You can read my full review soon, but I\u2019ve also enlisted my 27-year-old daughter, Gemma, to give me her views on the car. There\u2019s plenty that we\u2019ve both been impressed with \u2013 style and value are just two things that stand out \u2013 but there\u2019s one thing we both agree on: the name.<\/p>\n
Despite the italic script on the back end \u2013 and the cars<\/a> themselves both look a bit Porsche-like \u2013 the name Lepas is going to take a while for us to get used to. It\u2019s pronounced \u2018le\u2019, as in let, and \u2018pas\u2019, as in pasta, although I\u2019m sure even Lepas retailers will be saying it in different ways.<\/p>\n Sign up for Steve Fowler\u2019s DriveSmart newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n Apparently, the name is a combination of leopard \u2013 referencing the leopard-like design of the car, obviously without the spots \u2013 and passion. You can draw your own conclusion on that. But it didn\u2019t score highly with some of the other youngsters I spoke to, although one did say it sounded a bit French, which wasn\u2019t a bad thing.It just goes to show how difficult it is to name a car these days \u2013 and there are enough tales of brands getting it wrong. <\/p>\n Anyone remember the Mitsubishi Carisma, which just happens to be one of the dullest cars I\u2019ve ever driven? Or why the Nova name couldn\u2019t be used for Vauxhall\/Opel\u2019s small car across Europe because it means \u2018no go\u2019 in Spanish? There are quite a few rude examples I won\u2019t go into, but strangely, we never got the Mazda Bongo Friendee over here, while GWM Ora swiftly dropped the name Funky Cat. I\u2019m not a cat lover anyway.<\/p>\n Build Your Dreams sounds like something I would\u2019ve created at school. Did they get ChatGPT to come up with that?<\/p>\n So, what about some of the other new brands we\u2019re seeing these days, and what do youngsters think about them?<\/p>\n Leapmotor was one that came in for criticism, with two people coming up with the genius idea of simply dropping the \u2018motor\u2019 part of the name. \u201cLeap would be quite cool,\u201d said one, while another thought it suggested a positive future but couldn\u2019t understand why they had added \u2018motor\u2019. A marketing agency would\u2019ve charged them thousands for that bit of valuable insight.<\/p>\n I can remember sitting around a lunch table with the BYD folk at the launch of their first car in the UK, the Atto 3, and warning them to take the words \u2018Build Your Dreams\u2019 off the back of their cars. Thankfully, they listened.<\/p>\n \u201cBuild Your Dreams sounds like something I would\u2019ve created at school,\u201d said one person. \u201cDid they get ChatGPT to come up with that?\u201d asked another.<\/p>\n That was a familiar theme, with youngsters questioning whether these multinational car companies had actually used AI to come up with their names.<\/p>\n Omoda was another one that bemused young people. They didn\u2019t buy the explanation that the \u2018O\u2019 stands for oxygen and \u2018moda\u2019 stands for fashion. One said it reminded them of Imodium, while another said it simply doesn\u2019t sound like a car. The word, they felt, needs to look \u2018sleek\u2019.<\/p>\n Jaecoo<\/a> got more approval \u2013 as it seems to be doing with car buyers in the UK \u2013 but Chery split opinion. As my daughter said: \u201cIf it\u2019s good enough for Apple\u2026\u201d although another young woman thought naming a car after a fruit was simply wrong.<\/p>\n Apparently, it\u2019s supposed to be a play on the word \u2018cheery\u2019, not \u2018cherry\u2019, but that was totally missed. And if that\u2019s the case, why is Chery sponsoring Bournemouth Football Club, whose nickname is the Cherries?<\/p>\n Denza was also deemed to be a \u2018meh\u2019 made-up word \u2013 not great for a brand with premium aspirations \u2013 while the upcoming iCaur brand also came in for criticism.<\/p>\n \u201cIt sounds like they\u2019re trying to copy the iPhone but not spelling it right,\u201d was one comment. There may be some legal reasons behind that misspelling<\/p>\n Without prompting, familiar brand names were praised, especially when there seemed to be some proper thinking behind them. Mercedes-Benz is a combination of people\u2019s names, while MG \u2013 from Morris Garages \u2013 was also viewed more favourably. As BYD has found, initialisms work well \u2013 as BMW, FIAT and SEAT have also found. Even MINI could be easily understood, as could Tesla \u2013 although one youngster did say it was a good job the company wasn\u2019t called Musk.<\/p>\n There are plenty of dormant brand names out there, many of which are periodically revived. Aren\u2019t we due the threat of another TVR or Jensen rebirth again soon? And there are plenty of names, especially among old British brands, that I\u2019m surprised more Chinese manufacturers haven\u2019t plundered. It\u2019s worked well for MG.<\/p>\n Brand names are so important. I\u2019ve been through the process myself, when a company I was working with was split off from its parent company and we had to come up with something else. And yes, there was a very expensive agency employed to help us do it.<\/p>\n What all the youngsters I spoke to agreed on was that if they didn\u2019t like the brand name, they wouldn\u2019t buy the car. They are that brutal. And the guys and girls I spoke to were all either car owners or potential future car owners.<\/p>\n So, what do you think? As always, I\u2019d love to know. Are there brands you wouldn\u2019t buy because of their name? Or brands that you think are ripe for revival? Share your view in the comments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sign up for the DriveSmart newsletter<\/p>\n To get the latest motoring insights from EV editor Steve Fowler delivered straight to your inbox, simply enter your email address in the box at the top of this page.<\/p>\n Each edition of DriveSmart offers clear, expert guidance on the fast-moving world of electric vehicles<\/a> and modern motoring, from trusted reviews and practical tips to the biggest industry news of the week.<\/p>\n![\"Lepas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/01KZAT017PJ5NNRKWJHB6SVBA0.jpg\")
Lepas L8 (PA)<\/p>\n![\"BYD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2274235849...jpeg\")
BYD Chinese electric car Dolphin surf (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n