About the GWM ORA
Andrew H purchased this GWM ORA new for $43,000 (including all on-road costs). Andrew H would buy this car again because: “Funky little city EV that does its job pretty well. The car is receiving consistent updates from GWM, so it’s only going to get better. The out-of-the-box package is already very good, so if I could get one at a similar price, it’s definitely worth it. However, time will tell about Chinese reliability.”
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
I have been driving the car for one month, and no issues have been identified; the build quality is very sturdy.
However, there has been a minor issue with charging, as it gives me an error message when I try to charge the car using a Tesla home charger.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
So far, the ownership experience is mediocre, primarily due to EV ownership and living in an apartment with no home charger.
Owning an EV feels like a lifestyle change, requiring me to get up early on weekends, go to a local quick charger to charge the car while I exercise or do my shopping. Luckily, I live close to a lot of chargers; this is only going to get better as infrastructure improves.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
$43,000 with a free home charger and $99 per service for five years, along with five years of roadside assistance and an eight-year warranty, is a pretty good deal, I would say. Time will tell how the car and its battery hold up.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
For the price I got it, it’s great. It has a lot of safety tech (maybe even a bit too much), a decent range, but then again, I am not too fussy about the features.
However, this is the nicest and techiest car I’ve owned, so I can’t complain too much.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
120kW is more than enough for the road. I am getting an average range of 400km with mostly city driving, including a lot of start and stop traffic.
While the car would benefit from being AWD or RWD for some fun factor and downsizing to a 17-inch wheel with better tires, which will also help improve its range, it is built to a price – so again, can’t complain.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
It has a lot of fancy technology and a ‘skill tree,’ but I don’t really care for the technology.
However, I have noticed that the safety technology in this car can be a bit overprotective and loves to beep a lot, sometimes for the most ridiculous reasons, like merging into traffic.
It also has two wireless charging ports but our phones don’t even allow for wireless charging, so it’s a useless tech for us. With no built-in GPS and only Apple CarPlay, it can be annoying, but Android Auto is coming this month, so that’s alright.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
The car rides great, and the suspension feels up for the job on Australian roads.
The handling could be better, as it has a quite big turning circle and is quite ‘thick’ for a city car. Realistically, it drives and handles more like an SUV.
As mentioned before, it would benefit from downsizing the rims and changing to better tires.