On sale from CNY 193,000 this is the Ora Ballet Cat. The electric vehicle (EV) first made waves when the company previewed the concept car heavily inspired by the classic Volkswagen Beetle, only with four doors instead of two.
Before you get confused, allow us to clear things up. Previously we reported that the concept car will be known as the Ora Punk Cat as voted by netizens instead of Ballet Cat as it is launched now.
Ora explains that the Ballet Cat is aimed at women while the Punk Cat, slated to launch later this year, will be targeted at men. Hence the different names despite being essentially the same model.
In China, the Ballet Cat is priced at CNY 193,000 (~RM 126,500) for the base model and tops off at CNY 223,000 (~RM 146,000). Ora has four variants on offer namely: Alice, Nutcracker, Mermaid, and Swan Lake.
As the car is aimed at women, the colours on offer are all pastel based like pink, blue, green, and even gold.
There is no mistaking the retro look the Ballet Cat is going for. Not only is the car’s shape a nod towards the ‘50s, but designers have also made sure that the accompanying accessories mirror the retro look such as the horseshoe-shaped head and tail lights and the chrome inserts for the bumper.
Other than that, the EV also features retro-looking door handles, oval side mirrors, and even the rims are reminiscent of ‘50s era cars.
The Ballet Cat is not a very large car, it measures 4,401 x 1,867 x 1,633 mm in length, width, and height while its wheelbase measures 2,750 mm. In context, the Honda City sedan in Malaysia measures 4,553 mm in length while the Honda City Hatchback measures 4,345 mm.
| Ora Ballet Cat vs Honda City | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ora Ballet Cat | Honda City Sedan | Honda City Hatchback | |
| Length (mm) | 4,401 | 4,553 | 4,345 |
| Width (mm) | 1,867 | 1,748 | 1,748 |
| Height (mm) | 1,633 | 1,467 | 1,488 |
| Wheelbase (mm) | 2,750 | 2,600 | 2,600 |
The inside, however, is a different story. Although the large steering wheel with its chrome insert and the oval air-conditioning vents lend it the ‘50s vibe, the rest of the interior cannot be said the same.
Instead of a traditional instrument cluster, the Ballet Cat uses a large digital instrument cluster. The panel is connected to an equally large infotainment screen.
Other than that, the EV’s interior is designed with aesthetics that would please the fairer gender such as the larger than usual sunshade mirror and even the lipstick and compact powder holder.
However, the most striking feature in the interior is definitely the centre armrest which looks like it was made of crystal. The armrest even has a name, Ora calls it ‘Swan Lake’ just like one of the EV’s variants.
The Ballet Cat has two distance ranges on offer, the lower variants (Alice and Nutcracker) come with a 49.92 kWh battery pack. These two variants have a distance range of 401 km.
The Mermaid and Swan Lake variant, meanwhile, comes with a 60.5 kWh battery pack giving both variants a distance range of 500 km.
All variants produce the same power output of 171 PS and 250 Nm. The Ballet Cat is front-wheel drive only.
Closer to home, Ora is preparing to make its official launch here in Malaysia. For now, the only model confirmed to be launched is the Ora Good Cat.
Perhaps if the Ballet Cat makes an equally big wave as its clowder-mate (that’s what a group of cats are called FYI) in China, Ora Malaysia would consider selling the car here as well?