Ora Funky Cat UK review: electric hatchback comes up short on range, price and quality

There’s something to be said for making a splash when launching a new brand or product. 

Good or bad, an eye-catching design and an interesting name can help establish a brand in the minds of the public and pave the way for future plans. So Ora is certainly onto a winner with the Funky Cat which not only has a name you won’t forget but brings a wide-eyed and unusual look that’ll stand out in most car parks. 

Ora is one of a wave of Chinese brands setting their sights on the UK with a host of electric cars, and the Funky Cat is its first offering, aiming to compete with models such as the Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe, Volkswagen ID.3 and MG4 in the electric hatchback segment. 

We're largely past the days of Chinese cars being carbon copies of European models but there is an element of Mini to the Funky Cat's front end and smidge of first-gen Leaf to the sloping, wide tailgate. It looks better in the metal than in photos, which don't do its proportions any favours, but it still divided opinion during our time with it and is likely to be a bit of a Marmite prospect on the roads. 

Under the funky skin, the Funky Cat packs a 48kWh battery and a 169bhp motor. That offers fairly middle-of-the-road performance, with 0-62mph of 8.3 seconds and the usual initial surge tailing off as speeds rise. 

Range is quoted at 193 miles but at its best I saw close to 180. For reference, the £27,000 standard-range MG4 quotes 218 miles and the £30k Renault Zoe almost 240 miles. 

Around town, the Funky Cat is perfectly competent, nipping among the traffic nimbly enough but on the open road it feels less resolved. The steering is quick but lacking in any feel and the various drive modes make virtually no difference to matters. There’s some obvious body roll for such a small car, while higher speeds reveal a firm ride that veers occasionally into crashy. Like so many of its ilk, a finessed driving experience seems to have come some way down the priority list.

With the driving experience of little consequence in so many cars it comes down to other elements such as the interior and user interface to help cars stand out.

Here it's a very mixed report card for the Funky Cat. The interior looks good at first glance, with interesting quilted material on the doors and seat fabric, faux suede on the dash and “chrome” toggle switches just like a Mini. Sadly the posh sheen doesn't go beneath the surface. The "definitely not Alcantara" on the dash is paper thin and below the eyeline the plastics would be okay on a £25k car but feel low rent on a £30k+ one.

On the positive side, there is an impressive amount of space, with decent legroom and shoulder room for a couple of adult passengers - better than a Zoe or Mini, certainly - plus handy storage spaces. The boot, however, is a comically small 228 litres, with an awkward load lip. 

Also disappointing is the user interface. There's the de rigeur 10.25-inch digital instruments which are functional but unconfigurable, and a 10.25-inch touchscreen that's deeply underwhelming, with a frustrating number of poorly thought out and hard to manage menus. Ora says Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are coming, which could alleviate some of the pain, but there's no sign of them yet.

Making matters worse are an array of driver aids that range from the very distracting voice telling you not to drive distracted to the emergency lane assist that resets every time you start the car and violently intervenes when it has no business doing so. Irritating indicator stalks and an unpredictable and ineffective single-pedal mode just add to the woes.

You might be able to live with some of the niggles if the car was the £25,000 Ora initially indicated but it's not, it's, £32k, at which price point it’s competing with the Kia Soul Urban, Renault Zoe and top-spec long-range MG4. None of those is without its faults but they're minor compared to the Funky Cat’s and the Renault and MG in particular have it beaten on price, range and charging speeds, even in their most basic variants.

Ora will point to the amount of kit you get on the First Edition - including adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, 360-degree parking camera and wireless phone charging. But many of those are fitted to its rivals and you can’t have heated seats, even as an option - virtually a deal breaker in colder parts of the UK. 

There’s no doubt Chinese brands are going to have a major role in the UK’s motoring landscape but probably not off the back of the Funky Cat, which feels like a car rushed out to meet a set of on-paper specs with little focus on how well it works in the real world. 

Ora Funky Cat First Edition

• Price: £31,995
• Motor: Single
• Battery: 48kWh
• Power: 169bhp
• Torque: 184lb ft
• Transmission: Single-speed, front-wheel drive
• Top speed: 99mph
• 0-62mph: 8.3 seconds
• Range: 193 miles
• Consumption: 4m/kWh
• Charging: up to 64kW

Rivals: Kia Soul, MG4, Renault Zoe, Volkswagen ID.3