GWM Ora 03 - Reliability & safety

It’s difficult to gauge the reliability of the GWM Ora 03 because both the brand and car are too new to have been included in the annual Driver Power rankings. Should anything go wrong, there is a long, five-year, unlimited mileage warranty (as discussed below), plus five years’ worth of AA breakdown cover to rely on, if required.

We can comment on safety since the 03 has been put through its paces by crash test experts Euro NCAP. It got a five-star rating when tested in 2022, and received a higher score in the adult, child, and safety assistance categories than the MG4.

Every 03 model has lots of safety tech, including adaptive cruise control to keep you a safe distance from the car in front, front and rear cross-traffic alert (it warns you of vehicles that’ll cross your path), traffic sign recognition and lane keep assistance. The latter is one of the most intrusive systems we’ve ever tried. On roads with undefined borders and fading central lines – in other words, pretty much any British B-road – it regularly panics that you’re straying out of your lane and tugs at the wheel to compensate. Having listened to customer feedback, you can swipe down on the central touchscreen to find a shortcut to turn this off more easily, although you will need to do this every time you start the car because these safety features are a legal requirement.

The 03 also has a facial recognition system that monitors whether you’re paying attention to the road ahead. It'll ping a warning tone if it thinks your attention is wandering or you’ve fallen asleep. This can be very annoying because it doesn’t work all that well, and the system can be confused if you’re wearing sunglasses because it can’t track your eyes, so some may feel the need to turn this feature off.

Build quality isn’t all that competitive. The chrome toggles feel a little flimsy, and the hard plastic of the centre console isn’t particularly sturdy. Also, the two-tone colour scheme of some versions of 03 will show marks and quickly look grubby if you don’t clean the interior regularly. Then there’s the rotary gear selector, which rotates freely like the volume switch on a cheap hi-fi; you need to rely on the illuminated indicator to be sure of the gear you’re in.

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Warranty

The 03 comes with a standard five-year, unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty, which is above average and only bettered at this price by MG, who provide you with seven years of coverage. A separate battery warranty guaranteeing that the pack maintains above 70 per cent capacity after eight years or 100,000 miles is typical by electric car standards.

Servicing

You only need to book your 03 in for a check-up every two years/18,000 miles, whichever comes first. This is typical of an electric car because they’re generally more straightforward to maintain than a traditional petrol or diesel model.

Our only note on this is that GWM Ora is a relatively new car company in the UK and, as such, is still building up its dealer and servicing network, so you may find you’ll need to travel further afield to get your car looked over compared with more established brands. The same was no doubt said of MG when it came back to the UK, so we’re sure coverage will improve over time.