Ora Funky Cat 400 Pro+ Review

Read Caroline’s review of the 2023 Ora Funky Cat for everything you need to know about buying Ora’s new electric car in Ireland.

The Ora brand launched in Ireland late last year and its first car to market here is the cutely named Ora Funky Cat.

Ora is a Chinese car brand that’s part of the Great Wall Motor (GWM) group. It will bring more electric vehicles to Ireland in the coming months.

The Funky Cat is a compact hatchback, priced from €33,495. It’s available with two different battery sizes, the largest of those giving a range of up to 420 kilometres (WLTP).

What’s so special about the Ora Funky Cat?

If you’re looking for one of the most stylish compact electric cars on sale at the moment, look no further than the Funky Cat.

It’s clear that designers took some inspiration from the success of the Mini brand to create a charismatic look for the Ora. Those circular headlights look familiar! The design is crammed with little details that make the Funky Cat anything but ordinary.

Yet it’s definitely not as small as a Mini. Looks are deceiving because in the metal, the Funky Cat has a similar ‘pawprint’ to a Volkswagen ID.3. That’s how much space it takes up on the road.

You’ll feel that the minute you get inside, as the cabin feels quite spacious.

Like every fashionable small car, there is the option of a contrast white roof or black roof, and a palette of colour choices from metallic to pastel. 18-inch alloy wheels come as standard across the range with a cool retro design.

At the back, there is an unusual fully integrated light bar in the windscreen that gives a slick welcoming sequence.

The upscale look continues inside with matching coloured interiors available.

Inside the Funky Cat

Ora has made a lot of effort inside the Funky Cat to make it feel stylish and upmarket. A black interior comes as standard. But there is the option of two-tone colour schemes that really lift the cabin out of the ordinary.

The material quality is good in all the important places, though some harder scratchier plastics can be found lower down and in the centre console.

Luxurious quilting features in the doors. The quilted leatherette seats are another highlight. There’s also a suede-style fabric in the dashboard.

Stylish touches include the rotary dial for the gear selection and the Mini-style, chrome switches in the centre console.

A full digital driver display combines with a touchscreen to give a fashionable widescreen effect. The system is packed with features like voice control, a reversing camera, and 360-degree surround cameras. There’s even facial recognition to personalise your settings to the car and wireless smartphone charging.

Luxury features on the 400 Pro+ model include heated and ventilated front seats with massage function, heated steering wheel and an opening panoramic sunroof.

Yet one glaring omission is the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which would be a much more convenient interface to use to access media, maps and phone contacts. It’s expected soon in an over-the-air update.

There is loads of legroom for rear seat passengers. But the boot lets the Funky Cat down at just 228 litres, particularly for family buyers. That’s significantly smaller than rivals like a MG4, Volkswagen ID.3, Renault Megane E-Tech and even small EVs like the Peugeot e-208.

There is a small bit of underfloor storage for a set of charging cables and a powered tailgate comes as standard on the 400 Pro+ version.

Driving the Funky Cat 400 Pro+

The Funky Cat range kicks off with the 48 kWh 300 PRO (priced from €33,495) with a range of up to 310 kilometres (WLTP). The price rises to €41,495 for the 63 kWh 400 PRO+ with a range of up to 420 kilometres (WLTP). That’s just a bit off some of the best electric hatchbacks for range like an MG4 or Megane E-Tech (450 kilometres).

A 171 hp motor sends power to the front wheels in both versions, providing adequate acceleration. Though the Funky Cat can spin its wheels if you ask for too much power quickly, particularly on wet surfaces. There’s 250 Nm of torque available and the 0-100 km/h sprint can be done in 8.2 seconds. There are a few driving modes too, including a Sport mode that makes the accelerator response more lively.

There’s also regenerative braking with the ability to switch between a few levels of strength.

The steering is light, which makes it easy to park and manouvre in town. Yet out on the open road, it could do with a bit more weight for a more precise drive. Funky Cat is comfortable for the most part, though it does feel firm over imperfections in the road surface, manhole covers and bumps in town. There is a lot of road noise at high speeds on the motorway so it could do with a little more insulation to improve refinement.

The new Cat can charge up to 11kW (AC) for a 15-80% charge in just over 4 hours. DC charging is a little average at 67 kW. It will take about 42-48 minutes to go from 20-80% charge if you stop at a fast charger on the motorway, for example.

My average consumption was 15.5 kWh per 100 kilometres.

Did you like it?

The Ora Funky Cat is a cute and charismatic car that’s spacious and well-kitted out with a decent electric range for a compact hatchback. The pricing means that it will be compared heavily to rivals like the ID.3 and MG4. It’s fun and quirky but not the complete package, as the small boot and lacklustre drive take a little of the shine off what is otherwise a credible newcomer to the Irish market.

But if you’re looking for one of the most stylish compact electric cars on sale, the Ora Funky Cat is definitely it.

Model tested: Ora Funky Cat 400 PRO+
Price: €41,495
Battery: 63 kWh
Range: 420 km (WLTP)
Power: 171 hp
Torque: 250 Nm
Top speed: 160 km/h
Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 8.2 seconds
Motor Tax: €120 per year

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Written by Caroline Kidd

Founder and Editor of Changing Lanes, Juror for Irish Car of the Year