapmotor B10 I was driving isn't a standard EV; it's a Hybrid EV or a range-extended electric vehicle.
This setup fundamentally rewrites the rules for South African electric mobility. The B10 operates with a 18.8kWh battery pack and electric motors to drive the wheels, giving you the silent, torque-heavy and refined ride of an EV.
However, it also features a 1.5-litre petrol engine under the bonnet that acts strictly as a generator. It doesn't drive the wheels but it simply keeps the battery charged, extending your driving range and completely eliminating the need for charging calculations.
On a full tank and full charge, the Leapmotor B10 will give you 900km of range.
There were no spreadsheets, no apps to download and no route planning. We just packed our bags into the surprisingly generous boot space, pointed the B10's nose toward the N3 and put our foot down.
Inside the cabin: tech quirks and supreme comfort
Once on the open road, the B10's cabin quickly became our sanctuary. Much like its bigger sibling, the Leapmotor C10 which I recently reviewed, the B10 leans heavily into hyper-minimalism.
Leapmotor has eradicated almost all physical buttons from the dashboard, moving nearly every function into the massive 14.6-inch central touchscreen.
Having to navigate a digital submenu just to adjust the climate control or change the fan speed is a quirk that takes some getting used to. When you're barrelling down the highway at 120 km/h, tactile buttons are always preferable to glaring at a screen.
However, the one thing that does help is that the screen is probably one of the most user-friendly ones I have used and is very quick and easy to get used to.
Another issue I had is that some of the safety features like the Lane Keep Assist can be annoyingly intrusive. Luckily that can be switched off.
However, what the B10 lacks in traditional ergonomics, it makes up for in outright comfort and ambiance. The seating support is superb, turning the cabin into a mobile lounge.
That's also because the cabin is far more spacious than one would think. The passengers all lazed in their seats with no tightness or edginess.
We had the multi-colour ambient lighting set to match our mood, giving the interior the feel of a rolling beachfront club. The sound insulation is remarkably good, effectively filtering out the roar of the N3 and allowing the premium sound system to shine.
The cabin instantly became our time machine. The massive 14.6-inch screen acted as DJ for our playlist of classic SA bangers like Koze Kuse and Jika.
The standstill and the silent heist
Of course, it wouldn't be a true South African road trip without the N3 throwing a curveball.
Just past the halfway mark, we hit a dead standstill courtesy of a truck accident ahead. In a traditional combustion engine car, you would be listening to the idle of the engine, worrying about fuel consumption and exhaust fumes.
In a standard EV, you would be panicking about the air conditioning draining your precious battery while you sit motionless. In the B10 Hybrid EV, we experienced zero stress.
As the delay dragged on, two of my mates got cabin fever. They hopped out to walk ahead and "assess the situation," leaving me behind the wheel.
When the traffic finally began to edge forward, I let the B10 creep along in pure electric mode. Scooping them up a kilometre down the road in absolute, eerie silence felt like a scene out of a low-speed heist movie.
Chasing the tides
We arrived in Durban with zero drama, checking into our accommodation just before 11pm. We dragged the B10 down to the Umhlanga pier and soaked in the sound of crashing waves before we got some rest.
Sunday morning was all about the mission. We originally headed to Umhlanga to catch some waves, but the tide was too high and the sand surprisingly rough. Refusing to let the mission fail, we chased the vibe down to North Beach.
When we arrived, we were genuinely shocked. The beachfront looked pristine; it had been meticulously cleaned up and the promenade was buzzing with energy.
We walked down to the lifeguard poles in front of the iconic Elangeni and Maharani hotels. It was just the four of us on the soft sand. We jumped into the ocean, got knocked around by the easy, rolling tides and soaked up the pure nostalgia of the moment.
As brief as the moment was, it was exactly the feeling of youth I had been looking for.
Grit on the return leg
We finally pulled ourselves away from the coast at around 4pm on Sunday afternoon, piling back into the B10 for the grueling return leg. If the drive down was a test of the car's cruising ability, the drive back was an examination of its grit.
The road back to Johannesburg was rough. Heavy roadworks stretching from Durban to Harrismith shattered our momentum and forced us onto a significant detour through Estcourt.
Navigating through the town in the dark felt like driving through a ghost town, adding a gritty, adventurous edge to the journey. This is where the B10's suspension came into its own. While the vehicle is undoubtedly tuned for urban comfort, it absorbed the compromised, pockmarked surfaces of the detour with impressive composure.
The range extender quietly buzzed to life in the background when needed, seamlessly keeping the battery topped up without intruding on the cabin's tranquility. I didn't have to check a single charging map. The car simply handled it.
We pulled into my driveway in Johannesburg at 11pm on Sunday night. Our completely unscripted, impromptu 30-hour trip was complete. We had covered more than 1 200 kilometres in little more than a day, shifting seamlessly from high-adrenaline football, to a quiet cup of tea, to the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean and back again.
As I locked the doors, the Leapmotor B10 stood there on the driveway, looking as sleek and modern as it had when we set off. Its LED lighting signature flashed a quick sequence—a digital wink in the dark, almost as if to say, "You're welcome."
The Leapmotor B10 Hybrid EV proved that you don't have to sacrifice the spontaneity of a road trip on the altar of the electric revolution. You can have the silent luxury of an EV, the cutting-edge tech of the future and the freedom to just say "let's go" at a moment's notice.
It turns out, you really can take a leap of faith without having to worry about where you're going to land.
Priced from R499 900 for the Style spec and R549 900 for the Design spec (tested), the Leapmotor B10 represents excellent value for money as it provides a full EV experience without the range anxiety and absolute premium comfort.