GWM Ora Funky Cat: Price, Specs and Real Problems

I get asked about the GWM Ora Funky Cat more than almost any other small electric car, mostly because half the people asking don’t even know it changed its name.

If you’re trying to figure out what this car is, what it costs, and whether this Ora EV is worth your money in 2026, I’ve put together everything I’ve learned from driving it, reading owner reports, and tracking its price changes since launch.

The GWM Ora Funky Cat is a Chinese-built electric hatchback made by Great Wall Motors, sold under the Ora brand, and renamed the GWM Ora 03 in January 2024. It offers a 48kWh or 63kWh battery, a range between 193 and 261 miles, and a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

What Is the GWM Ora Funky Cat?

Ora is the electric-only sub-brand of Great Wall Motors, a Chinese electric car company that also owns Haval and Tank. As a Chinese EV brand, Ora gives every model a cat-themed name in its home market.

In China, this exact car is sold as the GWM Ora Good Cat, often written as “Ora Goodcat” or “Good Cat Ora” on forums and marketplaces. When it landed in the UK in 2022, the marketing team swapped that name for something they thought sounded punchier: the Funky Cat.

Plenty of buyers still search using different spellings, like “GWM funky cat,” “ora funky car,” or even “wonderful Ora funky cat,” and they all land on the same car.

You’ll also see it called the GWM Ora Cat, the Ora Cat car, or the Ora Funky Cat car, depending on where you’re reading about it, but they all mean the same vehicle.

Great Wall also builds smaller siblings for other markets, including the Ora R1, a tiny city runabout sold as the Ora R1 EV in parts of Asia and Latin America.

That model is shorter and cheaper than the Funky Cat, so don’t mix up the two if you’re checking used listings.

Why the Name Changed to GWM Ora 03

Great Wall dropped the Funky Cat badge in January 2024 and rebranded the car as the GWM Ora 03 across most of Europe. The car itself barely changed.

Software updates brought Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to both old and new cars, and the trim names shifted from First Edition and First Edition+ to Pure+ and Pro+, then later to Pure, Pro, and GT.

So if your Funky Cat came home before 2024, you’re driving the exact same machine as someone parking a brand new Ora 03 today. The only real difference sits on the tailgate.

GWM Ora Funky Cat Price in 2026

New pricing for the GWM Ora 03, the current name for the Ora Funky Cat car, sits between roughly £31,940 and £34,940 in the UK depending on trim.

The entry Pure model is the one I’d recommend, since it carries most of the same kit as the pricier versions without paying extra for a GT badge that changes nothing mechanically.

If an Ora Funky Cat price is what brought you here, used examples from the original 2022 to 2023 batch now start from under £10,000, which makes this one of the cheapest ways into a five-star-rated electric car today.

Finance and lease deals have become more competitive since 2025, with some dealers offering the car for under £250 a month on a lease with a modest deposit. PCP finance remains a weaker value than the equivalent lease, mostly because the car depreciates faster than rivals like the MG4 or Renault 5.

GWM Ora Funky Cat Specs and Range

Every version uses a single front-mounted electric motor producing 169bhp, giving a 0-62mph time of around 8.3 seconds and a top speed of 99mph. That’s enough for motorway merging and city driving, though nobody would call it exciting.

Battery Options and Real-World Range

The entry-level pack is a 48kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery rated for 193 miles under WLTP testing. Step up to the larger 63 kWh pack, and the official figure rises to between 260 and 261 miles.

In my own cold-weather testing and in tests run by other reviewers, the smaller battery realistically delivers closer to 130 to 150 miles once temperatures drop below 10°C. In warmer months, expect figures closer to 180 miles from the same pack.

Charging Speed Explained

This is where the Ora electric hatchback falls behind its class. Maximum DC rapid charging tops out at 64kW to 80kW depending on the source you check, meaning a 15-80% charge takes around 40 to 48 minutes.

Rivals like the Volkswagen ID. 3 charge at up to 175 kW and can add the same range in roughly half the time. A 7kW home wallbox will fully charge the car overnight, which suits most owners who plug in at home instead of hunting for a public charger.

GWM Ora Funky Cat Interior

Step inside, and the GWM Ora funky cat interior turns out to be one of its strongest points. Leatherette seats, soft-touch dashboard panels, and chrome toggle switches give the cabin a feel that punches above the car’s price.

Two 10.25-inch screens sit side by side, one for the driver display and one for infotainment, and the whole layout feels closer to a car costing £40,000 than one starting under £32,000.

Rear legroom is a genuine surprise for a car this size, beating the Renault 5 and matching cars a class above.

The boot is the weak spot: 228 liters with the seats up, expanding to 858 liters when folded flat. That’s smaller than a Vauxhall Corsa electric and roughly half the space you’d get in a Kia Niro EV.

Is the GWM Ora Funky Cat Safe?

Safety is where this car quietly leads its class. It carries a full five-star Euro NCAP rating, backed by standard autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, and a 360-degree camera system.

The car AEB system reacts early, sometimes too early for some drivers’ taste, braking automatically if it senses a pedestrian or vehicle in its path during low-speed manoeuvres.

