ORA LIGHTNING CAT

Chinese maker of quirky electric cars introduces us to another of its feline friends

- MARK ANDREWS

TESTED 7.12.22, SHANGHAI, CHINA ON SALE NOVEMBER (UK)

TESTER'S NOTE

The boot hinges about halfway up the back, not up by the roof, and has a metal top rather than a parcel shelf. The rival Nio ET5's hatch design is a lot more practical. MA

With the Funky Cat now on sale in Europe and the UK, Ora is no longer totally unknown outside of China. The nascent marque, owned by the giant Great Wall Motor company, is busy expanding its range of electric cars, all of them with feline names. This latest one, called the Lightning Cat at home but the Next Cat over here, is more grown-up than the MG 4 EV-rivalling Funky Cat, being a roughly Ford Mondeo-size saloon.

While the Lightning Cat has quite a distinctive design, there's obvious Porsche inspiration and the headlights look as if they've come straight off a Mini but, ultimately, the proportions just seem a bit off.

The interior is even more memorable. Step inside and you're shown a start-up sequence of digital cats, complete with meows, going across the three instrument dials and then onto the central infotainment touchscreen.

The materials are of a good quality with plenty of leather, soft plastics and microfibre, and it all seems generally well put together.