GWM Ora 2023 review

GWM does not back away from the premise that value-for-money is a cornerstone of its business plan. In fact, the pricing will probably attract as many would-be buyers as any other element of the Ora’s design or marketing, so the sticker price is a big deal.

The base-model variant of the Ora will carry an MSRP of $43,990 (which will rise when drive-away pricing is revealed). 

The Ora features two 10.25-inch screens.

That gets you the 48kWh battery (for a 320km range) 18-inch alloy wheels, dual 10.25-inch screens, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 360-degree surround-view camera, active cruise-control, synthetic  leather seat trim, intelligent start (no starter button) and plenty of driver aids (see the Safety section).

The same specification is offered with the long-range battery which extends range to 420km. Equipment levels are identical to the base-model, but the extra battery capacity lifts the MSRP to $47,990.

The Ora wears 18-inch alloy wheels.

For those with a little more to spend, there’s also an upmarket variant of the Ora, dubbed Ora GT. At $53,990, it’s a bit pricier than the other Oras, but it does run to some classy gear including a panoramic sunroof, specific 18-inch alloys, different bumpers and grille, a hands-free electric tailgate, a powered driver’s seat with memory, automatic parking and red brake calipers. 

More importantly, there’s a little extra power available (GWM hasn’t told us how much more, but figure on a handful of kiloWatts) although that does drop the projected range from 420 to 400km. 

The result of the car’s extra height is that the seats can be arranged to sit occupants in a fairly upright way and that, in turn, means this is a small car that can actually sit two six-footers one behind the other. 

There’s good headroom at the same time, too, even though the standard sunroof does eat into the space a little if you’re exceptionally long in the torso. Despite this the Ora suddenly comes into focus as a genuine small family-car contender in accommodation terms.

The front seats are okay (if you don’t mind that upright thing) but the rear bench is a bit flat for bigger posteriors. 

Inside there’s good headroom.

Better news is that the synthetic trim GWM has specified feels more like leather than vinyl and the company has gone to decent lengths to give the car a more upmarket look and feel. 

Central to that is the quilted seat facings and door trims. And where you might be expecting lots of hard plastics, most of the touch points above the knee are, in fact, quite plush, too. 

The dashpad is a great example and, when combined with the rather striking two-tone colour schemes on offer, the Ora reveals itself to be anything but nasty. 

The rear bench is a bit flat for bigger posteriors. 

As we said, that’s above the knee, because the hard plastics we were expecting do eventually turn up; on the lower door trims and the centre console. 

Bottle holders in each door and plenty of cubby spaces around the cabin will make the Ora as easy to live with as any other small SUV. That said, we would have liked a reach adjustable steering column.

And just to prove that the Chinese (and this isn’t just GWM) can’t help themselves helping themselves to somebody else’s design language, the row of toggle switches under the air vents is, depending on your point of view, either a homage or a rip-off of the BMW Mini’s switches of two decades ago. 

The dash and steering wheel are two-tone.

Those air-vents, which run right across the dash add a bit of visual interest, as does the two-tone, twin-spoke steering wheel, and the dual 10.25 inch info screens make a bit of a tech statement, too.

Despite having the batteries under the floor and the motor slung between the front wheels, there’s not actually any luggage space in the frunk. 

It does open, but only to reveal a bank of electronics and controllers. Which means the luggage space with the rear seat in place is a relatively small 228 litres. 

Fold the rear bench down, however, and space opens up to 858 litres. The rear bench also incorporates three child restraint points across its 60/40 split backrest. 

The Ora uses a single electric motor driving the front wheels only. It’s a pure electric vehicle and, in fact, represents GWM’s first 100 per cent electric model. 

Power from the motor is 126kW and there’s 250Nm of torque available. The platform is also scalable, so larger (or even smaller) EVs could be spun off the basic architecture as GWM gets its EV line-up firing.

Typically, there’s no multi-speed transmission, just the single-speed reduction unit to give the car the road speed it requires. Gears are selected by a rotary dial in the centre-console.

The Ora has a single-speed gearbox.

While GWM says no dual-motor version of the Ora will be offered here, there is the option of a larger battery for greater range. Check out the energy consumption section for the details of that.

Even though it’s an EV-specific platform, the suspension remains fairly conventional with MacPherson struts at the front and a simple, but compact torsion-bar rear suspension. Electric power steering is also fitted.

GWM will offer the Ora with a choice of battery layouts. The cheapest version will have a single Lithium Iron Phosphate battery of 48kWh, which claims to give a 320km range (WLPT). 

By adding the second battery, you take the capacity up to 63kWh and increase the official range to 420km.

Opt for the GT with its slight power increase and that range drops to 400km. It's worth mentioning that those range numbers are line-ball with the BYD Atto 3's numbers.

Either way, the Ora will be a single-motor car with no plans to offer a dual-motor version. The vehicle can be configured to give one-pedal driving to maximise energy regeneration from braking in typical urban traffic.

Fast charging is via a CCS Type 2 port.

The Ora can be charged at a maximum 11kW on an AC outlet and up to 80kW on a DC fast-charger. 

That, says GWM, is enough to take the Ora from 10 to 80 per cent charged in 41 minutes. And on a 50kW charger, the Ora should go from 30 to 80 per cent charged in about 30 minutes. 

Fast charging is via a CCS Type 2 port. GWM is also investigating the option of a home-charging station for Ora customers.

Real world power consumption should be around the 15 to 16kWh combined mark, although as with any EV, highway kilometres will take a chunk out of that range estimate. 

And, of course, as with any EV, a GWM Ora venturing outside urban centres will be at the mercy of our underdone and, frankly, unreliable charging infrastructure, something that is not changing fast enough.

GWM offers the Ora with its seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. That includes five years of free roadside assistance and there’s capped-price servicing although the pricing details of that hadn’t been announced when we drove the car.

The Ora should, also be typical of other EVs in being relatively inexpensive to service thanks to the lack of moving parts and complexity compared with a conventionally-powered car.

The Ora is covered by a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

The big running-cost determinant, meanwhile, will be whether you can charge the car at home rather than paying for a fast-charger. 

And if you do charge at home, if you do it with solar power or any other form of renewable energy, the environmental costs (as well as the fiscal ones) also fall.