Leapmotor T03 vs MINI Cooper

The MINI Cooper costs £10,160 more than the Leapmotor T03. For that premium it adds 25 miles more WLTP range, 27 kW faster peak rapid charging and 65 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the MINI Cooper comes out ahead overall.

The Leapmotor T03 is £10,160 cheaper to buy. The MINI Cooper is cheaper to charge, roughly £144 a year versus £176 for the Leapmotor T03, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Leapmotor T03 comes out roughly £10,000 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 112 miles for the Leapmotor T03 and 158 miles for the MINI Cooper - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The MINI Cooper goes roughly 46 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 36 minutes in the Leapmotor T03 and 28 in the MINI Cooper, so the MINI Cooper loses less time at each stop. That makes the MINI Cooper the stronger long-distance car.

The Leapmotor T03 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 104 mm narrower than the MINI Cooper. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 748 mm of total clearance for the Leapmotor T03 and about 644 mm of total clearance for the MINI Cooper. The Leapmotor T03 also turns in a 0.7 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the Leapmotor T03 and 84% for the MINI Cooper. That gives the Leapmotor T03 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Leapmotor T03's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the MINI Cooper's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.