- Overview
- What is it?
- So, it is actually called the Funky Cat?
- Tell me more about the car, then…
- How far can it go on a charge?
- What will it cost me?
- Our choice from the range
- What's the verdict?
- Mini Electric
- MG Motor UK MG4
- Volkswagen ID.3
- Driving
- What is it like to drive?
- What about if I want to leave the city limits?
- Is it as fun as a Mini on country lanes?
- Any other issues?
- Ora Funky Cat First Edition review: could this Chinese electric hatch go big in the UK?
- Interior
- What is it like on the inside?
- Buying
- What should I be paying?
Overview
What is it?
That’s a question you’ll find yourself being asked on a regular basis if you drive an Ora Funky Cat, and once you’ve informed the asker of the full name it’s usually followed up by another. Although the second question is often along the lines of ‘are you having me on?’
So, it is actually called the Funky Cat?
It really is. In China this car is called the Good Cat, while the other cars in Ora’s range are known as the Black Cat and the White Cat (both are small electric city cars). Fans of political quotations may recognise the naming strategy from former paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China Deng Xiaoping’s 1960s quip: “No matter if it is a white cat or a black cat; as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat.” Niche.
However, the brand’s European head office in Munich decided that Good Cat didn’t really work on our shores, so for reasons known only to them it is now called the Funky Cat.
The brand in question is of course Ora (which apparently stands for ‘open, reliable and alternative’). It’s new to the UK but has been building electric cars in China since 2018. Oh, and its parent company is the giant that is the Great Wall Motor group.
Ora sits alongside Haval, Wey, GWM and Tank as brands owned by the overlord, and a few years ago it signed a joint venture agreement with BMW for the “development and production of electric vehicles in China”. That means that much of the Funky Cat’s underpinnings could make their way into future electric Minis.
Tell me more about the car, then…
Well, from the outside it rather looks like a mashup of a number of different designs. There’s more than a hint of bloated Mini about it and there’s definitely some K12 Nissan Micra vibes too. Heck, even the Porsche 911 could have been an influence on Ora’s designers if you really squint.
But essentially what has come out in the wash is a Volkswagen ID.3-sized five-door hatch with a small boot but decent space for rear seat passengers. There’s a fancy interior too with two 10.25-inch screens, but you can read more on that by clicking on the ‘Interior’ tab of this review.
How far can it go on a charge?
Great question. The Funky Cat gets a relatively small 48kWh battery which makes for a WLTP range of 193 miles.
What will it cost me?
Well, it’s not as cheap as the other Chinese electric hatchback on sale in the UK today, that’s for sure. Whereas the MG4 starts at £26,995, the Funky Cat will set you back £31,995 before any options.
Our choice from the range
GWM ORA
126KW First Edition 48KWH 5DR Auto
£31,940
What's the verdict?
“Interesting to look at and to explain to your friends, but the Funky Cat is let down by some fundamental issues”
It’s an intriguing proposition, the Funky Cat. The cutesy retro design will no doubt win it some fans and it’s certainly more interesting to look at than rival electric hatches like the ID.3 and MG4, but Ora will have to hope that those same folk who love the pumped-up Mini aesthetic aren’t too bothered about the clunky, disconnected driving experience.
The substance just isn’t there to back up the style at the moment, and it’s let down by simple mistakes like the lack of heated seats, the small luggage space and the fact that there’s no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto just yet, although we’re assured that the latter will be sorted soon.
Still, overall it’s a decent, tech-filled first attempt from a young carmaker and the ability to deliver one to your door in as little as three weeks will be a big selling point. There’s also rumours of a larger 63kWh battery option potentially arriving in the UK at some point in the near future, which would be a welcome addition to solve the current range issues.
Mini Electric
£10,342 – £36,420
MG Motor UK MG4
£28,440 – £31,440
Volkswagen ID.3
£29,565 – £40,495
Continue reading: Driving
Driving
What is it like to drive?
The Funky Cat is happiest in town. You sit fairly high up thanks to the battery’s position under the floor and there’s good all-round visibility out of the big windows. It’s not quick – a 169bhp motor drives the front wheels for a 0-62mph time of 8.3 seconds – but because of the instant torque on offer it does at least feel a little sprightly up to around 30mph.
The steering has three settings for varying degrees of weight, but all are fairly light and make it easy to manoeuvre. There’s a number of settings to change the amount of regenerative braking you’re getting too, plus a proper one-pedal mode so that you rarely need to hit the actual brake pedal.
