2027 GWM Ora 5 Ultra review: Long-term introduction

My drive to work is 9.8km through the heart of Melbourne’s central business district. I pass the Shrine, a nod to the societal sacrifice of World War I, the amazing Domain and botanical gardens, and then one of the most horrible sections of road, the Kingsway.

On it I drive past a BMW dealership, a new Denza showroom, and the headquarters for LHS Auto, the importer of Smart and proprietors of Australia’s largest Mercedes-Benz dealers.

The route includes 40km/h zones, rough-and-ready tram tracks, chunky concrete kerbs that can kill alloy wheels but save cyclists, and a few speed cameras. Oh, and there are potholes, too.

Then there’s the surface transition from the Kingsway to the smoother M1, which starts with an 80km/h zone corner most people struggle to do 60km/h around, with the slowest drivers typically choosing the right lane.

After another 80km/h corner – again, usually blocked by people unfamiliar with mechanical grip or empathy for other humans – it’s onto the Bolte Bridge (now sans Pam the Bird graffiti) and into the Victorian CarExpert office.

It’s not one of the world’s great drives; the next Italian Job won’t feature any part of it, nor will the Albert Park grand prix circuit be moved towards the city to test Oscar Piastri’s ability to tackle roundabouts and hook-turns.

Admittedly, some of the route can be found on postcards in the Swanston Street souvenir shops, alongside Koala soft toys and obscenely bright green and gold hoodies and plastic Aussie flags, but none of it’s worth framing unless you love concrete and cracked road markings.

I have to say, though, it’s a brilliant test route for the automotive juggernaut of 2026: the electric vehicle.

Fully charged, the GWM Ora 5 small electric SUV has a range of 520km according to its 10.25-inch digital instrument display. That’s enough, in theory, to complete my near-10km commute no less than 51.16 times, or more than 25 return journeys, equating to five full working weeks.

Thing is, I rarely do five days a week in the office, given the number of launches, functions, events and other news-gathering opportunities presented to a deputy news editor. So I’ll be doing a lot of kays between recharges of our bright-pink Ora 5 long-term test car.

How much does the Ora 5 cost?

You may be familiar with the Ora electric hatchback (also known overseas as the ‘Good Cat’, among other names), which has a similar design language to the Ora 5, but the look of this small electric SUV is the work of ex-Porsche designer Emanuel Derta.

While the hatch looked like it should be playing with a ball of string, the Ora 5 is a better design because it retains the charm and playfulness of the hatch but presents it in a more complete and accomplished way.

It’s an SUV that carries over the original Ora’s core persona, including the hatch’s round, Porsche-like headlights and bulging front guards, while adding 40mm of extra ground clearance.

Even the paint on our Ora 5 SUV – Flamingo Pink, a $595 option – reminds me of Ruby Star, a colour that appeared on the 993-series Porsche 911 and is offered as a ‘Paint to Sample’ option called Ruby Star Neo for the 911 and other German models now.

As a Porsche colour, it costs from $21,970. Flamingo Pink may not be a direct match, but in this case it costs less than $600 on a complete car that’s priced at $36,990 drive-away.

That’s for the top-spec Ultra flagship we have here, which costs $3000 more than the entry-level Lux variant priced at under $34k drive-away. Yes, the two Ora 5 model grades are among of a wave of affordable new electric SUVs now available in Australia.

Calling the Ora 5 an SUV may be technically accurate, but the design doesn’t make it look like rivals such as a Hyundai Kona Electric or BYD Atto 2.

Yet the numbers confirm its body mass index qualifies for the SUV tag: 4471mm long makes it longer than an Atto 2 at 4310mm, but within 5mm of the MG S5 EV at 4476mm.

In terms of width, the 1833mm-wide Ora 5 is a scant 3mm wider than the Atto 2, but narrower than the Leapmotor B10 (1885mm) and the Geely EX5 (1901mm).

And the 1641mm-high Ora 5 is taller than the Kia EV3 (1560mm) and Kona Electric (1580mm), but lower than the MG S5 EV, Atto 2, B10 and EX5.

The label on the tin, then, is accurate.

To see how the GWM Ora 5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What’s under the bonnet?

Now that we’ve established its admission to the SUV club, let’s examine what’s underpinning its playful but aerodynamic body, which has a 0.276Cd drag co-efficient – slipperier than the Atto 2 and MG S5 EV.

The Ora 5 sits on the GWM ONE platform, described by the company as a ‘super platform’ that’s compatible with combustion, hybrid, fuel-cell and battery-electric powertrains, as in the Ora 5.

Our long-termer incorporates a 400V electrical architecture, and all Ora 5 SUVs also come with the same 150kW/260Nm front-mounted electric motor.

It propels 1685kg of kerb weight (GWM doesn’t specify a weight difference between model grades) from 0-100km/h in a claimed 8.0 seconds.

A 58.33kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack delivers a claimed WLTC range of 435km, which equates to 380-400km of real-world range, and has claimed energy consumption of 15.5kWh/100km.

