IMOTO: GWM ORA 5
GWM South Africa has re-launched the Ora which first arrived in South Africa in 2023, focusing on electric vehicles only.
Maybe before I go too far, let me tell you that GWM in this country has different companies or brands under it.
There are Haval, Tank, P-Series Ora and in China there is another one that builds tsetse called Wey.
When the Ora arrived, the Ora 03 was launched, which was the cheapest electric car in the country at that time.
However, it was not very popular and that is why GWM is relaunching the existing Ora 5 with a petrol engine so that it will be open to more customers.
Apart from the engines but another proof of customer fishing is that all variants of the Ora 5 cost less than the Ora 03 which started at R686 950
Ora 5 is an SUV that looks compact but spacious inside. It is 4 471mm which makes it almost half the size of its cousin the Haval Jolion. It is slightly longer than Chery Tiggo 4 Pro and VW T-Cross.
It has round LED headlights, 18-inch rims and LED taillights.
The colors you choose are confusing for the chameleon as there are green, pink, yellow and others that match the black skull.
Inside it is spacious as it has a wheelbase of 2 720mm. It is almost the same size as the Omoda C7.
If you didn’t pay attention to the round lights and rims that remind you of the Mini, you will definitely see the relationship inside.
After all, in China the BMW Group that owns Mini and GWM signed a partnership in 2020.
The buttons for the aircon and hazard lights and the buttons for adjusting the mirrors and the buttons for opening the windows are typical of the Mini.
The good thing is that when you touch it, it feels very solid like a car that won’t wear out easily.
It has leather seats. In one type only the driver is electrically adjustable but in the other both are in the front and they are heated or cooled.
Up front is a 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Coffee OS 3 that we first saw on the Haval H6 PHEV.
You connect the mobile phone with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto wirelessly and do almost everything inside because I can compare it as its heart.
The driver has a digital instrument cluster above a knobby steering wheel with buttons.
It has a 50W wireless charging port and a port for the rear passengers.
The space in the boot is good and there is a small spare tire nicknamed the biscuit.
Since it is no longer electric only, the types of engines it comes with are three different.
There is a 1.5 liter turbo petrol with 105kW of power and 210Nm of torque. It works with a 7 speed dual clutch transmission.
When I drove it slowly in Cape Town, this week, I was presented with enough power. They are not small and not big but enough for walking in the city and on open roads. Passing other cars is not what made it so effective.
There is also a 1.5 liter turbo petrol that works with an electric battery that charges itself. This hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) has a power of 164kW and a torque of 476Nm.
When you take off or when you are about to park, the engine shuts down and starts to rev down when you get up to speed. When I drove it, it showed that it consumes 6.6l/100km of petrol.
For those who want to go electric only, there is a 58.3kWh lithium-ion battery. They say that if it is full, you can travel 520 km. It has a power of 150kW and a torque of 260Nm.
In terms of safety and driver assistance, they have installed six airbags, which help you stay on track and much more.
Price:
ORA 5 1.5T SUPER LUXURY DCT R364,900.00
ORA 5 1.5T ULTRA LUXURY DCT R409,900.00
ORA 5 1.5T HEV SUPER LUXURY DHT R424,900.00
ORA 5 1.5T HEV ULTRA LUXURY DHT R474,900.00
ORA 5 SUPER LUXURY BEV R549,900.00
ORA 5 ULTRA LUXURY BEV R599,900.00
It comes with a seven-year or 200,000km warranty, an eight-year or 150,000km battery warranty, a seven-year or 75,000km service plan and seven-year roadside assistance.