2026 GWM Ora 5 SUV Ultra Review

Cheap EVs are not rare anymore. Good cheap EVs are becoming more common, too. But the 2026 GWM Ora 5 SUV lands with the sort of price and equipment list that makes the rest of the segment look a bit nervous.

We drove the top-spec Ultra on its Australian launch, and the headline is simple: this is one of the strongest value EV plays in the country right now.

It is not the cheapest electric car on sale, and it is not perfect. The tyres are ordinary in the wet, some controls are too screen-dependent, and the low-speed ride has a firm edge.

But for $36,990 drive-away in Ultra form, with a 58.33kWh LFP battery, 435km WLTC range, 150kW motor, space-saver spare and a properly loaded cabin, the Ora 5 feels like GWM has stopped dabbling with EVs and started taking them seriously.

Our view? The Ultra is the buy. The Lux is already well equipped, but the extra $3000 for the Ultra brings the sort of kit Australians actually notice every day.

2026 GWM Ora 5 Pricing

This is where the Ora 5 starts throwing elbows. At $33,990 drive-away for the Lux and $36,990 drive-away for the Ultra, it undercuts or pressures almost everything that looks vaguely similar in the affordable EV space.

The BYD Atto 2 starts from $31,990 before on-road costs, but its claimed range is lower and DC charging is slower. The MG4 EV Urban is sharply priced at $31,990 drive-away, though it is a hatch rather than an SUV and gives away power and battery size in entry form. The Jaecoo J5 EV launched at $36,990 drive-away and has a bigger boot, but misses the Ora’s rare EV party trick: a spare wheel.

• GWM Ora 5 SUV Lux $33,990 drive-away
• GWM Ora 5 SUV Ultra $36,990 drive-away

The Ora 5 SUV is not going to be for everyone visually, and we mean that as neutrally as possible. It has a rounded, bulbous front end, a smooth body and a rear treatment that sits somewhere between futuristic and slightly odd.

We do like that GWM has not bottled the colour palette. Cute Cyan, Emerald Green, Flamingo Pink, Pepper White, Crystal Black and Mystic Grey give the car more personality than the usual greyscale punishment. The matte-style grey and blue both suit it particularly well.

The detailing is more serious than the shape first suggests. The drag coefficient is as low as 0.276Cd, helped by active grille shutters and aero-conscious surfacing. The LED headlights are bright, the rear light bar is distinctive, and the 18-inch aero-style wheels look fine.

The issue is what those wheels are wrapped in. Our launch car ran Prinks X Sport EV tyres, and in damp conditions they were not confidence inspiring. This is one of the first things we would change if we owned the car.

At 4471mm long, 1833mm wide and 1641mm tall in SUV form, the Ora 5 is not tiny. It sits in that useful compact-to-small SUV space where it is easy to place in town but still feels substantial enough on the road.

The front cabin is the biggest surprise. For the money, the Ora 5 Ultra feels genuinely well finished, with soft-touch surfaces in the right places, comfortable front seats and a level of sound insulation that makes it feel more expensive than it is.

The Ultra’s faux leather seats are heated and ventilated in three stages, the steering wheel is heated, both front seats are electrically adjustable, and the 9-speaker audio system is genuinely good. Not just good-for-a-cheap-EV good, either. It is one of the stronger systems we have heard under $60,000.

The 14.6-inch touchscreen runs GWM’s Coffee OS and is paired with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto worked well on our drive, and the climate shortcut bar stays visible even when smartphone mirroring is active, which fixes a gripe we have had with some older GWM products.

But GWM still gets too clever in places. The panoramic roof sunshade is buried in menus, despite blank switch positions overhead. The chrome toggle switches look great, but they control things like auto climate and demist rather than the fan speed or temperature we would actually want.

Storage is excellent, with a large lower console area, big door bins, a decent glovebox, cupholders, a phone slot, USB-A and USB-C ports, a 12V outlet and a 50W wireless charger with its own cooling vent. The only feature we kept wishing for was an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The rear seat is perfectly usable for adults, which is not always a given in budget-focused EVs. At around 5-foot-11, we had decent knee room, acceptable toe room and enough headroom even with the panoramic roof fitted.

