ORA Funky Cat’s on the prowl

There’s a new cat in town: the ORA Funky Cat, a new electric car from China. Built by Great Wall and distributed by International Motors in the UK, ORA is the brand’s EV arm and the Cat is the first in a range of electric cars the brand is launching over the next few years.

Model range

As a new brand franchise in the UK, ORA is sensibly limiting your choice of Cat to one powertrain, a 48kWh 250Nm battery, and one spec, the First Edition. There’s also a limited choice of colours, with just four from launch; Aurora Green with a white roof, Mars Red with a black roof, Starry Black and Nebula Green.

Price

It costs from £31,995 on the road. Metallic paint adds £595, metallic paint and dual tone interior – our test model featured strawberry and cream – adds £795.

Performance and range

The 48kWh battery offers peak power of 126kW with 171PS. Acceleration from 0-62mph takes 8.3 seconds. Top speed is 99mph. WLTP electric range is 193 miles.

Exterior

The Cat is an amalgamation of a number of cars. The headlights are Mini, the curved bonnet Beetle-esque, the side Nissan Leaf and the rear hatch very much ORA’s own design, with its full width LED brake light, narrow rear window and large ORA lettering.

Interior

ORA Funky Cat hails from China and you may have some pre-conceptions about the build quality. Trust us, it’s actually very good and definitely higher than the quality you’ll find in the Chinese-built MG range, and it’s as good as the levels you’ll find on Japanese and Korean brands.

High-quality soft-touch plastics feature on the dashboard, glove box front, door panels and centre console. The retro chrome switchgear underneath the touchscreen is a nice touch, as is the steering wheel finish – our test car had a cream and black design. There’s a rotary gear selector, with the electric handbrake behind, twin USBs, a 12v socket and First Edition logo just above. The quilted seat finish continues on to the top of the door controls and there’s a padded armrest with underneath storage.

Safety

The Funky Cat features some serious protection. There’s an ADAS safety package that includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Centring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Junction Assist and Auto Emergency Braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection. And driver, passenger airbags and side airbags, curtain airbags and even a centre airbag are also standard.

Specification

First Edition features quilted leatherette seats which are electrically adjustable in the front. A 10.25” infotainment display, wireless phone charging, SatNav, DAB, Bluetooth, keyless entry and start, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, with both facial and voice recognition, a first in the class. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto also feature.

If that’s not enough, the Funky Cat also gets 12 ultrasonic radar sensors with multiple exterior cameras that monitor the car’s surroundings. The information gathered is then processed by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon computing chip, which allows for semiautonomous driving and on the screen in front of the driver, as with those found on Teslas, you get a map of vehicles and other road users to help you navigate.

Charging

At home on a 7kWh charger, like our own Rolec, https://www.rolecserv.com/ev-charging, it will take 5.5 hours to fully charge your battery. On a public 11kWh charger that drops to three hours 12 minutes, or on a public 100kW fast charger, just 43 minutes.

Our advice, as ever, is charge at home at night when electricity is cheapest.

Practicality

The Funky Cat cabin is surprisingly spacious, helped by the battery spread evenly under the floor plan. Six-footers will be comfortable in front or the rear, although the centre rear seat is best used for shorter journeys or young teens. The boot is deep but only offers 228 litres of space, with ORA prioritising cabin room over luggage space.

Fold down the 60:40 rear seats though and a useful 858 litres is on offer.

Warranty

ORA is generous here with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, eight-year or 100,00 mile EV battery and EV powertrain warranty, five years or 60,000-mile paint warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.

On the road

Even with a battery at 48kWh, which is smallish for an electric car, the Funky Cat weighs in at 1,970kgs, so this is going to affect the way it drives and handles. Climb in, select drive (for the Cat’s engine starts automatically) and away you go. All is quiet and serene as you motor through town. While the Cat’s ride is on the firm side it’s not uncomfortable and by utilising the built-in regenerative braking you can increase the braking power to top up your battery.

There’s also a driving mode sector located down to the right and partially hidden by the steering wheel. Here you can further enhance your Cat’s economy by choosing Eco mode, or select Normal or Sport modes too.

On the motorway, the Adaptive Cruise Control can be selected via a stalk on the left of the steering wheel. You can’t actually see the stalk but it is simple to work. Cruising along at motorway speeds the only noise entering the cabin is from the car’s 18” alloy wheels. We had set up the ORA to Bluetooth on our iPhone and were able to listen to a favourite podcast as we motored along. Like other electric cars, when you’re on the motorway, the inclusion of Adaptive Cruise Control takes the thinking out of driving it, making the Cat an enjoyable cruiser at high speeds. The squat shape and size of the Cat means it’s good fun in corners and if you push hard, it feels confident.

We’ve mentioned that firm ride, something that plagues all electric cars, but it’s really not an issue as the comfy, padded seats offer decent support.

Did we have any issues? Not with ride, nor the acceleration or with the cabin ambience. But the indicators are sensitive and any firm push up or down sets off the opposite indicator and it took us a good few minutes to work out that you need to lightly touch them up or down for them to stop. Furthermore, the car’s infotainment is not the easiest to navigate. Much of it goes through the touchscreen and some of the menu headings are confusing. Software designers appear to have been let free on the Cat. We’re sure that given time, it becomes easier to use –though we have to say, this is the case with all car brand’s systems nowadays.

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Pros

Exceptionally well built, very, very, well equipped and supremely safe to be in. It’s also refreshingly different to look at with some neat and tidy retro touches inside.

The on-board tech is second to none. From a company car perspective the 2% BIK makes the Cat a winner from the get go.

Cons

With only one 48kWh battery offered, the driving range isn’t fantastic and is bettered elsewhere. There’s only four colour options. The infotainment systems is a little fiddly and the indicators a little too sensitive.

Compared to the competition, ID.3 and Cupra Born, the boot is small.

Conclusion

ORA may be new here in the UK, but we think that the marque is off to great start with the Funky Cat. Initially we were surprised at the cost: after all, its £7,000 more than an MG4. But rest assured, build quality and design-wise, it’s definitely aiming higher than the MG.

More good news is that the tech and safety that feature on Funky Cat is some of the best out there and should satisfy even millennial techies who are looking to drive electric.

As far as battery range goes, if 193 miles isn’t enough for you, ORA will be bringing a larger 63kWh battery Funky Cat model to market later this year, with a range of up to 261 miles.

And finally, it’s great to see a new electric car come to market. In the case of the Funky Cat, it’s tried to be different, with a new take on a name and a car aimed at attracting a new customer to the electric world.

All hail the Funky Cat!

CC&V VERDICT

New name but don’t be scared about that: this is a well put together, well-specced model that will grab attention. Range is average but a bigger battery is on its way

CC&V RATING: N N N N