First drive: Ora Good Cat

Saturday, 3 December 2022

• ORA GOOD CAT

• Price range: TBC ($50k target)

• Powertrains: Single electric motor with 126kW/265Nm, 15.8kWh/100km with 336km range (claimed), single-speed transmission, FWD.

• Body style: Hatchback

• On sale: 2023

Ora is yet another Chinese brand making its debut in New Zealand, and the Good Cat is it’s first offering. Well, it will be next year. But distributors Great Wall Motors (GWM) have a prototype on the ground for initial drives, and I’ve had a go.

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

The Good Cat is an electric hatchback from Ora, and despite the weird name, it’s a pretty cute looking thing.

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**

The styling is familiar, but not from past Ora-mobiles. There’s more than a little bit of inspiration from the Volkswagen Beetle, Mini Cooper and even a little hint of Porsche in the front end, while the rear reminds a bit of a Nissan Micra. It’s weird, but what’s even weirder is that it works. I’d like the rear light bar to extend all the way across though, for the full Cylon look.

Inside this model is a very retro blue/white colour scheme, which actually looks quite smart. It might be a lot to take in at first but you get used to it.

Twin screens sit proudly on the dash, one for infotainment and the other for the driver’s readouts. A selection of Mini-esque toggles sit below the vents, while the standard GWM rotary gear selector is positioned between the seats.

There’s quite a bit of storage up front, and even a wireless phone charger nestled under the armrest. GWM might be targeting the sub-$50k price point but the Good Cat is still well-equipped.

It’s pretty compact from the outside, with a 4235mm length putting it just below a Golf, but a wheelbase of 2650 means it’s also quite spacious, helped by the electric platform allowing the wheels to be pushed right out to the corners of the car.

The space is skewed towards passenger comfort rather than maximum storage, though. The boot will hold just under 230 litres, up to 852L with the rear seats flattened. Better for those without kids, I’d imagine, although of course where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Power comes from a single front-mounted electric motor, generating 126kW/265Nm. It’s fed by a 48KWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, offering a WLTP-rated range of 336km.

Where did you drive it?

Around Auckland city, doing things an urban hatchback usually does – driving to work and back, doing a food shop, going to see friends, that sort of thing.

It’s pretty damn good at it too, with 300km of real-world range enough to last most of a week without a charge. GWM said that it is expecting a larger battery for next year’s launch, which should push range over the 400km mark, although price will understandably rise as well.

The car starts up in Eco mode, which is a bit annoying as it requires quite a lot of throttle pedal to actually get moving, and I ended up in the habit of putting it into Normal before setting off. Eco will likely save you charge while driving about town, though.

It’s pretty punchy in Normal or Sport mode too (there is also Auto mode, but I couldn’t work out what it did differently so just left it in Normal), with 265Nm of torque easily able to overwhelm the front tyres. Better rubber for next year’s launch is hopefully on the cards.

The ride is good too, with nicely tuned suspension and steering that isn’t too heavy or light. It’s genuinely a great car, made better because its a hatchback instead of a higher-riding SUV.

The car will cruise at 100kph happily, and comes standard with lane-keeping and adaptive cruise control. But, like the Havals with which it is related, the Good Cat is a talkative thing, with plenty of chimes and bongs warning of pretty much everything around you. It literally talks when you turn the cruise control on as well, reminding you to keep your hands on the wheel and be safe.

Also irritating are the indicators. I don’t like indicators that don’t stay in the activated position generally – the ones that you bump up or down to start indicating, not just for the triple blink – and I found these quite hard to get to stop indicating at times, like after a lane change.

The steering wheel has buttons on it as well, but the backlight seemed to be stuck on minimum. Fine at night but impossible to see during the day.

All of these are pretty easy fixes though, especially considering this is a prototype car. The Chinese brands are quite good at quietly rolling out software updates, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the production models don’t have these bugbears. The important bits – how it drives and overall quality – have been nailed.

What stands out the most?

If GWM can hit that $50k figure before any Clean Car discount is added, the Good Cat will give the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV a healthy run for their money as the go-to budget EV. Doubly so because it’s a hatchback, and an interesting looking one at that. I love the retro front end and interior, and it’s well-equipped, even if the tech has a few drawbacks.

The larger 64kWh battery will add some cost, but it shouldn’t be too much more. That could well be the one to get, but we’ll need to wait until those sticker figures are finalised to be sure.

Why would I buy it?

You want a cheap EV that looks different to pretty much every other new car on sale right now, and you don’t want an SUV.

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

You need the extra space afforded by an SUV or don’t really get along with the styling.