The seat base gives reasonable under-thigh support, and the flat-ish EV floor helps the sense of space. The materials are mixed, with some scratchier trim lower down, but the main touchpoints are fine for the price.

Amenities are where GWM has clearly saved a bit of money. There is a single rear air vent, one USB-C port and map pockets, but no fold-down centre armrest. Kids will survive, but they may argue over the charger.

Against the BYD Atto 2, which is also praised for rear-seat room, the Ora 5 holds up well. It is not plush back here, but it does not feel like the battery has stolen the rear cabin.

Boot space is listed at 362 litres with the rear seats up, expanding to 1060 litres with them folded. The number is useful rather than huge, and the sloping rear glass and sculpted tail do eat into vertical space.

Compared with a Jaecoo J5 EV, which claims a much larger 480-litre boot plus a small frunk, the Ora 5 is not the packaging champion. Even the BYD Atto 2 quotes 380 litres, so this is one of the areas where GWM concedes ground.

The boot does have a false floor, and the Ultra’s powered tailgate is a genuinely premium touch at this money. The parcel shelf is tiny and oddly lacks strings to lift with the tailgate, which is one of those little details you notice after a week of living with a car.

Then GWM wins back plenty of goodwill by fitting a space-saver spare wheel. In an EV. At this price. That matters in Australia, where puncture repair goo often feels like a polite way of saying good luck.

Every Ora 5 SUV uses the same front-mounted electric motor producing 150kW and 260Nm. That is a healthy output for the price, and it makes the GWM one of the more powerful affordable EVs in this part of the market.

GWM claims 0-100km/h in 8.0 seconds. On our damp launch drive, using our timing gear, we saw 7.68 seconds despite noticeable wheelspin. That is properly quick for a family-friendly front-drive EV costing less than $37,000 drive-away.

The delivery is instant enough to feel entertaining, and there is enough torque steer to remind you the front tyres are doing all the work. We do not mind a bit of that character, but the grip limitation is clear in wet conditions.

Compared with the BYD Atto 2’s 130kW/290Nm setup and the MG4 EV Urban’s lower-output 110kW or 118kW motor options, the Ora 5 feels strong. It is not a performance SUV, but it has more than enough shove for commuting, merging and quick overtakes.

The Ora 5 is one of the first GWM products to launch here with an Australian ride and handling tune from Rob Trubiani, the ex-Holden engineer now working through GWM’s local calibration program. The changes include dampers and steering calibration, and you can feel the difference.

This does not drive like the old stereotype of a soft, floaty Chinese SUV. The steering is more direct than expected, the body control is tidy, and the car feels composed at higher speeds. It is quiet, too, with the cabin doing a good job of keeping wind and road noise outside.

The trade-off is a firm low-speed ride. It is not crashy, but sharper urban bumps and small surface imperfections come through more than they do in something like an MG4 EV Urban, which we found more comfortable around town.

At speed, the tune makes more sense. The Ora 5 feels settled on the freeway and better tied down on country roads, and it does not collapse into sloppy body movement when you ask a bit more of it.

The tyres remain the weak link. In damp conditions they spin easily and take confidence away from what is otherwise a surprisingly well-sorted chassis. Give this car a better set of rubber and we suspect it would feel noticeably more mature.

The Ora 5 has not yet been rated by ANCAP, so we cannot call it a five-star car no matter how much equipment is fitted. That matters for some private buyers and plenty of fleet buyers.

The standard safety list is broad, though. Across the range you get seven airbags, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and crossing detection, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane centring, blind-spot detection, lane change assist, rear cross-traffic alert and braking, front cross-traffic alert and braking, rear collision warning, traffic sign recognition and tyre pressure monitoring.

There is also adaptive cruise control with stop/go, traffic jam assist, driver fatigue and distraction detection, child presence detection, ISOFIX points, a 360-degree camera system and GWM’s transparent chassis camera view.

On our drive, the updated driver assistance tune was much better than older GWM systems. The lane centring worked properly, and adaptive cruise was now capable of sitting close to traffic rather than leaving an enormous gap.

