2026 GWM Ora 5 Review: Price, Specs and Rating

Last updated July 2026. Prices and specifications correct at time of writing.

The 2026 GWM Ora 5 is the cheapest electric SUV you can buy in Australia, and for once the low price does not hide a catch you will come to resent. Its trump cards are running costs and a seven-year warranty, plus a space-saver spare almost no rival bothers to fit. The catch is a firm, sometimes busy ride and a chorus of safety-assist beeps that need a software fix, so think of it as a value buy rather than a driver's car.

How much does the GWM Ora 5 cost?

Two grades, both drive-away, and that is the whole range for now. A cheaper Ora 5 hatch is due later in 2026 on smaller tyres, with a wagon-style Touring under consideration, but as at July 2026 the SUV is the only Ora 5 you can buy. Pepper White is the only no-cost paint. Every other colour, including the Cute Cyan, Flamingo Pink and Emerald Green that give the car its personality, adds $595, and some shades are Ultra only. At $33,990 drive-away the Lux lands under the BYD Atto 2 once on-road costs are counted, and well under the Chery E5 and Jaecoo J5 EV.

What did the experts say about the GWM Ora 5?

We read six Australian reviews of the Ora 5. Two published a score (CarsGuide and WhichCar/Wheels), two published a graded verdict we mapped to our scale (carsales and CarExpert), and two were first drives without a score (Chasing Cars and CarSauce), which we have used in the write-up but left out of the blend. Weighted, the four counted reviews land at 7.8 out of 10, with carsales highest and CarsGuide lowest.

The one thing every review agreed on was value. All six praised the price, and review after review singled out the humble space-saver spare, a rarity in an EV, as proof GWM has finally listened to Australian buyers. From there the field splits in useful ways. Three of the reviews described the ride as firm or busy over rough surfaces (CarExpert, Chasing Cars and CarSauce), while carsales and CarsGuide found it composed, and WhichCar sat in the middle, happy on smooth roads but noting it turns jittery over patchwork bitumen.

The other splits are worth knowing before you test drive. carsales and CarExpert both flagged hesitant, wheelspin-prone acceleration off the line in the default drive mode, while WhichCar, CarsGuide and Chasing Cars were relaxed about it and pointed out Sport mode sharpens things up. On the safety tech, WhichCar and Chasing Cars found the driver-monitoring and seatbelt warnings a hair-trigger nuisance, and both suspected the seatbelt chime was a fault rather than the design. CarExpert was the outlier, calling the systems well calibrated bar a slightly sensitive attention monitor. That disagreement, more than any spec, is the thing to judge for yourself.

A note on who drove what. Most launches sampled the flagship Ultra, so several of these verdicts lean on the better-equipped car. The mechanical package is identical across the range, so the driving impressions carry over to the Lux, but the plush touches do not.

Which GWM Ora 5 should you buy?

The value pick: Ora 5 Lux. The Lux is where the story is. For $33,990 drive-away you still get the full 150kW motor, the 435km battery, the complete safety suite, the 14.6-inch screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and that space-saver spare. Nothing about the driving experience improves as you go up the range, so most buyers can stop here without feeling short-changed.

Worth stretching for: Ora 5 Ultra. The extra $3000 is one of the more honest upgrade walks in the segment. It buys heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a panoramic glass roof with a powered sunshade, a power tailgate, wireless charging, dual-zone climate, a nine-speaker stereo and ambient lighting. If you want creature comforts, WhichCar and Chasing Cars both reckoned it money well spent, and so do we.

The one to skip: there is no dud grade here. With only two variants, the choice is simply comfort gear versus $3000, not a trap to avoid.

How does the GWM Ora 5 compare to its rivals?

Range figures are not on identical cycles, the Ora 5 is quoted on WLTC and the rivals on WLTP, but they are close enough to read side by side. On price the Ora 5 wins outright: it is the cheapest to get into once on-road costs are counted. On range its 435km claim beats the BYD Atto 2 and Jaecoo J5 EV and edges the Chery E5. Where it loses is safety proof and polish. Only the Chery E5 carries a five-star ANCAP rating today, and reviewers put the Ora 5's throttle calibration and safety-assist tuning a step behind the most established rivals.

What is the GWM Ora 5 like inside?

The cabin is where the Ora 5 earns its keep. A 14.6-inch touchscreen running GWM's Coffee OS sits beside a 10.25-inch driver display, and reviewers agreed the graphics and response are a clear step up from the old Ora. Bronze accents lift the ambience, the seats drew praise for comfort, and the Ultra's panoramic roof makes the space feel airy. The catch is the lack of buttons: CarExpert and CarsGuide both noted that everyday functions live several menus deep, and adjusting the driver's seat briefly kicks you out of CarPlay. The Lux runs cloth seats and single-zone climate, the Ultra adds synthetic leather in grey or cream at no extra cost, plus dual-zone climate. Boot space is a modest 362L, expanding to 1060L folded, smaller than a BYD Atto 3, but the flat floor and hidden space-saver make up some ground.

