GWM Ora Funky Cat (2022-2023) review | A likeable if unexceptional electric hatchback

What is the Ora Funky Cat?

The GWM Ora Funky Cat is a rakish looking, five-door electric hatchback from a relatively new brand based in China: Great Wall Motors. If GWM sounds familiar, that’s because it previously entered the UK with the Great Wall Steed pick-up truck. It’s also a large and well-established company in China. In the grand scheme of things, though, GWM is a little-known quantity to British car buyers.

The Ora Funky Cat was launched in the UK in late 2022, and renamed GWM Ora 03 in 2024. Given how many new Chinese brands and cars have arrived since, perhaps it’s unfair to say GWM Ora is a new kid on the block. Furthermore, the GWM range has grown since 2022, and now includes the Haval Jolion Pro hybrid SUV and POER300 pick-up. However, a saloon car, previewed in 2023 and mooted to arrive in 2024, has yet to materialise.

The Ora Funky Cat offers choice of two batteries, one with a capacity of 48kWh (45.4kWh useable) in the Pure model, the other of 63kWh capacity (59.3kWh useable) in the mid-range Pro and top-spec GT. All versions are front-wheel drive and develop 169bhp and 250Nm of torque from a single electric motor. The WLTP-tested range varies from 193 to 260 miles, depending on the battery size chosen.

At 4.24 metres long, the Ora Funky Cat is slightly bigger than superminis such as the Peugeot e-208 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric, and a bit smaller than electric family hatchbacks such as the Cupra Born, MG4 and Volkswagen ID.3. With its shorter range and style-focused attitude, you might also consider it a rival for urban specialists such as the Fiat 500 Electric and Mini Cooper Electric.

How practical is it?

We’ll start with the glaring flaw in the Ora Funky Cat’s arsenal: its boot. At 228 litres, it is tiny compared with rivals such as the Volkswagen ID.3. Indeed, it isn’t much bigger than the boots in those urban electric vehicles we already mentioned. This is all the more frustrating because space in the rear seats is very generous, particularly when it comes to legroom. You can even sit a couple of six-footers back there quite easily.

However, with so little luggage space that seems relatively pointless as the Ora Funky Cat simply isn’t practical enough for family motorists who have a baby buggy or a dog to carry, nor indeed those who like to attempt a month’s food shopping in one go.

You could argue you should buy a larger car, and that’s a fair call, but perhaps a better compromise between rear legroom and boot space would have made things sweeter. Fold down the rear seats and there is 858 litres of luggage capacity, which is fine but nothing to write home about. It’s also worth knowing there is no storage space in the nose of the Ora Funky Cat, as is the case with some larger EVs.

It’s impressively spacious in those back seats, though. And the Ora feels great in the front, too. GWM intends for the Ora Funky Cat to push its brand out into the UK market and drive home the message that it’s a premium offering. Little wonder that, at launch, the Ora Funky Cat First Edition had quilted, diamond-stitched leatherette seats (old-school, but still kind of cool), and even facial recognition technology that automatically adjusted the seat and infotainment settings to suit each driver.

The perceived build quality and material finish of the cabin is still very good. It’s better than you might expect of a Chinese car, and certainly better than the MG4. Plus, you can get the Ora Funky Cat in some bright, dual-tone finishes that feel appropriately eccentric and in keeping with its art deco exterior styling. With the mid-range Pro model, for example, you can have an Aurora Green exterior and a matching green interior, something that looks unbelievably refreshing when so many interiors are white, grey or black. Colour is good!

It's a comfortable driver’s seat, too, with enough range of movement from the electric adjustment that even lanky drivers will be able to find a good position. Unfortunately, visibility towards the back is poor due to the small rear window. There’s also no rear wiper, so it’ll get mucky during a British winter.

If you’re after accessories, GWM just doesn’t have the depth to its brand to cater for items like roof boxes, bicycle racks, boot dividers, pet accessories and so on. It is still relatively new, after all, whereas a brand like Skoda or Peugeot that’s been around for decades can sort you out with all sorts of goodies, whether you need a child seat, a dog harness or even a set of snow chains. Looking at the GWM website, you get that same feeling, a lack of ultimate depth to what’s on offer – but that’s excusable in these relatively early days.

What's it like to drive?

The Ora Funky Cat feels pleasant but unexceptional to drive. Its steering is light (you can make it heavier in Sport mode) and it’s easy to point the car’s nose precisely where you want even in faster direction changes, Still, slow steering response and a large diameter steering wheel make it feel less wieldy around town than some rivals.

That’s not to say that it’s difficult to drive around town; it’s perfectly stable and predictable in any situation, staying unflustered even on the motorway and confident on country roads. Brake feel is good, too, making the Ora easy to drive smoothly. There’s a one-pedal drive mode courtesy of the variable regenerative braking system. Small EV rivals such as the Cupra Born and MG4 are certainly sharper, though, delivering a more enjoyable driving experience. They are also better suited to town driving, thanks to better visibility and quicker steering.

