Quirky cars almost always pique my interest.
When GWM offered to lend us the Ora, it was a blind ‘yes’ from me. I didn’t know what to expect from the cutesy little car, and it’s situations like these that challenge my nitpicking self. There’s no ‘normal’ I can benchmark some of the things from because it is, after all, its own character. I sometimes tend to blur the lines between being objective versus being subjective as I tend to immerse myself pretty deep into a short ownership perspective. Which means, I really go out and use the test units how I would personally use my cars. On the same token, I’d care for them as much as I would care for my own cars.
There are times that most facts and figures don’t really mean much to me when trying out different units. It’s how it feels and how it makes me feel that matter to me. This will probably be one of those times.
DAY 1 (100% to 97%)
I feel like I still have to state the obvious that the Ora garners a whole lot of attention, moving or parked. It doesn’t command it, it just gets it. A quick Google search should be able to tell you the reason why it looks like a distant relative of a certain rescue-hotline-sharing namesake.
I took it around Manila for a quick drive night of delivery just to see how many heads I can turn.
As expected, quite a lot. If you want to be less conspicuous, maybe get the Ora in a darker color (that also solves the tendency of the car to look a bit too feminine). Or look elsewhere, this car really catches eyeballs like crazy. It’s up to you to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
IT WAS EVEN ‘CAT-CALLED’ AT SOME POINT.
So for the looks department, your artsy self should be able to tell you if you like it or not. The rear, in my opinion, could have used a bit more element in it to lessen the negative space. I’m personally not too fond of negative spaces, but some people are.
Days prior to delivery, I was already thinking of what challenge I can throw this EV’s way. While filling up my sedan at a gas station for the second time this week, I started to question my life choices. Okay, maybe I didn’t— but it was when the challenge came to mind if the Ora 500 can survive a week (or at least close to) without needing a recharge of semi-heavy use with me. And the Metro Manila -ber months traffic.
All 63.0 kWh of it.
I got the car charged up at Ayala Manila Bay at 12 in the morning hoping I can drive home in very light traffic, therefore using less of the charge making this challenge start as close to 100% charge as possible. Usually it takes me 3-4% to drive home with EVs, and I plan to beat that.
[Speaking of charging, having frequented EV charging stations quite a bit this year, has anybody put down some sort of list with regard to EV charging station etiquette? Or should we start one soon? This thought coming from a usual scene of a full station but half of them are already done charging, just left there for the free parking.]
Roxas Boulevard had other plans and flipped me off with both hands. Arrived home at 97%.
Summary: Ayala Manila Bay to home in 3%
DAY 2 (97% to 83%)
I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to piss myself off even further by making a trip to the nearby driving range. My swings have been off for a couple of months now and I couldn’t seem to get it back to the way it was. Maybe it’s the universe’s way of telling me I was only made for mini golf.
The Ora swallowed my cart bag whole, but in the second row seats. The hatch (power tailgate, btw) wasn’t wide enough to accommodate the bag laterally cause that’s where the rear wheel arches are. I tried tumbling down the 40 part of the 60-40 seats, but I was more comfortable having the bag lie flat on the second row.
“You’re not good enough to get that mad for bad shots.”
Yeah, sure. Whatever. Having had the much needed catharsis, I decided to load everything back then find a place where I can grab a cup of coffee while catching up on a bit of work.
The Ora hasn’t given me much to discuss about when parking. It just… fits. Nicely. The 360-degree cameras are also there to help you in almost every angle you might need. It also has a reverse auto-tilt function for the side mirrors, but I ended up not using them as they always mess up my forward-driving side mirror settings. I just couldn’t figure setting it up properly.
Work done, me-time now. Braved through the rush hour traffic heading to my favorite mall (or second home) to buy something for my pending diorama.
If there’s something about my favorite mall is that it challenges your driving skills a bit if you so decide to park in one of the older buildings. So far, it’s a clean record for me. No rims injured… yet.
360-degree cameras coming in clutch once again!
Piece acquired! This Tomica is by no means a hard find, I just never had the time recently to shop for it.
Heading home wasn’t much different. Volume was still at an all-time high, and it just leveled up with the addition of huge trucks.
Summary: Pasay to Parañaque to Mandaluyong in 14%
DAY 3 (83% to 75%)
The team needed to convene at BGC for an event late afternoon, and this meant traffic again!
If there’s one thing I noticed, is that the Ora isn’t a bad place to be in a traffic jam. Despite having untinted windows plus a huge sunroof I purposely left unshaded, the air conditioning system wasn’t having a hard time cooling the space. The electric ventilated massaging seats also make every commute a joy, and it’s actually a great party trick for passengers. Not sure why, but people are surprised that the Ora has front seats this feature-packed, even after tinkering with the infotainment screen.
One of the reasons I’m looking at is because the seat controls tend to blend a bit too well inside the air conditioning menu. The massage function might be more obvious, but the ventilation function button is just a tad too small.