What about if I want to leave the city limits?
Ah, here’s where things get a little bit tricky for the Funky Cat. Motorways aren’t its favourite habitat, with range and efficiency dropping markedly and the active safety systems taking far too much control. They’re the reason that the Funky Cat gets a five-star Euro NCAP score, but we’ve found them too intrusive with the lane assist even dragging the car back into the main carriageway when trying to indicate and exit down a slip road. Plus turning it all off requires a proper deep dive into the touchscreen every time you start the car.
There’s plenty of wind and road noise up at motorway speeds too, particularly from those bulbous wing mirrors.
Is it as fun as a Mini on country lanes?
Although the underpinnings may be appearing in a Mini in the near future, the Funky Cat sadly doesn’t drive like one. The suspension is firm and crashy, and yet there’s still an alarming lack of body control if you really throw it into a corner. There’s also no real communication through the steering wheel as to what the front wheels are doing, and thanks to the eco-spec Giti tyres on our test car it was actually fairly easy to bring the traction control into play with too much throttle from a standing start.
Any other issues?
Well, we weren’t massively enamoured by the feel from the brake pedal either, but then this is a city car from a very new carmaker so we shouldn’t be too disappointed that it doesn’t drive like an apex-hunting sports car. What’s more of an issue is that we’ve found the real-world range to be around 150 miles, and less than that if more motorway driving is involved. Not ideal.
Ora Funky Cat First Edition review: could this Chinese electric hatch go big in the UK?
£31,940
Previous: Overview
Continue reading: Interior
Interior
What is it like on the inside?
There’s an impressive amount of space in the Funky Cat, and the airy feeling is helped by the amount of glass and the flat, clutter-free floor. Ora made a conscious decision to prioritise rear seat legroom over luggage space too, which means three adults fit comfortably across the rear bench.
However, that does mean that the boot is teeny at just 228 litres. For context, the smaller Mini has 211 litres of luggage space while the ID.3 trounces it with a 385-litre chasm.
The materials are fairly nice in the Funky Cat with the seats covered in fake leather and a brightly-coloured two-tone option available for the different bits of retro-looking trim. No doubt someone from Mini’s legal department will be contacting Ora about those rip-off climate control toggles, though.
Only the fully-loaded First Edition is available in the UK at the time of writing, which means all cars get tech like wireless phone charging, facial recognition (which once set up through the app will recognise you as the driver and set your favoured seating position) and the twin 10.25-inch screens for the dial display and infotainment.
The centrally-mounted screen is a responsive touch unit but the menus and general operation are clunky and complicated. There’s also currently no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity, although Ora assures us that it’s coming soon in an over-the-air update.
Interestingly there’s no heated seats or steering wheel either – a strange decision given how much of an effect using the air conditioning has on the range. Then again, you wouldn’t know exactly how much the climate control is affecting your range because the indicator in the dial display won’t adapt to recognise that the air conditioning is on. Your estimated range number and the small green bar that accompanies it will just start to fall quicker than it usually would.
We’ve more switchgear irritations too: the indicators are impossibly-difficult to cancel without flicking them back on in the opposite direction, and the drive selector on the centre console doesn’t spring back to centre which makes it rather difficult to quickly flick through from reverse to drive (or vice versa). There’s a sense that the Funky Cat’s development was rushed to get the finished product out of the door and on sale as soon as possible.
Previous: Driving
Continue reading: Buying
Buying
What should I be paying?
This is a fairly easy question given the simplicity of ordering a Funky Cat in the UK right now. There’s just one trim level – the First Edition – that costs £31,995. You can then choose to add metallic paint for £595 or metallic paint and the two-tone interior setup for £795. And that’s it. There’s no optional premium sound system or solid gold keyring, just a simple setup and four exterior colours to choose from.
Plus, for that money you get a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and an eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranty.
If you want to pay monthly, you’ll be looking at 36 payments of just under £350 with a £6,525 deposit.
Oh, and it’s worth noting that in this world of chip shortages and production delays, if you order a Funky Cat today it’ll be delivered directly to your house in three weeks. That’ll be a big draw for a few impatient buyers.
At the time of writing this, Ora is also offering £1,000 of public charging credit or a free home charger thanks to a deal with Octopus Energy.
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Continue reading: Specs & Prices
Keyword: GWM ORA Funky Cat review