GWM Ora Funky Cat review - Reliability & safety

It’s difficult to gauge the reliability of the Ora Funky Cat because both the brand and car are too new to have been included in the annual Driver Power rankings. Should anything go wrong, there is a long, five-year, unlimited mileage warranty (as discussed below).

We can comment on safety since the Funky Cat has been put through its paces (well, a few examples have) by crash test experts Euro NCAP. It got a five-star rating when tested in 2022, and received a higher score in the adult, child, and safety assistance categories than the MG4.

The First Edition model has lots of safety tech, including adaptive cruise control, front and rear cross-traffic alert (it warns you of vehicles that’ll cross your path), traffic sign recognition and lane keep assistance. The latter is one of the most intrusive systems we’ve ever tried. On roads with undefined borders and fading central lines – in other words, pretty much any British B-road – it regularly panics that you’re straying out of your lane and tugs at the wheel to compensate. 

The Funky Cat also has a facial recognition system that monitors whether you’re paying attention to the road ahead. It'll ping a warning tone if it thinks your attention is wandering or you’ve fallen asleep. This can be very annoying because it doesn’t work all that well and can be confused if you wear sunglasses, so some may feel the need to turn this feature off.

Build quality isn’t all that competitive. The chrome toggles feel a little flimsy, and the hard plastic of the centre console isn’t particularly sturdy. Also, the two-tone colour scheme of some versions of Funky Cat will show marks and quickly look grubby if you don’t clean them regularly. Then there’s the rotary gear selector, which rotates freely like the volume switch on a cheap hi-fi; you need to rely on the illuminated indicator to be sure of the gear you’re in.

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Warranty

The Funky Cat comes with a standard five-year, unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty, which is above average and only bettered at this price by MG, providing you with seven years of coverage. A battery warranty of eight years or 100,000 miles is typical of electric car standards.

Servicing

You only need to book your Funky Cat in for a check-up every two years/18,000 miles, typical of an electric car, because they’re generally more straightforward to maintain than a traditional petrol or diesel model.

Our only note on this is that GWM Ora is a relatively new car company in the UK and, as such, is still building up its dealer and servicing network, so you may find you’ll need to travel farther afield to get your car looked over compared with more established brands. The same was no doubt said of MG when it came back to the UK, so we’re sure coverage will improve over time.