In a country where every car receives significant updates seemingly every year, the GWM Ora Good Cat has managed to survive in the Chinese market virtually unchanged since it was launched back in 2020. That will change, however, because the cutesy electric hatchback has finally been facelifted, bringing with it some mild revisions to the looks and tech.
The rounded mini-Porsche design was one of the best parts of the Good Cat, so GWM has taken a nuanced approach to tweaking it. The only visual change is the front bumper that ditches the chrome accents and adds slim corner air inlets and a more prominent main intake with an active grille shutter; full-width taillights embedded in the rear windscreen and 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels remain. The sportier-looking GT remains unchanged on the outside, retaining its unique bodykit, larger rear spoiler and part-coloured alloys.
Inside, the Good Cat benefits from the tech upgrade rolled out across other GWM models. The digital instrument display has grown from a puny seven inches across to a much more modern 10.25 inches, while the infotainment touchscreen is now a giant 14.6-inch unit (previously 10.25 inches) running on the latest Coffee OS 3 software. The new screens necessitated the ditching of the outgoing model’s widescreen display panel in favour of standalone “floating” units.
As part of the change, there’s also a new two-spoke steering wheel with a simpler design as well as heated and ventilated front seats with driver’s side memory. The Good Cat had previously received a mild update that brought with it a steering column-mounted gear selector and a redesigned centre console with a USB-C charging port, a more accessible Qi wireless charger and a 3.3 kW vehicle-to-load (V2L) function.
The mechanicals have also been given an overhaul – the GT’s more powerful front motor now comes standard, producing 171 PS (126 kW) and 220 Nm of torque. All models now get the same lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery of unspecified capacity that delivers a range of just 430 km even on China’s lenient CLTC cycle. That’s significantly lower than the 501 km NEDC range (420 km on the WLTP cycle) afforded by the old 63 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) pack.
One upside of the lacklustre range is that the Good Cat remains relatively affordable, with prices ranging from 99,800 yuan (RM59,000) for the base Luxury model to 112,800 yuan (RM66,600) for the range-topping GT Premium. The pre-facelift model continues to be sold in Classic trim at 89,800 yuan (RM53,000) with the less powerful 143 PS/210 Nm electric motor and a smaller LFP battery for a claimed 401 km of CLTC range.
Will the facelifted Ora Good Cat come to Malaysia? It remains to be seen, but perhaps GWM Malaysia is saving the updates for the GT version that has been confirmed for our market. It should arrive assembled in Thailand and will hopefully retain its Thai-sourced 57.7 kWh LFP battery with 460 km of NEDC range.
GALLERY: GWM Ora Good Cat GT facelift
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