Ride comfort is a touch choppy in the Ora at lower speeds. Even on standard 18-inch alloy wheels, it struggles to settle over scruffy surfaces, although it does calm down on faster roads and never feels harsh enough to be a deal-breaker. Performance is more than adequate, and the Ora actually feels a touch more vigorous than its 8.2-second 0-62mph time might suggest, so a quick merge into faster traffic or a nippy getaway from a junction will be no problem at all. Overall, the Funky Cat is fit for purpose in the way it drives, but a bit middling by the standards of its peers.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

Twin screens are the focal point of the Ora Funky Cat’s dashboard, with a digital driver’s readout and also a central 10.25-inch touchscreen through which you control the navigation, Bluetooth, digital radio and more. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto weren’t available at launch, but GWM promised it would arrive with a software over-the-air update. Sure enough, in mid-2024, this functionality was rolled out across the range, meaning older cars should have it and all new examples offer it from the get-go. It’s an interesting system, as not only does it display Apple Maps on the central screen, it can also be shown on the driver’s display.

While the central screen itself benefits from good graphics, the big problem is that some of the icons are very small and difficult to prod precisely while you’re driving. That includes basics such as changing the radio, and even adjusting the temperature or climate control settings, which you have to do by leaving your sat-nav screen and going into the climate menu (another reason why physical controls for everyday functions are better than in-screen menus). The screen also reflects glare quite badly, which can make it hard to see properly on a bright day. On the flipside, you can say ‘Hello Ora’ and ask the car to change the temperature, switch radio stations, find a charging point or even close the windows, which is a nice touch.

Walking up the model range, the entry-level Pure model gets the 48kWh battery, a 360-degree camera system, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, parking sensors, high-beam assist, wireless phone charging, the aforementioned facial recognition system and electric front seats. You also get automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, a lane centering function, lane-change assist, blind-spot detection, traffic sign recognition and rear cross-traffic alert, which goes some way to explain why the Ora 03 received a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.

The mid-range Pro model has the larger 63kWh battery, leatherette seats, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, an auto-reverse and auto-park function, tinted rear windows, a rear central armrest and a powered boot. Those heated seats are a real win, as early models didn’t have them regardless of trim level. The cost is a respectable £4,000 more than the Pure trim.

Finally there’s the top-spec GT, which has a heat pump for greater efficiency, a panoramic sunroof, ventilated and massaging front seats, a more sporty interior and exterior, and – get this – launch control for faster getaways. We’re not sure about the exterior body kit, as the standard car has a really lovely, funky look (perhaps why it was called the Funky Cat to begin with). Indeed, there’s an oddball, outsider charm to the Ora Funky Cat Pure and Pro models that we really like.

Ora Funky Cat running costs

For the equipment and perceived quality it offers, the Ora Funky Cat is reasonably priced as a cash buy, but finance deals aren’t the cheapest around. With an 8,000-mile annual mileage for example, plus a deposit of £249 and the £3,750 GWM Green Grant, the monthly payments are £249 with zero percent APR. Go for a larger deposit (around £4,500), and the monthly payments drop to £149, still with a limit of 8,000 miles per year.

The average for a UK driver might be between 7,000 and 8,000 miles per year, but obviously don’t agree to the deal if you drive more than 12,000 miles per year, as you’ll be charged 10p for every mile you go over by the end of the finance deal (a typical cost whenever you purchase a car with a PCP).

The positive side of GWM still being relatively small in the UK is that used examples can be found for around £10,000 on CarGurus. Considering those listed at the time of writing have between 5,000 and 15,000 miles, that’s a good amount of car for the money – especially as they are still under warranty.

The Ora Funky Cat is comparably efficient to rivals such as the Peugeot e-208, too. With a usable capacity of 45.4kWh for the Pure model (48kWh total), for example, and a combined WLTP range of 193 miles, it manages nearly 4.3 miles per kWh. However, in real-world use you’re more likely to see a range of around 120 miles in winter, or 160 miles in summer (cold weather and higher driving speeds always reduce the potential driving range of an electric vehicle). Ditto the larger 68kWh battery with a quoted 260-mile range will struggle to do that except in the most ideal conditions.

If you charge the 48kWh Ora Funky Cat at home on a domestic electricity tariff costing 40p/kWh, it’ll add up to just over £18 for a full charge, equating to around 13p per mile. That’s still cheaper than a petrol or diesel car, which will typically cost around 15-20p per mile. Bear in mind that public rapid EV chargers are much pricier, and could even make the Ora Funky Cat (or any electric vehicle) more expensive to fuel than a reasonably efficient combustion car. Most EV drivers charge at home almost all of the time, and this way running costs promise to be usefully cheaper than for a diesel or petrol alternative.

Servicing intervals of two years and 18,000 miles also promise to keep costs and inconvenience down.

Ora Funky Cat reliability

We can’t say how reliable the Ora Funky Cat will be so early in its lifecycle. Still, take some comfort in the size of GWM as a brand in China. And UK cars do get a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, plus an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the lithium-ion battery. Five years of roadside assistance are also included for free.