Ora Funky Cat Review 2024

The first question should be... 'are you happy driving a car called the Funky Cat'? It won't appeal to everyone, but the Ora Funky Cat certainly has loads of charm and charisma that's lacking in some electric vehicles - certainly at the budget end of the market. You get more physical car for your money than in a MINI Electric, while the bold cabin is infinitely nicer than a Nissan Leaf's. The Cupra Born and MG4 are both more enjoyable to drive, while the Renault Megane E-Tech feels posher and more spacious inside. The Ora Funky Cat certainly has a distinct appeal, while its affordable price tag, generous equipment levels (heated seats aside) and impressive safety record makes it an easy choice to justify.

There's only one for now: the Ora Funky Cat First Edition. You can choose from four colour combinations - Aurora Green with a Moonlight White roof, Mars Red with a Starry Black roof, Nebula Green and Starry Black. Picking between these comes down to personal preference, although we quite like the bolder interior colour schemes of the Aurora Green and Mars Red models.

The obvious competitor for the Ora Funky Cat is the MG4 - another Chinese-built electric family hatchback that represents excellent value for money. We'd argue that the Ora Funky Cat has a more likeable design and brighter interior than the MG, but the 4 pips it in terms of range and driver enjoyment.

Other electric hatches that the Ora Funky Cat will be up against include the ever-popular Nissan Leaf, the Volkswagen ID.3 and the Cupra Born. You might also be considering smaller (but similarly priced) electric cars like the Fiat 500 Electric, Honda E and MINI Electric.

This is an area in which the brand has clearly concentrated on in order to convince buyers that the Ora Funky Cat isn't just another cheap Chinese electric car. From the doors that close with a satisfying 'thunk' to the plush materials in the cabin, it actually feels a step above the highly-rated MG4 in terms of quality.

You will find a few flimsy finishes if you look for them, though. The glove box, for example, feels a bit insubstantial, while the lower half of the dashboard is rock-hard. These don't really detract from the overall quality feel of the Funky Cat's interior, though.

The Ora Funky Cat comes with an impressive dual-screen infotainment layout, consisting of a 10.25-inch central navigation display alongside another 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

It's a lot slicker than you might expect from a budget Chinese-built electric car. The graphics are sharp, it's generally quick to respond and the menus are laid out in a user-friendly way. We have a few gripes, though - the first is that it's very high up on the dashboard which makes it awkward to use on the move... although you do at least get physical toggle buttons below the screen which act as shortcuts for the climate control.

Another gripe is the navigation system itself, which is a bit awkward to follow at complicated junctions. Normally we'd recommend bypassing the in-built sat-nav and using Google Maps via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, but they're not actually available just yet. They are coming, we're told, and will be offered to existing Funky Cat owners via a free over-the-air update in 2023.

One of the Funky Cat's party pieces is the voice-activated personal assistant, which springs to life when you say the words 'hello Ora'. It's a bit gimmicky but quite cool in that it can tell where you're sitting - tell it to open the window, for example, and it'll know which window to open.

If you want to check on your Funky Cat remotely, you'll be able to do so via the brand's smartphone app. This'll let you check things like the charging status of the car, while you can lock and unlock it remotely and - usefully - adjust the temperature of the climate control. The latter is very appealing on a cold day, especially as you can warm the cabin while the car's on charge - saving important battery capacity on your journey.

The Ora Funky Cat might look like a small city car in the pictures, but it's bigger than you'd think. It measures 4235mm in length, 1825mm in height and 1603mm in width - about the same footprint as a Volkswagen Golf, or rivals like the Renault Megane E-Tech, Cupra Born and Hyundai Kona Electric.

That doesn't translate into a big boot, unfortunately. The Ora Funky Cat can carry just 228 litres of luggage, which is pretty poor alongside those cars mentioned above - but competitive against smaller models like the MINI Electric and Fiat 500 Electric. Access is hindered by the high rear bumper line, too, which makes it difficult for lifting luggage over.

You do get a small amount of space under the boot floor (you could squeeze a charging cable there while there's a tyre repair kit, too - but no room for a spare wheel). If you need more boot space, the rear seats can be dropped to provide up to 858 litres of luggage.

The Ora Funky Cat does a better job of transporting passengers, though. There's loads of headroom in the back, while it feels quite light and airy back there. You get a reasonable amount of knee room and you could fit a third person in the middle seat, if you wish - although it is a bit narrow, and there is a (small) lump in the floor where their feet would be.

