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Whilst the MG badge is a household name for everyone over a certain age, we are guessing that the “ORA” is not. It is also manufactured in China and let’s be honest when it comes to technology, the Chinese certainly seem to know how to do it right.
Our test car was the ORA Funky Cat First Edition. We often pick up our 4-year-old granddaughter in our test cars and she likes to give her humble opinion. In the words of Sadie, “Why is it called that, when it is not a cat and it is not funky?!” Well let us try to delve into that just a little bit deeper…
ORA has actually been around since 2018, and they are specialists in this field as they only make electric cars. In that time ORA has produced several small electric cars, all with names that could be related to cats such as Black or Big, and in other markets such as Malaysia, the Funky Cat is known as the Good Cat, perhaps Funky has other meanings!
We both disagree with juvenile car expert Sadie and actually do think the car is indeed Funky with its retro almost VW Beetle look about it from the outside and on the inside, it is bright and contemporary, and the chrome toggles are reminiscent of the Mini.
Space-wise, plenty of room in the front and Sadie said she was fine in the back. The boot is pretty small though for what is supposed to be a hatchback.
Currently, the First Edition is the only model available, and it comes with a 170bhp engine and a stated 193-mile range between full charges, though we never achieved anything like that, possibly down to our driving styles. The Funky Cat is not very lively either and just a bit slow on the uptake. It drives well enough in the towns and cities though and visibility is good apart from the small rear window.
Our own car has a rotary gear selector so we are familiar with that but this one seemed to have a mind of its own which was frustrating, as were the indicators which were difficult to control which must have caused the drivers behind us to become enraged in confusion, turning left, no right, no, back left, pulling in to the kerb… Lorraine ending up just not signalling at all, not sure what was worse. The safety conscious Funky Cat also has some great features, but we didn’t use the over enthusiastic lane-assist which kept pulling you to where it thinks you should be but that is also annoying in some other cars.
Prices start from £32,000.
Ally says: “Okay, so I will give it the “Funky” look, but I will reserve a fuller judgment for future editions.”
Lorraine says: “I can see the appeal for much younger drivers than me or for those of you who may have bought a Citroen 2CV way back in the day.”
