Buying a Used GWM ORA 03 or Funky Cat (2022 on): Versions, Charging Faults & What to Pay

The ORA 03 is a retro-styled electric hatchback from China’s Great Wall Motor, similar in size to a VW Golf. It reached the UK in late 2022 as the Funky Cat, before becoming the ORA 03 in 2024. A First Edition was £30,495 when new; a 2023 example now has an asking price around £10,300. This guide explains the versions, recalls, realistic driving range and likely prices. There’s a print-out checklist at the end.

Which ORA 03 are you looking at?

The advertised name and battery size identify the version. Listings describe the early car as the GWM Funky Cat and the later car as the GWM ORA 03:

Every version has the same 171 PS front motor. The 48 kWh battery has LFP cells that tolerate regular charging to 100%. GWM sharply reduced prices in January 2025 and renamed the trims PURE, PRO and GT. Find the full specifications on the ORA 03 page.

Realistic range

Our estimate for a typical car of each version, from the same battery-ageing model as the rest of EVcarsguide:

These assume a healthy battery delivers around 85% of the official figure in mild weather. Owners of 48 kWh cars report lower figures, around 110 to 150 miles, with motorway trips and winter at the lower end. They do, however, say the range estimate is accurate.

Charging

For home charging, the 48 kWh car accepts up to 6.6 kW. Rapid charging peaks at 64 kW with the 48 kWh battery and 80 kW with the 63 kWh battery. That is slow by today’s standards, making long journeys require longer stops than most rivals.

Several owners have had the charging-port locking pin stick, so the car will not charge or will not release the cable. Owners say a software update fixed it; the emergency release cable is under the bonnet. Plug in on the test drive and check the cable locks and unlocks.

The battery and its warranty

GWM covers the battery for 8 years or 100,000 miles from first registration, leaving every ORA 03 with years of battery cover:

• Registered 2022: battery covered to 2030, or 100,000 miles if sooner.
• Registered 2023: battery covered to 2031, or 100,000 miles if sooner.
• Registered 2024: battery covered to 2032, or 100,000 miles if sooner.
• Registered 2025: battery covered to 2033, or 100,000 miles if sooner.

Ask the seller to confirm how much new-car warranty remains.

Recalls

• 3-pin charging cable (R/2023/309): 1,449 cars built July 2022 to December 2023, so nearly every early car. Used for long periods with an extension lead or a poor socket, the 3-pin plug can overheat; the cable is replaced.
• Emergency call (R/2023/115): 1,339 cars built July 2022 to April 2023 have a software fault in the eCall controller.

Check the specific car on GOV.UK’s recall checker and request its recall history from a GWM dealer.

Safety

Euro NCAP awarded the car five stars in 2022.

What owners report

Across seven owner and buyer threads, almost all covering 2022-2024 cars:

• The cabin: owners appreciate the cabin, its quality and the generous warranty cover.
• Range: well short of the official figure for the 48 kWh car, although the range estimate is trustworthy.
• Charging and faults: the sticking charging-port pin, and one owner’s repeated loss-of-drive faults the dealer could not find. A tired 12V battery is a common cause of odd faults on any EV, so check it first.
• Insurance and tech: insurance may be expensive and difficult to obtain, early examples have no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and warning chimes can irritate.

What to pay

Funky Cats and ORA 03s are uncommon on sale, though almost all available examples are low-mileage used cars. This table separates them by version, battery size and year.

Treat these as asking prices rather than valuations. Depreciation has been steep for the ORA 03: a First Edition asks roughly a third of its list price, partly because GWM reduced new prices by about £6,000 in 2025. A 63 kWh PRO+ costs around £3,000 more than an equivalent-year PURE+ example.

Questions to ask the seller

1. Has the 3-pin cable recall been done?
2. Has the charging port ever stuck, and is the software up to date?
3. Which battery is it: 48 or 63 kWh?
4. How much of the new-car warranty is left?

The print-out checklist

Take this checklist along. It covers checks specific to the ORA 03; our general used EV buyer’s guide covers the checks relevant to every used electric car.

Alternatives worth a look

• MG4: the natural rival, offering more space and range. Read our used MG4 guide.
• BYD Dolphin: another Chinese hatchback, offering a larger boot. Read our used Dolphin guide.
• VW ID.3: more space alongside faster charging. Read our used ID.3 guide.
• Fiat 500e: similarly retro styling in a smaller package. Read our used 500e guide.

Unsure whether it meets your driving needs? The EV Matchmaker matches the car against your own week, while the Used EV Finder shows the alternatives available within your budget.

Sources & further reading

• GWM UK
• Euro NCAP
• GOV.UK – Check if a vehicle has been recalled