It may actually sit a little too close at the shortest setting, so we would leave a bigger gap selected. The driver monitoring is also still a bit eager, but the overall safety tuning is a clear step forward.

The Ora 5 SUV uses a 58.33kWh lithium iron phosphate battery across both grades. GWM claims 435km of WLTC driving range and official WLTC consumption of 15.5kWh/100km.

On our mostly freeway-heavy launch drive, we saw 15.3kWh/100km indicated. Do the rough maths and that points to about 381km of real-world range, with 380-400km feeling like the sensible expectation rather than the full 435km claim.

That is still strong at this price. The BYD Atto 2 claims 345km and the MG4 EV Urban Standard claims 316km WLTP, while the longer-range MG4 EV Urban stretches to 405km. The Ora’s range-to-dollar equation is very compelling.

DC charging peaks at 120kW, with GWM listing a 10-80 per cent charge time of 30 minutes. The spec sheet lists AC charging at 6.6kW, and the car also supports vehicle-to-load at up to 6kW.

GWM also says the system is vehicle-to-grid ready. That is not something most buyers can meaningfully use in Australia yet, but it is a smart bit of future-proofing if the local energy ecosystem finally catches up.

GWM’s ownership package is one of the Ora 5’s quieter strengths. The vehicle is covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, while the high-voltage battery gets an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.

You also get seven years of roadside assistance and seven years of capped-price servicing. GWM lists servicing at $195 per visit, with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km.

That is strong support for a budget EV, and it helps take some of the sting out of buying from a brand still building long-term EV credibility in Australia.

Running costs should also be low if you can charge at home. Based on our indicated 15.3kWh/100km, the Ora 5 should be cheap to commute in, and the LFP battery chemistry is the right fit for regular charging and daily use.

Against BYD’s six-year/150,000km vehicle warranty on the Atto 2, GWM’s unlimited-kilometre vehicle coverage reads better. Jaecoo’s J5 EV counters with an eight-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, so the ownership fight in this part of the market is getting properly competitive.

Lux

• 58.33kWh LFP battery
• 150kW/260Nm front-mounted electric motor
• Front-wheel drive
• 435km WLTC claimed range
• 120kW DC charging capability
• Vehicle-to-load capability
• 18-inch machined alloy wheels
• Space-saver spare wheel
• LED headlights and LED tail-lights
• Auto headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Roof rails
• Rear privacy glass
• Keyless entry and smart start
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 14.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• AM/FM/DAB radio
• 6-speaker sound system
• Single-zone climate control with N95 filter
• Rear air vent
• Fabric seat trim
• 6-way power driver’s seat
• 4-way manual passenger seat
• 60:40 split-fold rear seats
• 360-degree camera with transparent view
• Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
• AEB, lane keeping, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert

Ultra

• Leatherette seat trim
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Driver’s seat memory
• 4-way power front passenger seat
• Panoramic glass roof with electric sunshade
• Electric tailgate
• Power-folding and heated exterior mirrors
• 50W wireless phone charging
• 9-speaker sound system
• Ambient lighting
• Cream interior option on selected exterior colours

The GWM Ora 5 SUV is one of the most convincing affordable EVs we have driven in Australia so far. It gives you proper range, proper equipment, a quiet cabin and enough performance to feel brisk, all at a price that makes plenty of rivals look underdone.

It also feels like a bigger step forward for GWM than the old Ora hatch ever was. The interior is nicer, the tech is better, the battery and charging numbers are competitive, and the local chassis tuning gives it a more mature feel on the road.

We would still change the tyres immediately if we owned one, and GWM needs to stop hiding simple controls in touchscreen menus. An auto-dimming mirror would not hurt, either.

But those are fixable complaints around a very strong core product. If you are shopping a BYD Atto 2, MG4 EV Urban, Jaecoo J5 EV or any other affordable electric runabout, the Ora 5 SUV deserves to be very high on the test-drive list.

Our pick is the Ultra. For $36,990 drive-away, it feels less like a cheap EV and more like a well-equipped EV that happens to be cheap.