At the standard AC charging speed of 6.6kW, a full recharge will take six hours and 40 minutes, while DC fast-charging at up to 120kW brings a 10-80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.

To see how the GWM Ora 5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

What do you get?

Both the Lux and Ultra Ora 5 come with the same 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, synthetic leather seat upholstery, and a 14.6-inch infotainment touchscreen.

The central multimedia screen runs GWM’s ‘Coffee’ operating system, and includes build-in sat-nav, both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 360-degree camera with parking guides and ‘X-ray style’ transparent car imaging.

The Lux is well equipped, and visually indistinguishable from the Ultra, but that $3000 premium adds a panoramic sunroof providing an even more spacious feeling to the cream cabin, which is mandatory with the pink paint.

It also adds a memory function to the six-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, a four-way power-adjustable front passenger seat (instead of manual), heated steering wheel and dual-zone climate control, as well as power-folding mirrors and a power tailgate.

The Ultra also ups the speaker count from six to nine, and adds 64-colour ambient lighting and four auto up/down power windows, as well as a wireless smartphone charging pad in the centre stack.

The chassis comprises electric power steering and MacPherson-type front suspension, as with all key rivals, but the Ora 5 has multi-link rear suspension – something the Atto 2 lacks.

Instead, the Atto 2 has a torsion beam rear-end, as did the previous Ora hatch, giving the Ora 5 SUV another thing to brag about.

2027 GWM Ora 5 Lux equipment highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Space-saver spare wheel
• Auto LED headlights
• LED tail-lights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Roof rails
• Synthetic leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Cloth seat upholstery
• 6-way power driver’s seat
• 4-way manual front passenger seat
• 10.25-inch digital instrument display
• 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Bluetooth
• DAB+ digital radio
• 6-speaker sound system
• Single-zone climate control
• Rear air vents
• Rear privacy glass
• Vehicle-to-load capacity (V2L)
• Keyless entry
• 4 drive modes:
• • Normal
  • Eco
  • City
  • Sport

Ora 5 Ultra adds:

• Panoramic glass sunroof
• Power-folding, heated side mirrors
• Synthetic leather seat upholstery options:
• • Dark grey
  • Cream
• Heated steering wheel
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Driver’s seat position memory
• 4-way power front passenger seat
• 9-speaker sound system
• Wireless phone charger
• 64-colour interior ambient lighting
• Power tailgate

To see how the GWM Ora 5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

Is the GWM Ora 5 safe?

The Ora 5 has yet to be assessed by ANCAP and is therefore officially ‘unrated’. However, it is also on sale in Europe, where ANCAP affiliate Euro NCAP may assess its crashworthiness.

Standard safety equipment highlights:

• 7 airbags, incl:
• • Front
  • Side
  • Curtain
  • Centre
• Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
• Autonomous emergency braking
• • Junction assist
  • Pedestrian detection
  • Cyclist detection
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Driver attention monitor
• Lane-centring
• Lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Safe exit warning
• Surround-view monitor
• Traffic sign recognition
• Tyre pressure monitoring

To see how the GWM Ora 5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

How much does the GWM Ora 5 cost to run?

GWM Australia backs its range with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and its EVs with an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre high-voltage battery warranty for private buyers. Service intervals for the Ora 5 are 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

In terms of rivals, seven years of servicing for the BYD Atto 3 costs $2291, while eight years for the Leapmotor B10 costs $2954.

The Kona Electric, meanwhile, has longer 24-month service intervals, with eight years of scheduled maintenance totalling $2984. Kia instead offers a seven-year prepaid service plan for the EV3, priced at $1929.

To see how the GWM Ora 5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool

CarExpert’s Take on the GWM Ora 5

The Ora 5 will need plenty of bragging points to succeed in one of the most cut-throat market segments (small SUVs) in Australia, one of the world’s most competitive new-car markets.

Its arrival earlier this year came as petrol and diesel prices hit record levels and Australians began buying EVs by the boatload at the expense of traditional combustion-powered models.

I don’t have a home EV charger, but that’s on me – and we do have EV charging at our Melbourne office, so that will make life easier on the odd occasion our press car needs topping up.

Frankly, our initial impressions of the Ora 5 SUV are much better than expected. The fit and finish inside and out are good, and the interior looks warm and inviting. Everything feels solid, from the door handles to the reassuring weight of the centre console lid as it closes.

I like the design, although I don’t love the speaker grilles, which seem needlessly fussy. That’s a matter of taste, though, and I can live with them.

Overall, the cabin has no bare spots; it feels thoroughly well designed and finished, with the Ultra’s panoramic sunroof adding to its spacious, airy feel.

I can already see why the cream-trimmed seats, door trims and steering wheel – which I expect to get dirty quickly – are paired with black carpet on the floor and in the boot. Clever.

But we’ll see whether the smart interior stays clean during our time with the car, and whether the Ora 5’s cheeky character becomes tiresome or makes us fonder of this funky new EV.

CarExpert can save you thousands on a new GWM Ora 5. Click here to get a great deal.

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MORE: Explore the GWM Ora 5 showroom