2022 GWM Ora Good Cat first look – cheapest EV in Malaysia doesn’t feel cheap at all, 500 km range legit?

2022 GWM Ora Good Cat first look – cheapest EV in Malaysia doesn’t feel cheap at all, 500 km range legit?

The Ora Good Cat has to be one of the most intriguing cars ever to come out of China. Is it the cute name, the quirky design, the good specs? Probably a sum of the above, with a big portion of design. Unlike the thousands of generic looking SUVs from China, the Good Cat looks like nothing else in the market today (the Porsche 356 is no longer on sale). Like some of you, I’ve been keenly waiting for this review.

If you need an introduction, this maneki-neko is the Ora Good Cat from Great Wall Motors (GWM), which is now officially in Malaysia as a brand. The Good Cat, or Haomao in Mandarin, is set to hit our market in Q4 this year, along with some Haval SUVs. Ora (EV) and Haval (SUV) are GWM’s brands.

This is an early preview unit courtesy of Flux. The car subscription company is running a weekly EV subscription programme for you to “own an EV for seven days” and try out the electric life, which as you’d expect, is a bit different from owning/using ICE-powered cars. Fits into your life easily or too much compromises? Flux has the Good Cat, second-generation Nissan Leaf and Hyundai Kona Electric in its electric fleet.

In Malaysia, four variants will be offered, namely the Tech, Pro, Ultra and Ultra G. All will come with an electric motor rated at 143 PS/210 Nm driving the front wheels, allowing for a top speed of 152 km/h. One-pedal driving is available and there are five drive modes – Normal, Sport, Eco, Eco+ and Auto.

Both the Tech and Pro will come with a 47.8-kWh lithium iron phosphate battery that can provide up to 400 km of range in the NEDC cycle. It’s eight hours to fill this battery up via AC charging (Type 2 connection) at the vehicle’s max input of 6.6 kW. With DC fast charging, you can get from 0-80% state of charge (SoC) in 46 minutes at 60 kW. Both the Tech and Pro are estimated to start from RM14Xk.

Next up is the Ultra, which is estimated to retail from RM15Xk. The range is up to 500 km thanks to a superior 63.1-kWh ternary lithium battery. With AC charging, it takes around 10 hours for a full charge and DC fast charging gets the battery from a 0-80% SoC in about 40 minutes. The range-topping Ultra G is mechanically similar to the Ultra, but it comes with more equipment and a corresponding price tag of from RM16Xk.

2022 GWM Ora Good Cat first look – cheapest EV in Malaysia doesn’t feel cheap at all, 500 km range legit?

Currently, the cheapest EV on sale in Malaysia is the base Hyundai Kona Electric 39.2 kWh at RM156,538. That crossover has a WLTP range of 305 km. Note that the Good Cat’s quoted range is in the older NEDC standard, and not the latest WLTP cycle that most carmakers use today – WLTP typically pulls the range figure down by around 20% – we explain this in the review.

Specs wise, the Tech comes with 17-inch alloys, LED headlamps and DRLs, LED taillights, keyless entry and start, fabric seats, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, automatic air-con with PM2.5 filter, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, four speakers, cruise control, two airbags, ESC, rear parking sensors, hill start assist, low-speed emergency braking and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The Pro adds on 18-inch alloys, automatic headlamps, power-folding side mirrors, rain-sensing wipers, electric panoramic sunroof, synthetic leather upholstery, powered six-way driver’s seat, 360-degree camera, wireless phone charger, USB port for a dashcam as well as side and curtain airbags to make it six in total.

2022 GWM Ora Good Cat first look – cheapest EV in Malaysia doesn’t feel cheap at all, 500 km range legit?

Also fitted are a range of active safety and driver assist systems, including adaptive cruise control with intelligent turning, traffic jam assist, automatic emergency braking with intersection support, front collision warning, a wisdom dodge system, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist and lane centre keeping.

The big batt Ultra gets the Pro’s kit list, but with the addition of a welcome light effect for the headlamps, memory for the powered side mirrors, driver seat memory with welcome function, two more speakers (total six), automated parking, emergency lane keeping, lane change assistant, blind spot detection, rear collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, plus front parking sensors.

The Ultra G is identical to the Ultra when it comes to equipment, but it comes with special colours in and out. The range-topper is the only one that can be had with an exterior in Hazel Wood Beige/Wisdom Brown or Verdant Green with a white roof. Also exclusive to the Ultra G are brown/beige and green/grey cabin colour options. Kit wise, what you see here should be very close to our range-topping Ultra G.

