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It may look like an easy task however the identifying of vehicles is a minefield for the makers.
You might not understand it, however Kona, the compact crossover from Hyundai suggests something rather disrespectful in Portugal while Audi’s electrical e-tron is something you wouldn’t wish to tread on in
France.
Mitsubishi relabelled their SUV, the Shogun in Europe due to the fact that the initial Japanese label, the Pajero is something rather slang in Spain.
So I was captivated when I was handed the secrets to the very first all-electric design in the UK from the brand-new Chinese car maker GWM. It’s part of Great Wall Motor which you might keep in mind had a quite not successful stab at the British pick-up market a couple of years back.
The brand-new car is intriguing, appearing like some sort of cross in between a MINI and a Nissan Leaf with a little bit of VW Beetle tossed into the mix, however without a doubt the catchiest aspect of it is its name – the Ora Funky Cat.
Now I don’t rather understand what a cool cat is however round my area in Angus, Ora has a variety of significances from farm labourer to something which is unpleasant or messy.
Putting the name to one side, which is the very best thing to do when you discover yourself at the wheel of a cool cat, what do you get for your not-insubstantial financial investment of almost £32,000?
It’s definitely various from almost any other electrical car on the roadway from the droop snoot and broad back-end styling to the swimming Koi Carp fish which welcome you on the main screen when you enter the cockpit.
You don’t in fact fire it up – there’s no start button or ignition – you simply turn the rotary transmission knob to D and away it goes.
Once under method, the car’s electronic devices tend to nag, from a series of mystical caution dings, to a disembodied voice informing you to take notice of the roadway ahead, if you let your look roam and it’s gotten by the eye-line screen on the A-pillar.
The test car was an early First Edition variation and it’s most likely other more affordable designs will appear in the future with a larger battery and longer variety than the declared 190 miles of the test car.
It can take a 64 kW charge and if you can discover an available and working battery charger, you must have the ability to renew the battery to the advised 80 percent in about 45 minutes.
I had a little bit of a difficulty which I haven’t come across on an EV prior to. Inside the charging socket there’s a little pin which locks the plug in location when charging. Unfortunately the pin had actually jammed closed which implied it wouldn’t accept the plug.
After some disappointment and a number of telephone call I found there’s a cable television release under the bonnet.
Normally I would have sought advice from the paper handbook however there isn’t one – all the technical info is accessed through the digital screen however I couldn’t discover the pertinent area.
It struck me that if you suffer a total power failure, the digital handbook would be unattainable and you’d be left high and dry.
On the positive side the car carries out well on the roadway with common EV get-up-and-go, quietly striking 62mph in simply over 8 seconds.
The steering is a bit light however the car acts itself on a variety of surface areas and through the bends.
The interior is wise and equipment is thorough.
It’s likewise extremely roomy, specifically in the back which is huge enough to accommodate 3 full-size grownups.
The interior design is minimalist with almost whatever within the touchscreen apart from the environment controls which are run through toggle turns on the main dash, similar to the early MINIs.
Distribution in the UK is being run by the IM Group, best understood for Isuzu and Subaru, through dealers around the nation consisting of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Perth and Motherwell.
GWM Ora Funky Cat First Edition
COST: £31,995
ENGINE: 48kWh battery/1x e-motor Single-speed automated, front-wheel drive
POWER: 169bhp
TORQUE: 250 Nm
EFFICIENCY: Top speed 99 miles per hour
0-62mph: 8.3 secs
VARIETY: 193 miles
CHARGING TIME: 43 minutes (64kW)
