Written by Keith Adams and Ryan Gilmore Updated: 7 May 2025

Overview

For a car that only began production in 2022 there’s quite the history to the GWM Ora 03. This Chinese electric car launched as the GWM Ora Funky Cat, a name that conjured up images of an American Bobtail in disco flares more than a family-sized electric car. Then it became the GWM Ora 03, and now it’s the GWM Ora 03, with the Ora bit swapping from the manufacturer to the model’s name. Confused? Us too. 

It might look small, but those cutesy looks hide deceptively large dimensions. It counts the likes of the MG4 EV, BYD Dolphin, and Volkswagen ID.3 as rivals, all family-sized EV hatchbacks. The competition is fierce, and the Ora 03 also faces the uphill battle of trying to establish the GWM name in the UK as other Chinese brands – namely MG and BYD – have so deftly managed to do.

So, what does the Ora 03 have in its court? Well, it certainly looks interesting with a retro design and it sports strong equipment levels. It’s affordable too, the base model makes an appearance on our cheapest EV article. 

We’ve driven the Ora 03 in all its iterations to see whether this newcomer is the unsung hero of the family EV class. Read on for our review or check out how we came to our decision by reading our how we test cars page.

What’s it like inside?

The Ora 03’s retro-futuristic styling continues inside, with a spacious and slick look that lends the cabin a much brighter ambiance than most of its rivals. Everything feels well screwed-together, which isn’t always the case in cars from Chinese manufacturers. While it’s not as plush as a MINI Electric, it’s certainly an improvement on an MG4 EV.

The clean-looking dashboard is dominated by a pair of 10.25-inch screens, one for infotainment and another for the instruments. In terms of clarity and brightness, they’re certainly on a par with most rivals, though the massive steering wheel has a tendency to block out one edge of the infotainment display depending on how you sit.

Most Ora 03s will feature a plain black interior. Pick the Aurora Green paint and you will get a matching (and snazzy) green and cream interior. All GT spec Ora 03s get a black interior with racy red accents.

A few minutes with the Ora 03’s infotainment system shows that the gloss and polish of the rest of the interior doesn’t extend to the software. The interface here is really poor, with an array of problems that we’d like to see fixed in the next generation of GWM’s infotainment software. Too much of the interface is based around these controls which often combine text-heavy labels with minuscule virtual toggle switches or features hidden away behind sub-menus. Our tester took 10 minutes of screen bashing to work out how to turn the heated steering wheel on.  

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The lack of physical switchgear really compounds how bad the infotainment system is, there are only a handful of physical switches dotted around the interior, for the hazard lights plus a few climate control shortcuts. At least the buttons on the steering wheel controls are configurable.

After being omitted from early cars, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now included, but it’s disappointing that it’s taken so long for Ora to introduce this important feature. At least the Ora 03 isn’t missing much else by way of tech – there’s a 360-degree camera setup, keyless entry and start, built-in navigation and internet radio connectivity.

Comfort

Passenger comfort in the Ora 03 is largely excellent – it’s one of the highlights of the whole car. Not only do you get plenty of space, but the seats themselves are comfortable and squishy, though not very supportive. Broad-shouldered rear passengers will find themselves a little bit hemmed in by the car’s teardrop roofline in the rear but it’s still roomy.

Mid-range and up models get heated front seats as well as a memory function to make getting in and out easier. Spec a flagship GT and the front seats also boast ventilation and a massage function. The massage feature isn’t the nicest system we’ve experienced, it feels hollow. The massage unit found in the similarly priced Fiat 600e is a lot nicer.

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GWM Ora 03 boot space and practicality

The boot is thoroughly unimpressive at just 228 litres, bordering on unacceptably small for this size of car. Against rivals like the Volkswagen ID.3 and MG4 EV and their 385 litres boot space, the 03 is sorely lacking.

To put this lack of size into perspective, the 03 has a smaller boot size than a Kia Picanto’s 255 litres, and that’s a city car that’s 64cm shorter than the 03.

This is made even worse with a deep sill to lift items over and a sharply raked rear window preventing you from carrying taller items. The rear seats do fold down easily, though they don’t leave a totally flat floor when they do. At least the tiny parcel shelf won’t be a problem to store.

Stowage for oddments on the inside is reasonable, but for an interior so vast it’s not utilised particularly well. With slim door bins, a small cubby under the armrest and two wireless phone chargers, it’s okay but there’s a lot of wasted potential. Further forward still you have two cupholders, which are set too low.