If you’re wondering if this cat is a giant one masquerading as a kitten (think Hyundai Ioniq 5), it’s not. The Good Cat is 4,235 mm long and 1,825 mm wide, which makes it shorter but wider than a Honda City Hatchback (4,345 mm long, 1,748 mm wide). The Ora’s 2,650 mm wheelbase is 50 mm longer than the B-segment City’s. Compact but roomy, as Hafriz demonstrates in the video. The boot is very small, though.

Our man also has high standards for interior appointments, and the cabin of the cheapest EV in Malaysia impresses him, although it does come with some very frustrating elements. Check out the video above and tell us what you think of the Ora Good Cat.

If you look at it long enough, it might meow at you.

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Danny Tan

Danny Tan loves driving as much as he loves a certain herbal meat soup, and sweet engine music as much as drum beats. He has been in the auto industry since 2006, previously filling the pages of two motoring magazines before joining this website. Enjoys detailing the experience more than the technical details.

 

Comments

  • Cat lover on Aug 26, 2022 at 11:22 am

    Meow Meow…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 3
    • sohai on Aug 26, 2022 at 4:13 pm

      Haosiao… dont simply use “cheapest” , because when u google the cheapest EV is MYR 39,000

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 2
    • sohai on Aug 26, 2022 at 4:16 pm

      Here we are paying rm140,000 that 350% extra than others country when we talk about cheapest EV rm39,000 available in the market…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
    • sohai on Aug 26, 2022 at 4:32 pm

      Rm140k miew your head …

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
  • Tommy Hng on Aug 26, 2022 at 1:10 pm

    How do I get to test that EV for a week? No where can I get the answer. Who is syoking sendiri?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 6
  • look cheap? At least better than both P.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 2
  • Stick on Aug 26, 2022 at 1:59 pm

    Copycat, why would they even allow it to be made?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 12
  • Pidoe on Aug 26, 2022 at 3:37 pm

    Cheapest? good one. can built two low cost house even for the tech variant price. no thank u. would rather buy an axia g.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 5
    • In Thailand the 400 pro is just over 800,000baht. That’s crazy good. That budget on a house build wd get approx 25sqm…

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • James KWON on Aug 26, 2022 at 4:45 pm

    ORA COPYCAT. another car with limited shelf life from China.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 14
    • SmartConsumer on Aug 31, 2022 at 8:16 am

      Copy which car exactly? U mean Porsche? Well its because Porshe original designer left Porshe and join them to design this masterpiece. U didn’t know?? Hahahahaha. You are outdated and stuck in you tempurung bro, China’s EV is the best in the world today

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 5
  • EVSuper on Aug 26, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    Many …Haters fo Chinese Ev. So SAD. Those who cannot progress unlike CHINA …… Please do NOT buy any EV made from China.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 3
    • SmartConsumer on Aug 31, 2022 at 8:23 am

      Those that hate are either jealous or stucked in the past seeing china 40 years ago, They didn’t know China moved in lightning miraculous speed within the last 40 years. No one could believe it and cannot grasp the reality. Its truly a miracle and no countries have move and develop at this speed every before. Mind blowing. That is why USA suddenly nrealized that and now they want to stop china by spreading fake news everyday like how they spread fake news about Iraq, Palestine and Russia. Clearly some orang kecil here fell for that Western brainwashing

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 5
  • Curious Cat on Aug 26, 2022 at 6:22 pm

    In Thailand, I understand that only Tech/Pro/Ultra Ora models are sold. Excluding Thai tax incentives, the Ultra (including 2 tone color models) was priced ard RM150K when it was launched there. Here, it seems capitalism/greed is sucking car buyers by having another Ultra ‘G’ model, asking for extra RM10K more. GWM shld do its marketing similar to Thailand. Are there Ultra G models also to be launched in Europe & Australia?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Jan Vinegar of Hesselink on Aug 26, 2022 at 6:46 pm

    I hope this cat doesn’t poo in front of my house.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • Better than Mazda MX-30, Mini Cooper SE, BMW i3, Honda E.
    But cheaper.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • isaac on Aug 28, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    oh please, nedc???? that is so outdated, divide by 1.43 and you will get the most accurate epa range which is around 279km +- 11%, which is between 248km ~ 310km in epa figures.

    city drive ok, long range: good luck

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
    • SmartConsumer on Aug 31, 2022 at 8:17 am

      You sound like an expert. Which EV do you own by the way? Kapcai?? lol

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 6
  • KQ ji on Sep 16, 2022 at 1:38 am

    Front Looks like fiat 500 designed by porsche.
    Rear is totally Nissan leaf.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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