Oh, speaking of sunroof. I’ve been trying to find a way to get it to actuate in a one-touch fashion, but for the whole week that it was with me, I had to hold it until it fully opens/closes. Could be a user error, or it really wasn’t there.
Grabbed a bag of chocolates after the event as well to munch on for the drive home that surely was gonna be less than sweat-free.
One more way the Ora coddles you in traffic is through its above average sound system. This was unexpected as it doesn’t gloat about it by placing brand partner emblems on its speakers. When tuned properly, it sounds good! Could use a little more lower mid, then it should be golden. It comes with a DTS tuning option but ended up not using it as it sounded too airy for me.
As I always do, I find a track that best suits the audio characteristics of the source and its speakers. This time, it is…
Braxton’s Spanish Guitar! The highs on this track just shine brightly without being sibilant.
Summary: BGC traffic plus and almost an hour’s wait for a good parking slot then back home in 8%
DAY 4 (75% to 66%)
As a night person, there’s always one feature in a car that is hugely important to me. And that’s…
The headlights. Pretty good range and an acceptable lumen count on this EV!
For tonight, there’s no real agenda for going out. I just wanna spend more time acquainting myself with the Ora. I’m pretty sure there’s more to this EV than being cute, feature-packed, and very easy to drive. If you’d allow me to start nitpicking (read: nitpicking), then I am more than willing to share with you my wishlist for the Ora.
First of this list would be an indicator for the door lock status. I found myself pressing the lock toggle on the rocker switch a couple hundred times just to assure myself that yes, the car is locked.
Next would be the screens. Nothing fundamentally wrong with them, but it could do with better use of space and a more accurate auto brightness. Sometimes it can be too dim for daytime, and too bright at night. As for the layout, the total mileage on the screen in front of the driver could use the lower right side to permanently display it as opposed to having warning and other functions kicking the information out of the display.
Intermission: Arrived at this mall in Makati. Seeing the EV charging bays are full, I just laughed it off. A 73% charge 3 days into the challenge isn’t enough to make me sweat… at least not yet?
Going back— for the center screen’s case, I was trying to find how to customize the home screen. Would have loved a shortcut to the power flow menu instead of having all the blocks dedicated to all multimedia control. I also had to keep resetting some options like the energy recovery levels every drive. It doesn’t seem to keep some of these features on memory.
A conventional signal light stalk is another. I went bananas the first time (and the second, and the third) trying to get that right amount of flicking just to cancel a short signal application as it is one of those stalks that snap back to the middle even before you make the turn. This one might be an age thing, I got used to signal stalks locking up/down then snapping back to the middle AFTER making the turn.
As you can see, it’s more of minor UI and UX issues that I found but nothing serious enough that warrants getting the Ora bumped off your shortlist if you’re strongly considering one. As early as now in this article, I’m trying to tell you that it is one of those cars that you have to drive to get a feel for. You will be pleasantly surprised.
I drove well into the night with no real destination taking myself wherever the traffic flowed, wherever the road led.
I even tried to parallel park it in Ongpin just to see if it would be a chore, but no complaints here.
Remember I said earlier that the Ora got ‘cat-called’? It was sometime during this drive that a group of young women gushed over the Ora and screamed “UYY YUNG KOTSE ANG CUTE CUTE ANO YUN“.
Summary: Manila then mall in Makati to Binondo then Malate in 9%
DAY 5 (66% to 45%)
It’s a Saturday, and I’m hoping for less traffic as a lot of the companies don’t hold offices on Saturdays, right?
WRONG. This is what I get for wanting to get my hair cut. Now I have to shut up and sit in traffic.
Since I really can’t do anything to speed this trip up, I’m gonna start talking about the Ora’s interior. Overall, the dashboard design looks fresh and easily understood. Everything in front and on the driver’s left is pretty much normal and familiar.
Just don’t forget the cruise control stalk when you go on long drives. The stalk is pretty hidden from the driver’s sight.
Center, there are 2 air conditioning switches and 2 defogging switches which are highly appreciated. Nice that GWM didn’t rely so heavily on the screens for these things.
The rotary shifter works pretty well, but takes some getting used to if I’m honest. If I could offer a tip, always double check with the screen in front of you after input on the knob to make sure you’re really in gear. A bit more tactility and a little more refinement in technical design would probably solve it.
And there’s also a wireless charging pad.
Okay, finally, the haircut.
After the cut, I went dilly-dallying at the mall that houses the barbershop, and I achieved— nothing. You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this and how this is relevant. It’s honestly useless information that I need to put out there so that my haircut does not appear like it took 3 hours cause it’s already night time when I started driving again.
Same old traffic, same odd shortcuts suggested by Waze to “avoid” traffic.
As a self-proclaimed fast food connoisseur, I have to find out IF the Ora can fit in my frequented drive-thru spots. No, it wasn’t too obvious that it fits super easily. Stop making me feel bad for trying to be objective with my battery of tests.
