It’s all the time courageous to name the ultimate results of any contest earlier than it has ended. But it appears unimaginable that something will beat Nice Wall Motor Firm’s Ora Funky Cat for the title of essentially the most oddly named automobile C/D will drive this yr.

That is no self-built particular. The Funky Cat is an electrical hatchback from China’s GWM, an automotive group that produced no fewer than 1.2 million autos final yr and is in a three way partnership with BMW to provide the following Mini EV hatchback. GWM subsidiaries embody Havel, Wey, and the intriguingly named Tank—which, appropriately, makes nothing however boxy SUVs. Ora is an electric-only model that offers its fashions feline names and is aimed toward youthful patrons. Within the Individuals’s Republic, our topic is the Haomao, or “Good Cat,” however when exported to Europe this cat will get to be Funky.

The Funky Cat sits on what GWM calls its L.E.M.O.N. platform, an obvious (and unlucky) acronym that is not defined in any larger element on its company web site. However do not let the twee identify and cutesy appears idiot you. Beneath all that lies a typically well-engineered automotive, one that may compete with better-known rivals on vary, efficiency, and—maybe most essential—worth.

Each Ora mannequin will get retro styling, and in comparison with a few of its siblings the Funky Cat’s barely startled entrance finish will be thought to be getting off calmly. It’s no shock to find that credited designer Emanuel Derta previously labored for Porsche; the chrome-ringed spherical headlights are harking back to the items discovered on early-Nineteen Seventies 911 Carreras. The Funky Cat’s design is positively restrained when in comparison with different Ora fashions—the Lightning Cat sedan appears like a proto-Panamera, and the Ballet Cat is a four-door tackle the unique Volkswagen Beetle.

Seen from the facet or rear the Funky Cat appears extra trendy, though its mixture of curves and brief overhangs makes it look smaller than it’s; at 166.7 inches in size, this feline is barely barely bigger than the last-generation Hyundai Kona EV. Inside, the five-seat cabin has respectable area for occupants each entrance and rear, the design is unfussy, and supplies appear upmarket sufficient. The old-school theme extends to chrome-effect switchgear and pleated trim that would not really feel misplaced in a Sixties sports activities automotive. That is pleather slightly than leather-based, nevertheless it nonetheless feels convincing as soon as that secret is thought. Disappointingly, the steel switches really feel insubstantial when operated, as does the rotary R/N/D course selector, however your fingers have to discover the decrease reaches of the dashboard and seat bases to search out any cheap-feeling plastics.

The Ora has two 10.3-inch landscape-oriented shows—one a digital instrument cluster, the opposite a touch-sensitive management display—however the interface is not the snappiest to function.

All European-market Funky Cats function a single 169-hp motor turning the entrance wheels that attracts power from a lithium-iron-phosphate battery with an estimated 43.0 kilowatt-hours of usable capability (a bigger pack with an estimated 57.0 kilowatt-hours is optionally available, however we’ve but to drive that setup). Below Europe’s optimistic WLTP protocol, the usual pack has an estimated vary of 193 miles, or roughly 164 miles in EPA methodology. One weak spot is fast-charging, because the Funky Cat solely helps DC fast-charge charges as much as 80 kilowatts, properly under punchier rivals. On the plus facet, it’s lighter than most equally sized alternate options, with the smaller-pack automotive weighing 3395 kilos by Ora’s measurements.

Efficiency feels robust for a junior EV. Off the road, the Funky Cat will be made to chirp its entrance tires on dry asphalt, the traction management taking a laid-back method to intervention. Acceleration stays brisk till round 60 mph, tailing off quickly above that. Ora quotes 8.3 seconds to succeed in 62 mph, nevertheless it feels subjectively faster. Previous 70 mph, the automotive appears to hit a half-life curve, with every successive 10-mph increment taking twice so long as the final to reach; confirming the 99-mph limiter would require each endurance and an extended straight than we may discover on our German take a look at route. (No, we did not go onto the autobahn.)

Refinement is sweet at mild speeds, with a delicate suspension pillowing city bumps. However wind and tire noise construct rapidly with velocity, and when touring quicker over tough roads there was the occasional sense of floatiness, the Funky Cat feeling under-damped. Grip ranges proved cheap, however there was no pleasure to be present in attempting to push the bounds of adhesion amid early-onset understeer and a scarcity of suggestions. The inconsistent regenerative braking additionally added to the sense of dynamic disconnect, taking awhile to construct resistance after the accelerator was lifted.

However the largest distraction from the cabin’s calm was a mess of beeps and alarms. The Funky Cat has a speed-monitoring system that pings each time the automotive goes above a posted velocity restrict, even by a single mph. The lane-keep assistant chimes if it feels the automotive is straying from its lane, ultimately intervening additional with aggressive self-steering. A driver-monitoring system provides but additional admonishment if it thinks the pilot’s consideration is wandering. Deactivating these is an ungainly, multi-stage course of, and the lane-keep system frustratingly defaults to on with every restart.

The usual fitment of those methods—in addition to lively cruise management and blind-spot monitoring—appears to be one of many major causes the Funky Cat achieved a class-leading rating within the Euro NCAP security rankings. However in our expertise, Ora added what felt like an unsafe stage of distraction.

For European patrons the Funky Cat’s most engaging element is its worth, with the usual model asking the equal of $35,700 in Germany earlier than tax. That is aggressive, however Volkswagen just lately introduced it’s slicing the beginning worth of the face-lifted European-market ID.3 Professional—with 201 horses and a 58.0-kWh battery—to about $36K earlier than tax. But Nice Wall has loads of room to reply with extra aggressive cuts if it needs to. In China, essentially the most primary model of the Good Cat, with the smaller battery and a 141-hp electrical motor, prices simply RMB 107,800 ($14,850).

The Ora Funky Cat feels prefer it’s 90 p.c of a automotive. The fundamentals are all good, however the particulars nonetheless require extra polish.

Senior European Correspondent

Our man on the opposite facet of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain however studies from throughout Europe, generally past. He has beforehand held workers roles on UK titles together with CAR, Autocar and evo, however his personal automotive tastes have a tendency in the direction of the Germanic, proudly owning each a difficult 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.