The Ora Good Cat may be far from purrr-fect, but the small hatchback is loaded with features, enough to give you the night zoomies
Singapore – Maybe, it is a little more frog-faced than feline-esque; but that is just me. The ORA Good Cat which has been around for a little while now, is just one of a few jellymould-shaped creations churned out by Chinese car manufacturer – ORA.
It may have seemed a rather slow start for the first sub-brand of GWM in Singapore, since It took a while before the Good Cat was joined by its Panamara-aping sibling – the ORA 07 fastback. But ORA looks like it is on the right track, actually showing decent-enough sales numbers last year (especially in a market already saturated with compact Chinese EVs). And remember, this is from a brand, which then had just one model offering.
A Cobby CAT
The ORA Good Cat, which is similar in-size to the Volkswagen T-Cross, bucks what is seen as the norm, with its “Retro Futuristic Design” language. The hatch is by all means inoffensive, and quite easy on the eyes. If you were to squint, you could probably see hints of early Porsche 911, complete with Fuchs wheels. The “inspired” styling is thanks to Emanuel Derta, who once worked for the German carmaker.
CATacious Interior
Open the driver’s door, and you will be greeted by a pair of animated Koi (I would have preferred them sticking with a cat theme), which swim across the twin 10.25-inch digital screens. The door cards, seats and dashboard on this example, sport blue stitching, which do a fine job in breaking the monotony of the otherwise inexpensive interior.
While most things seem good, I must point out that the infotainment is not as intuitive as I hoped. As a consolation, there are physical switches under the air vents, and also buttons on the spokes of the steering wheel – both which provide quick access to some of the car’s functions. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available in wireless form, which is a huge plus, since you can do away with that wired mess. To keep your mobile device charged, a wireless charger is included.
Occupants in the front do have it good, since their seats come ventilated. But what is quite astounding, is that ORA had also included a massage function – something which is quite unheard of, for a vehicle in its class. With a wheelbase of 2,650mm, the rear seats are able to accommodate two adults with ease; while there would be little fuss to include a middle passenger, since the Good Cat has a flat floor.
But while I do not complain about passenger space, the boot on the other hand, offers only a paltry 228 litres of cargo space. However, that is not my actual complaint. Loading tall and bulky items is going to be a bit of a chore, since you would need to clear that high bootlip, while also possibly jostling with that tiny parcel shelf.
More Purr Than Zoomies
The single motor setup, which powers the front wheels puts out 139hp (105kW) and 210Nm. This gets the Good Cat to 100km/h in a rather leisurely on-paper 11 seconds. Off-the-line, there is a brief “introductory” feed of torque, before the motor goes on “full whack”. I do like that this happens, as it is never pleasant to face a wall of torque from the get-go.
The ORA hatchback does very well in a city setting, being able to easily stay ahead of the pack. However, the motor does go “flat” rather quickly, once you pull past 70+km/h; which is a trait consistent with lower-powered electric vehicles.
As one who prefers to drive EVs with little or (even better) no regenerative braking dialed-in, I am glad that even though you are not able to fully turn this off on the Good Cat. On its lowest setting, the recuperation is gentle enough to keep lifting-off pleasant. I actually appreciate that there seems to be a bit of a lag before energy scavenging kicks-in, which keeps the drive smooth. This actually plays to your advantage, especially when someone driving in-front of you keeps “crying wolf” with their brakes.
While there is also a sportier-looking GT-Line variant available, both cars have the very same simple suspension setup, which includes a torsion rear. The Good Cat prioritises comfort, where it is more at home soaking the brunt of our patch-worked road surfaces. Therefore it will not be the happiest, if you were to throw it into a series of bends.
Beyond how it drives, the Good Cat is also equipped with a comprehensive suite of drive assistance and safety features, which include Auto Emergency Braking with Pedestrian & Cyclist Detection, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera. It also has Auto Parking Assist, which is capable of performing both parallel parking and vertical parking manoeuvres. Interestingly the park-assist is also able to sort-out slant parking (up to 10-degrees).
The battery, rated at 63kWh delivers an on-paper range of 420km, which should amount to covering a work week. ORA’s official efficiency numbers for the Good Cat stand at 16.7kWh/100km. I averaged that same power consumption figure, but this is also inclusive of a stop for photos. I would think that that should speak for itself.
Not Purr-fect
With more EVs hitting our market, purr-haps looking more left-of-field with a bucket-load of features is the way to go, if you want to entice customers. Chinese carmakers, including ORA, have taken the “features playbook” right out of the hands of the Koreans, the latter who would happily sell you a specced-up econobox. Only over here, ORA is able to do this, while still keeping the Good Cat set at an easier-to-swallow price tag.
Sure it is far from perfect. The infotainment interface could have been better-arranged, the drive selector is overly-laggy, passengers at the rear could use an air-conditioning vent, and while I am not complaining about the small boot, it sure could use a much larger aperture.
But all that said, the Good Cat which retails at a shade below $160,000, inclusive of COE (as of time of writing), is quite a compelling entry offering, especially given today’s COE environment.
The BYD Dolphin, AION Y Plus, Dongfeng Box and older MG ZS, all compete in this very same market segment, therefore you could understand why the Good Cat’s equipment list is this long. The advantage is yours.
Text & Photos: Clifford Chow
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Luxury car-level equipment list | Sluggish drive selector |
| Well-packaged interior | Tiny boot aperture |
| Infotainment interface needs improvement |
ORA Good Cat Electric 63kWh
| Drivetrain | Full Electric |
| Layout | Single Motor, Front-wheel Drive |
| Motor power / torque | 139hp / 210Nm |
| Battery capacity | 63kWh |
| Efficiency | 16.7kWh/100km |
| Electric Range | 420km |
| 0-100km/h | 11 seconds |
| Top Speed | 150km/h |
| VES Band | A1 |
| Dealer | Cycyle & Carriage Automotive |
| Price | S$158,999 with COE and VES |
| Verdict | Not purr-fect… but all that equipment! |
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