GWM Ora 03 - Boot space, comfort & practicality
The GWM Ora 03 has plenty of passenger space, but the boot is far too small
Five doors already make the Ora 03 more practical than the three-door-only MINI Cooper electric.
Relatively thin front and side roof pillars allow for fine visibility, but the small rear window and no wiper can make reversing more awkward than it should be – especially when it’s raining. Instead, the 03 offers standard rear parking sensors and a 360-degree camera system on Pure models, while the top-of-the-range Pro adds front parking sensors. Bright LED headlights with high beam assist are standard across both trim levels.
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Length | 4,235mm |
| Width | 1,825mm (2,010mm inc. mirrors) |
| Height | 1,603mm |
| Number of seats | 5 seats |
| Boot space | 228-858 litres |
Dimensions and size
At 4,235mm long, 1,603mm high, and 1,825mm wide (2,010mm including the mirrors), the 03 is a little shorter than compact family cars like the Volkswagen ID.3 or MG4, but longer than the MINI Cooper and other small electric cars.
How practical is the Ora 03?
Seats & space in the front
There is plenty of room in the front of the Ora 03 for two six-foot adults, and all 03s come with electric front seats that make it easy to find a comfortable driving position. Driver memory isn’t available on the base Pure trim, but it is included with Pro trim and above, which is unusual in a small EV of this price range, because even the top Trophy versions of MG4 aren’t available with this feature.
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Cash £14,297You’ll find a few storage spaces dotted around the front and a pair of cupholders ahead of the gear selector, but the relatively small door bins won’t hold a large bottle of water.
Seats & space in the back
While you do get better access to the back seats 03 thanks rear doors, those doors don’t open all that wide, which could make it awkward getting a child into their child's seat. Once in, though, you’ll find enough room for a six-foot-tall adult to sit behind a similar-height driver. Headroom might be slightly restrictive for taller passengers due to the curved roofline, whereas the squarer Cupra Born and Volkswagen ID.3 are a little more accommodating.
The flat floor means it shouldn’t be tricky if you need to carry three in the rear; by contrast, the MINI is a strict four-seater. You get ISOFIX points for the outer rear seats as per most of its rivals. The seats are firm, and the squab is short, so those with longer legs might wish for more under-thigh support.
Boot space
As we mentioned earlier, the 03 is only slightly shorter than the MG4 and ID.3, but its 228-litre boot is much smaller than either of those cars, being much closer in size to the 211-litre boot in the MINI.
The other downsides are that there’s a very high lip you’ll need to lift items over to load (or unload) anything in the boot, and there's no adjustable boot floor to reduce this. The boot opening is a bit narrow, too, plus the wheel arches intrude into the luggage space itself. The latter might hamper efforts to load a fold-up pushchair, so parents should try before they buy. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split to increase load capacity.