The front feels spacious, too, although you obviously don't sit as high as you would in SUV alternatives like the Kia Niro EV or MG ZS EV. The glove box is quite small, as are the door bins and the little cubby under the central armrest. You do get a useful tray for storing your mobile phone (with wireless charging) as well as a wireless key charger at the base of the centre console.

In the first instance, the Ora Funky Cat is only available with a relatively small 48kWh battery powering a single electric motor which drives the front wheels.

With a relatively modest 171PS and 250Nm of torque, it's not as rapid as a lot of electric vehicles. As we touched on above, there's enough grunt to overwhelm the front wheels, though, so be prepared for the wheels to spin if you're heavy with the accelerator pedal in slippery conditions.

Officially, the Ora Funky Cat accelerates to 62mph in 8.2 seconds. That's a fraction slower than an MG4 (which takes between 7.7 seconds and 7.9 seconds depending on which model you choose), and almost a second slower than the entry-level Cupra Born.

If you're not used to an electric car, though, that reduced power isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's unintimidating to drive and, with instant responses and no gear changes, it'll still make a hasty getaway when required.

That 48kWh battery we mentioned above provides an official range of up to 193 miles. Most rivals will comfortably cover more than 200 miles between charges so, if you're regularly covering a lot of miles in one hit, you might want to look elsewhere.

That said, 193 miles will be more than enough for a lot of drivers - particularly if you've got a short commute or are looking for a second car. There's a lot to be said for the 'right sizing' philosophy that Mazda follows with its MX-30 (which has a range of just 124 miles) - essentially, there's no point paying for (and carrying around) a big, heavy battery pack if you're not going to need it.

If you do want a Ora Funky Cat with a bigger battery, it is offered in China with a 59kWh battery, while the sporty Funky Cat GT gets a 63kWh battery. The brand is yet to confirm whether the bigger batteries will come to Europe.

Refinement is one of those areas in which you can really tell the Ora Funky Cat is a budget electric car. There's a considerable amount of roar from the tyres at higher speeds while, around town, you'll notice a distinctive whine from the electric motor.

You might expect a Chinese-built budget electric car to scrimp on safety, but that's certainly not the case with the Ora Funky Cat. It's actually been crash tested by independent crash test experts Euro NCAP and it performed very well indeed - achieving a score of five out of five overall. It performed well across the board too, including 93% for its safety assist features (will come onto those in a moment) as well as 92% for adult occupants and 83% for child occupants.

While the usual myriad of airbags and crumple zones will protect you in a crash, the Ora Funky Cat First Edition comes with a long list of driver-assistance tech to reduce the chances of you being involved in a collision in the first instance. Standard kit includes Lane Keep Assist (which'll nudge the steering to keep you in your lane), an Auto Emergency Braking system which can detect pedestrians and cyclists (as well as other cars) and a Rear Cross Traffic Alert feature that can apply the brakes if it detects an approaching vehicle when you're reversing out of a parking space or driveway.

The Ora Funky Cat even comes with cameras directed at the driver which will alert you to pay more attention if necessary, or take a break if it thinks you're tired.

Who knows? We're not being facetious here: Ora is a Chinese brand that's new to Europe and only time will tell how reliable the Funky Cat is.

That said, it's aware it has some convincing to do. That's why the Funky Cat comes with a five year, unlimited mileage warranty, while the battery is covered for eight years/100,000 miles.

The servicing intervals are pretty lengthy, too: two years/18,000 miles to be precise, which will save you both money and time spent going back and forth to the dealer.

The Ora Funky Cat First Edition has been placed in insurance group 21, which means it should cost less to insure than its direct competitors, and less than small electric cars like the MINI Electric and Honda E. That's because of its easy repairability, apparently, while we reckon inspectors probably also like the Funky Cat's somewhat tardy acceleration. With relatively low insurance costs, it could be the ideal electric car for new drivers.

You won't currently be charged any tax on electric vehicles, so your annual tax bill for the Ora Funky Cat will be nothing. This is expected to change in the near future so bear that in mind when calculating the running costs of an Ora Funky Cat.

The Ora Funky Cat range will initially be sold in just one First Edition trim level. Standard equipment on the Ora Funky Cat First Edition includes a suite of driver-assistance technology (including adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, auto emergency braking and rear cross traffic alert). The Funky Cat First Edition also comes with faux-leather seats (with electric adjustment for both the driver and front passenger), a 10.25-inch infotainment display with navigation, a wireless phone charger, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a facial recognition system and voice recognition with a 'hello Ora' personal assistant.

Automatic LED headlights are also standard, as well as adjustable regenerative braking, a leather-stitched steering wheel, automatic air conditioning, a 360-degree parking camera and rear parking sensors.