MOTORS: Will new Funky Cat leave you purring?
It might seem like a simple task but the naming of cars is a minefield for the manufacturers.
You may not know it, but Kona, the compact crossover from Hyundai means something quite rude in Portugal while Audi’s electric e-tron is something you wouldn’t want to tread on in
France.
Mitsubishi renamed their SUV, the Shogun in Europe because the original Japanese label, the Pajero is something quite slang in Spain.
So I was intrigued when I was handed the keys to the first all-electric model in the UK from the new Chinese car maker GWM. It’s part of Great Wall Motor which you may remember had a pretty unsuccessful stab at the British pick-up market a few years ago.
The new car is interesting, looking like some sort of cross between a MINI and a Nissan Leaf with a bit of VW Beetle thrown into the mix, but by far the catchiest thing about it is its name – the Ora Funky Cat.
Now I don’t quite know what a funky cat is but round my locality in Angus, Ora has a range of meanings from farm labourer to something which is messy or untidy.
Putting the name to one side, which is the best thing to do when you find yourself at the wheel of a funky cat, what do you get for your not-insubstantial investment of almost £32,000?
It’s certainly different from almost any other electric car on the road from the droop snoot and broad back-end styling to the swimming Koi Carp fish which greet you on the central display when you step into the cockpit.
You don’t actually fire it up – there’s no start button or ignition – you just turn the rotary transmission knob to D and away it goes.
Once under way, the car’s electronics have a tendency to nag, from a series of mysterious warning dings, to a disembodied voice telling you to pay attention to the road ahead, if you let your gaze wander and it’s picked up by the eye-line monitor on the A-pillar.
The test car was an early First Edition version and it’s likely other cheaper models will appear in the future with a bigger battery and longer range than the claimed 190 miles of the test car.
It can take a 64 kW charge and if you can find an available and working charger, you should be able to replenish the battery to the recommended 80 per cent in about 45 minutes.
I had a bit of a challenge which I haven’t encountered on an EV before. Inside the charging socket there’s a small pin which locks the plug in place when charging. Unfortunately the pin had jammed closed which meant it wouldn’t accept the plug.
After some frustration and several phone calls I discovered there’s a cable release under the bonnet.
Normally I would have consulted the paper handbook but there isn’t one – all the technical information is accessed through the digital screen but I couldn’t find the relevant section.
It occurred to me that if you suffer a complete power failure, the digital manual would be inaccessible and you’d be left high and dry.
On the positive side the car performs well on the road with typical EV get-up-and-go, silently hitting 62mph in just over eight seconds.
The steering is a bit light but the car behaves itself on a range of surfaces and through the bends.
The interior is smart and equipment is comprehensive.
It’s also remarkably spacious, especially in the rear which is big enough to accommodate three full-size adults.
The interior layout is minimalist with almost everything within the touchscreen apart from the climate controls which are operated through toggle switches on the central dash, reminiscent of the early MINIs.
Distribution in the UK is being run by the IM Group, best known for Isuzu and Subaru, through dealerships around the country including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Perth and Motherwell.
GWM Ora Funky Cat First Edition
PRICE: £31,995
ENGINE: 48kWh battery/1x e-motor Single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
POWER: 169bhp
TORQUE: 250 Nm
PERFORMANCE: Top speed 99 mph
0-62mph: 8.3 secs
RANGE: 193 miles
CHARGING TIME: 43 mins (64kW)
