The ex-Funky Cat gets a new £25k entry model and a sporting-inspired GT range-topper
Don’t be deceived by the jazzy bumpers, racy alloys and GT badging: the new GWM Ora 03 GT is not an Alpine A290 rival. This is the new top-rung version of the 03, and while it might look every inch the hot hatch hero, it’s not looking to trouble the podium at a future running of our Best Driver’s Car showdown. It forms part of a new three-pronged line-up has been introduced as part of a bid to widen the 03’s appeal and help it better compete in an increasingly busy field of small electric cars. Fundamentally, though, this left-field, lesser-spotted hatchback is unchanged, having received the bigger battery and much-needed smartphone mirroring functionality in a facelift a while back – when it also confoundingly dropped the Funky Cat moniker which had no doubt played an important role in establishing a foothold for GWM in the UK. A victory for rationality over whimsy, but one that bosses say will help to present a more uniform line-up worldwide. When the Ora 03 was launched three years ago under its original name, it didn’t play the same value game as its MG 4 EV compatriot. The car was originally announced with a very attractive price, but Ora’s UK sales director told Autocar: “Once we saw the car and realised how high-quality the interior was, and really understood the personality of it, we realised we’ve got something really quite special and therefore we can be quite targeted in the market where it’s going to be.”Thus it was priced from £33,000 with the smaller battery in a bid to cement its premium credentials. But with sales not quite matching up to expectations and an electric hatchback market that’s much busier than it was in 2022, it’s time for a reset, with that price point now occupied by the leggiest variant, and the smaller-batteried ‘Pure’ car going head-to-head with the cheapest Renault 5 and BYD Dolphin at £25k. The mid-rung Pro car splits the difference with the standard design treatment but the bigger battery at £29k.