A driver-monitoring camera on the A-pillar tracks eye movement and can flag drowsiness or distraction. It does its job well, though several owners find it intrusive during longer drives.

You can turn most of these alerts down through the touchscreen menu, but the settings often reset every time you restart the car.

GWM Ora Funky Cat Problems Owners Report

No car is perfect, and the Funky Cat has a handful of recurring complaints worth knowing before you buy:

Indicator stalk doesn’t self-cancel. You have to push it back manually after every turn, which catches out almost every new owner in the first week.

Driver-monitoring nagging. The system can issue frequent alerts about attention, speed, and even snack breaks, and plenty of drivers find it more annoying than useful.

Rear brake light has no shading. The entire light bar illuminates when braking at night, which some drivers find distractingly bright in their mirrors.

Optimistic range figures. You’ll rarely see the full WLTP number on a real drive. That gap opens up even wider once the temperature drops or you’re cruising past 70mph on the motorway.

High boot loading lip. Lifting heavy items over the lip into the small boot space is awkward, and there’s no adjustable boot floor to help.

Cluttered touchscreen menus. Small text and buried climate controls make simple adjustments harder to reach while driving.

None of these would put me off buying the car on their own, but stack them together and you can see why it wins on safety and value, then loses ground once you’re living with it day to day.

GWM Ora Funky Cat vs Other Chinese EV Brands

Ora sits alongside a growing group of Chinese electric car brands chasing the same small-EV buyers in 2026, including BYD, MG, and Leapmotor. Here’s how the Funky Cat, now badged Ora 03, stacks up against the cars people cross-shop it with most:

GWM Ora 03 (Funky Cat): 193-261 miles range, from £31,940, 228-litre boot, five-star Euro NCAP

MG4 EV: up to 281 miles range, from £28,495, larger boot, five-star Euro NCAP

Renault 5: up to 252 miles of range, competitive pricing, and a four-star Euro NCAP rating

BYD Dolphin: well-equipped hatchback, from £27,576, practical boot space

Volkswagen ID.3: up to 265 miles range, faster charging, from around £36,990

Within the Ora Cat lineup, the Funky Cat sits below the larger Lightning Cat saloon and above the smaller Ora R1. If a Chinese EV brand name confuses you while browsing listings, remember that Ora, Haval, and Tank all belong to Great Wall Motors, while BYD and MG operate as separate companies.

Is the GWM Ora Funky Cat Reliable in 2026?

Reliability data has been thin since launch, mostly because sales volumes stayed low across Europe. UK registrations sat around 422 units by early 2024, well behind BYD and far behind MG.

What we do know is that electric motors have fewer moving parts than petrol engines, and that usually means less to go wrong down the line.

Owner reports after 15,000-plus miles mostly describe the drivetrain as dependable. Most of the complaints I’ve come across centre on software glitches and the touchscreen, not the motor or battery.

The car carries a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, with battery cover extending to eight years or 100,000 miles, matching Hyundai and beating most legacy brands outside Kia and Toyota.

Should You Buy the GWM Ora Funky Cat in 2026?

If you want a well-equipped, safe electric car for city driving and short trips, and you don’t mind a small boot or a chatty driver-assistance system, this car makes sense, and it makes even more sense at today’s used prices.

If you regularly drive long distances or need fast charging on the go, look at the MG4 Long Range or Volkswagen ID.3 instead. I’d treat the entry-level Pure trim as the sensible choice, since the GT badge adds cost without adding performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the GWM Ora Funky Cat discontinued?

A: Not at all; it’s still on sale. Great Wall just dropped the Funky Cat name back in January 2024 and started calling it the GWM Ora 03 instead, and that’s the badge you’ll find on UK and European showroom floors today.

Q: What is the new name for the GWM Ora Funky Cat?

A: The Funky Cat is now sold as the GWM Ora 03. The vehicle underneath the badge stayed the same, with only minor software and trim-name updates since the switch.

Q: Is the GWM Ora Funky Cat a good car?

A: I’d call it a solid pick if most of your driving happens around town. You get a five-star safety score, a roomy cabin, and a warranty that beats most of the competition. Just don’t expect much from the boot or the charging speed; both lag behind what rivals offer.

Q: What is the price of the GWM Ora Funky Cat?

A: New prices for the current GWM Ora 03 range from about £31,940 to £34,940 in the UK. Used examples from the original Funky Cat era now start from under £10,000.

Q: What problems does the GWM Ora Funky Cat have?

A: Common owner complaints include a non-self-cancelling indicator stalk, a frequently nagging driver-monitoring system, optimistic range claims, and a small boot with a high loading lip. None of these affect the car’s core safety or drivetrain reliability.

Conclusion

I still think Great Wall got the fundamentals right with this car, even if the badge confusion did it no favors.

If you’re cross-shopping small electric cars this year, drive the Ora 03 back to back with an MG4 before you decide, because the differences you’ll notice in ten minutes behind the wheel matter more than any spec sheet.

Check current listings and warranty terms directly through GWM’s official UK site and confirm safety ratings through Euro NCAP before you sign anything.