Engine, range and charging

Every Ora 5 uses the same single front-mounted electric motor making 150kW and 260Nm, fed by a 58.3kWh lithium iron phosphate battery. GWM claims 435km of range on the WLTC cycle and 15.5kWh/100km. That LFP chemistry is a genuine plus: it is happy being charged to 100 per cent daily, unlike many rivals. GWM quotes a 0 to 100km/h time of 8.0 seconds, though as carsales and CarExpert noted, the default drive mode feels slow to respond before the power arrives in a rush. DC fast-charging peaks at 120kW for a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in about 30 minutes, which is mid-pack rather than quick. Vehicle-to-load lets you run appliances from the battery at up to 6kW.

Fuel economy and running costs

GWM claims 15.5kWh/100km. On their launch drives, WhichCar recorded 15.0kWh/100km, CarsGuide saw 16.1, and CarExpert saw around 18.0 in mixed conditions, so real-world use will sit near or a little above the claim depending on how much freeway you do. Charge at home at the average residential electricity rate the Government's Green Vehicle Guide uses (from the AEMC), and roughly 15,000km a year costs around $760 in energy. Add GWM's capped servicing at $195 a visit and the numbers are hard to argue with: about $975 over five years of servicing and roughly $4,800 all up over five years, which is why this row scores a maximum 10.

How safe is the GWM Ora 5?

As at July 2026, the GWM Ora 5 is unrated by ANCAP. GWM says the car is undergoing testing and expects a maximum five-star result, but until that lands there is no rating to report, which is why we have left the Safety row out of the scorecard and calculated the CarExplore Score without it. On equipment the Ora 5 is well armed for the price: seven airbags including a front-centre airbag, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and junction detection, adaptive cruise with traffic-jam assist, lane-keeping, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, a driver attention monitor, traffic sign recognition and a 360-degree camera, all standard on both grades. The sting, as several reviewers found, is calibration rather than coverage: the driver-monitoring and seatbelt warnings can nag, and a software update should be a GWM priority.

Reliability, warranty and known issues

GWM covers the Ora 5 with a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, an eight-year, unlimited-kilometre battery warranty for private buyers, and seven years of roadside assistance. Servicing is due every 12 months or 15,000km and is capped at $195 a visit for seven years, a total of $1365. That warranty is why the Reliability row scores 7.5: a baseline for the mainstream standard, plus a point for the seven-year unconditional cover, with no open recalls against this model. Worth noting for peace of mind, the only GWM Ora recall on the Federal register covers the earlier 2023 Ora hatch, a different car, not the Ora 5. The one recurring niggle owners should watch is the safety-assist software; carsales also reported a steering "notch" on an early car after driving through standing water, which it flagged as possibly unique to that vehicle.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Cheapest electric SUV in Australia at $33,990 drive-away
• Very low running costs, $195 capped services and cheap home charging
• Seven-year warranty and eight-year battery cover
• Space-saver spare fitted as standard, rare in an EV
• 435km claimed range beats key rivals like the BYD Atto 2
• Comfortable, well-equipped cabin with a slick 14.6-inch screen

Cons

• Firm, sometimes busy ride over rough surfaces (three of the reviews we read)
• Hesitant off-the-line throttle in the default drive mode
• Over-sensitive safety-assist warnings that need a software fix
• Unrated by ANCAP as at July 2026
• Modest 362L boot and mid-pack 120kW charging

GWM Ora 5 FAQ

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Let's Wrap This Up

The 2026 GWM Ora 5 does the hard part brilliantly: it makes an electric SUV genuinely affordable to buy and cheap to keep, without feeling nasty inside. Cross-shop it against the BYD Atto 2, the Chery E5 and the Jaecoo J5 EV, and it suits a first-time EV buyer or a family after a low-cost second car who values warranty and running costs over driving polish.

CarExplore's Comments

If you are an Australian buyer weighing up your first EV and the budget stops around the mid-thirties, the Ora 5 Lux deserves a spot on your shortlist, and a test drive on a rough road before you sign. Spend an hour with the throttle and the safety beeps and decide whether they will wear on you, because everything else here, the price, the warranty, the running costs and the spare in the boot, is genuinely hard to beat right now. If the comfort gear appeals, the $3000 step to the Ultra is worth it.