But yes, it was a satisfying large Quarter Pounder meal.
Summary: BGC afternoon traffic to Makati, EDSA night traffic, then Greenhills, to MoA Complex in 21%
DAY 6 (45% to 35%)
By this point, you’re probably thinking it’s a new day and I’m gonna complain about traffic yet again.
Not today, it’s a Sunday. Give it a rest.
Upon checking what’s still needed for my Tomica diorama, I was lacking one more piece and that meant a trip to Shoppesville.
I got to Greenhills in a jiffy as traffic was light, and it gave me a chance to really stretch out the Ora’s legs. I wasn’t trying to hypermile this thing by any means, but I haven’t gotten the chance to really give it the beans either. How I’d describe the performance is quick and civil. 167 hp and 260 Nm if you’re wondering. It gives you the torque you need in an instant if you’re responsible enough with the throttle. Flipside, it can also spin the wheels a bit for you if you decide to sneeze on the throttle.
Note: I’ve driven the Ora in Sport mode for 90% of the time. Even in traffic. It was the mode that felt most natural to me.
For the ride quality, if I have to sum it up using only one word: good. Anticlimactic, but let me try to expound on that. Despite it having (18s) wheels that look a bit too large for its proportions, the ride does not suffer at all. It’s got the right amount of rebound to complement the way it compresses. Takes up rough roads pretty well too, you surely won’t get jarred up inside. Not unless you have a habit of over-inflating your tires? But the TPMS will definitely put up a fight if you do.
Handling-wise, it leaves you a ton of leeway before it understeers. The Ora could probably benefit off a grippier set of tires, but not necessary. It’s just a matter of good-and-better. Turning radius could be better though, I found that it does u-turns +1 point than usual.
Speaking of handling…
The Gashapons also reeled me in. I think Mofusands drawn driving an Ora would look so cute!
I was trying to find a place to grab a bite and reached BGC, but ultimately ended up a stone’s throw away from Greenhills. Oops.
Summary: Greenhills to BGC, back to Greenhills, then home in 10%
DAY 7 (35% to 23% to 39%)
A pretty early start for me today as I have an errand to do at North EDSA. Mind’s telling me it’s particularly traffic heading there, so I decided to jump on Skyway3 to get a bit of a head start. This also gives me a chance to try out its adaptive cruise control and lane assistance features.
The adaptive cruise control works well, but the lane assistance features left me a bit confused. It sometimes intervenes when it doesn’t need to, but at times it also intervenes a bit too late.
After all the obligations have been attended to, I then proceeded to find a solution to one of my biggest problems. Sometimes I lose sleep over this matter, and it hasn’t been healthy.
EDSA is the ‘quickest’ route offered by Waze, so I obliged. Nothing new, the 5km/h speed limit is still in effect.
Upon parking, I was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect, if I can put an end to this problem that’s dragged on for months now.
You know how they say if you’re having consistently bad shots in golf, it’s not you who’s the problem? It’s your clubs. And new clubs are always the solution. This is where this pretty 56 comes in.
By the sheer power of manifesting, this wedge should help me become a great golfer in no time. The last time, a new putter solved that problem for me. Could this sand wedge be the answer this time around?
Held the purchase off until I secure which bounce would be right for me, I drove on home.
This is when I noticed that the Ora seems to chow down power faster under 35% charge. The Forward Collision Sensitivity also comes on frequently on screen despite it staying really quiet the first few days I had with the car.
It was down to 23% when I got home, and the screen in front of me was throwing all sorts of reminders to charge. Come to think of it, I’ve already completed a week’s worth of needs and wants with the Ora without charging. I’m certain it can still go another 40 to 50 kilometers easily, but that’s if you can look past the reminders and prompts to charge that’s being thrown at you.
So, having completed the week without a single recharge session, I can now test out the home charger it comes with. To make this short, a 3-hour plug time brought the charge level back up to 39%.
Summary: Northern Manila to Makati in 12%
DAY 8
Return day.
I’ve accumulated 31 and a half total driving time (a hair over 400 kilometers in distance) with the Ora in a week, and I think it’s safe to say I’ve gotten to know the car quite well. The GWM Ora 500 comes with a lot of creature comforts and niceties, but prefers to remain quiet and let you find out for yourself what it has to offer, hence my statement earlier that it’s an experience to drive it. This particular variant comes in at PhP 1,778,000. Pretty pricey if you ask me, but given the chance I would totally daily drive one as it can deal with almost anything city driving has to throw at it. It made me miss driving smaller cars that just do daily drives really well. The Ora is so easy to drive that it almost feels like a video game, especially with the help of the driving aids. As far as I know, there’s another variant of the Ora that can be availed for a lower price point if this tag doesn’t fit the budget quite well.
Oh, Ora by the way is an acronym. Open, reliable, and alternative.
And now, it’s time for me to press the shut down button one last time.