Safety

When tested by Euro NCAP the Ora’s predecessor, the Funky Cat, it scored a full five stars. While its crash scores were impressive it did particularly well in the safety assist category, aided by a vast collection of driver aids almost unheard of at this price point. It was so good Euro NCAP decided to name it the Safest Small Family Car for 2023.

The Ora 03 has adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping aids that assist on the motorway, as well as blind-spot monitoring and automatic parking tech. There’s also a driver attention monitor on the A-pillar that tracks your eyes to make sure you’re paying attention to the road and chides you if you look away for too long. It looks a little like a security system you’d find in a public lift and could be integrated a lot neater.

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GWM Ora 03 battery range and charging

You get either a 48kWh (for the Pure) or 63kWh battery (for Pro and GT models) powering a 171hp motor and driving the front wheels, with the same performance figures claimed for all. Acceleration is pretty nippy – 0-30mph comes up in 3.8 seconds, and the 0-62mph time quoted at 8.3 seconds. Maximum speed is limited to 99mph.

The Ora 03’s 48kWh battery should take around seven hours for a full charge from a home wallbox, while the 63kWh version adds an hour to that. Charging out in public isn’t as impressive as its rivals, as it can only top up at a maximum of 64kW – that means a 15 to 80% charge will take more than 40 minutes – which is slow by today’s standards.

GWM claims the 48kWh Ora 03 will return up to 192 miles on a charge and 261 for the 63kWh version. We saw around 136 miles in our tests for the smaller version, though given the cold weather we were experiencing we’d expect this figure to be slightly higher in the summer. Expect just over 200 miles from the larger battery version.

What’s it like to drive?

Previous tests of the Ora 03 concluded that it was a surefooted car to drive, offering neat but uninspiring handling, and a bit too much bodyroll to ever be considered fun. It was safe and precise. However, our most recent Ora 03 came fitted with cheap Chaoyang tyres. Never heard of them? Neither had we, and they eroded any goodwill we had towards the way the Ora 03 drove. 

They’d regularly break traction setting off from junctions, made even worse if the front wheels had any steering angle applied. Smoking tyres were easily achievable in the Ora 03 at pedestrian speeds. And this was all in the dry, they were even more unruly in the wet. If you want a GWM, get the tyres changed to some mainstream rubber as a matter of urgency.

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The electric motor is quiet enough with the expected distant whirr, but wind and road noise prove to be the problem. Get up to motorway speeds and you’ll be reaching for the stereo dial to keep things civilised. There are selectable driving modes, which as in most rivals are better left untouched.

Eco+ limits top speed to 55mph and reduces acceleration, while Sport weights up the steering and makes the throttle response hyperactive. Normal is the best choice of the three, though don’t be tempted by ‘auto’ which sometimes slips the car into Eco+ without your consent. There are also adjustable levels of regenerative braking, though even the strongest isn’t very powerful and won’t take you down to a full stop.

The single electric motor gives good if not outstanding performance. It’s responsive off the line and acceleration doesn’t tail off too much as you approach motorway speeds unlike some EVs. A Peugeot e-208 is similarly swift, but the MG4 EV is usefully quicker.

What models and trims are available?

The Ora 03 range has been realigned for 2025, introducing a new entry-level trim and more competitive pricing. The new Pure variant replaces the Pure+ and retains much of that model’s equipment. So it retains the twin 10.25-inch screens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 360-degree camera and a facial recognition system.

Sitting above the Pure is the Pro, which replaces the Pro+, is considerably cheaper than that model and gets the larger battery for that 261-mile driving range. It also gets heated front seats, front parking sensors and an automatic parking system. Sitting at the top of the model range is the GT, which gains sporty looks, a launch-control system and an efficiency-boosting heat pump.

What else should I know?

Our example had an infuriating quirk that made motorway trips tedious. The indicator wouldn’t reliably cancel after changing lanes, often needing a few prods up and down to finally cancel. At times cancelling a signal became a genuine fight.

Rear visibility is dreadful and made worse by the lack of a rear wiper. The Ora 03’s bulbous shape and small, high rear window means you’ll want to rely on its reversing camera and parking sensors. It’s not an especially large car, but it is wider than many of its competitors so you might find it slightly more difficult to squeeze into tight parking bays.

Click through to our full, expert verdict on the GWM Ora 03 – does its undeniable low price make up for some of its shortcomings?