GWM Ora Sport quick review: EV newcomer showcases style, value

February 13, 2023February 13, 2023 Toby Hagon 3309 Views GWM Ora

Tesla tech, sleek styling and punchy performance but at a lower price: That’s part of the sales pitch with the new GWM Ora Sport, which looks set to arrive in Australia late in 2023.

Known as the Ora Lightning Cat overseas, the low-riding four-door will be called the GWM Ora Sport in Australia and sit alongside the regular GWM Ora.

While GWM Australia is yet to confirm the arrival of the four-door hatch that has some Porsche-inspired design cues, it’s clear the company is serious about its intentions.

“It’s probably segment busting in a few ways in terms of the price we think we’ll be at,” says Steve Maciver, GWM Australia head of marketing and communications.

Describing it as a sports sedan, he says it will undercut the likes of the Telsa Model 3 and Polestar 2 and that it will have class leading driver assist technology.

Best guesses are that prices will start at below $60,000 for the front-drive single-motor version. There will also be a dual-motor version that ups peak outputs to 300kW and 680Nm, enough to launch the sleek four door to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds.

We’ve been given our first taste of the Ora Sport during a brief drive at a proving ground in Victoria.

The sole left-hand-drive car in the country is the one we’re getting a brief steer of. It’s a single-motor model with 150W and 340Nm and an impressively slippery drag coefficient of 0.22.

Like a Porsche Taycan there are charging ports on either front guard; one side does only AC charging, the other AC and DC.

There’s also no shortage of bold design elements filtering their way into the cabin, too.

Windows do without frames for a coupe-like touch. A trio of dials takes pride of place on the floating centre console. And digital displays are housed within three circular shrouds.

There’s perforated leather, race-like bucket seats with fixed headrests up front and ample silver finishes that look well put together. The Ora sub-brand’s exclamation mark logo sits in the centre of the steering wheel.

As the exterior alludes to, the Ora Sport is less family hauler and more fun-to-drive sporty. Those in the rear will find headroom best suited to the shorter-statured. A high-ish floor loaded with battery packs has legs up higher than usual. The boot is relatively shallow and with a small opening.

Like a Tesla, the Ora Sport detects when someone is in the driver’s seat with a key, readying the car for progress without the need to press buttons or slide a key into a slot. There’s also a panoramic sunroof with a cross bar through the centre of the roof and flush door handles.

Distinctively styled 19-inch wheels are wrapped in Michelin Sport rubber.

Our drive is brief and limited to a proving ground, but it’s enough to get a taste test of the imminent newcomer.

Performance is EV respectable, although entry-level rivals should have its match, in part because the body weighs well over two tonnes. It doesn’t have the hit off the line most EVs give you. Instead it builds thrust as though it’s almost mimicking an ICE, with more of a linearity and intensity as speed builds.

The most interesting element is fake engine sound. Take off and there’s an ICE rumble, complete with mock gear changes. It’s a novelty, for sure, although we reckon we’d be turning it off after a few take-offs.

Steering is light and grip levels seem decent. Our brief experience with the brakes suggested there were heavily assisted to the point where if you get too enthusiastic the ABS can be triggered. The suspension can lean when pushed, the first sign that those looks may not be matched with dynamic nous.

Still, there’s enough substance elsewhere to make the GWM Ora Sport an interesting addition to the lower end of the EV market.