The Ora Funky Cat, from the Chinese group Great Wall Motor, is not yet officially marketed in Europe, but it is coming. The model, along with other electric cars, has just passed the Euro NCAP crash test. What are the results ?
The Euro NCAP crash tests have become the obligatory passage for all new vehicle models placed on the European market. The score obtained is a good indicator of the care taken by manufacturers for the safety of their vehicles. While it is rare for cars to fail to obtain 4 or 5 stars (the Renault Zoé went from 5 to 0 stars), some still stand out with very good results. This is the case of the future Ora Funky Cat, but also of the Tesla Model Y, on the last tests carried out on September 7, 2022.
Ora Funky Cat better than Renault Mégane or BMW i4 in crash test
Chinese manufacturers have the image of poor quality and unsafe vehicles that sticks to their skin. Moreover, the Dacia Spring, which is derived from a model originally sold in China, tends to give reason to critics of Chinese vehicles.
Except it’s time to update. In recent years, some Chinese manufacturers have evolved greatly (Nio, Xpeng, MG, etc.). They are now betting on quality and technology to level the playing field. They have understood that if they want to conquer the European market, it is not with vehicles from the catalog Wish that they can do it.
We were already talking to you about the Ora Funky Cat, from Great Wall Motors in May 2022. It will be presented at the Paris Motor Show next October. This 100% electric model, with a design somewhat borrowed from different references, has just passed its Euro NCAP crash test. Its results on the 4 criteria are particularly good, especially when compared to other recent models.
For each of the 4 test categories: adult, child, pedestrian protection and driving aids, Euro NCAP awards points depending on whether the result of the crash test is: good, satisfactory, average, poor or mediocre. These points are then converted into a percentage. Here are, for example, the results of several models tested in 2022:
| Model | Adult coverage | Child protection | Pedestrian protection | Safety aids |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ora Funky Cat | Adult coverage92% | Child protection83% | Pedestrian protection74% | Safety aids93% |
| Renault Megane | Adult coverage85% | Child protection88% | Pedestrian protection65% | Safety Aids79% |
| BMW i4 | Adult coverage87% | Child protection87% | Pedestrian protection71% | Safety aids64% |
| Kia Niro | Adult coverage91% | Child protection84% | Pedestrian protection75% | Safety Aids60% |
| Tesla Model Y | Adult coverage97% | Child protection87% | Pedestrian protection82% | Safety aids98% |
The Ora Funky Cat therefore does better than Renault Mégane e-tech or BMW i4 on three criteria. It is however behind, compared to the other two vehicles, on that of the protection of children. The Kia Niro, renewed this summer, beats the Chinese car by little, on two of the criteria: child protection and pedestrian protection. The standard version of the Niro, on the other hand, collapses on safety aids, although optional equipment can slightly close this gap.
We added up the points obtained on each criterion to find if there would be a 100% electric model that currently does better in the crash test than the Ora Funky Cat, with a total of 342 dots. The result is quite interesting, because a lot of them fail:
Only two models, in the ten recently approved models, do better than the Ora Funky Cat: the Volkswagen ID.5, with a small point better (343), and the Tesla Model Y, which literally flew over the test with disconcerting ease (364 points).
It seems relevant to remember that the Ora Funky Cat is a compact model, which should land in France at less than 40,000 €, and we hope rather around 30 or 35,000 €.
Tesla Model Y: the new benchmark to beat
Elon Musk has always praised the merits of safety on board Tesla models. The 2022 Model Y crash test attests to this:
- 97% on the protection of adults on board,
- 87% on the protection of children on board,
- 82% for the protection of vulnerable users on the road (mainly pedestrians),
- 98% for the rating of its safety aids (driving aids).
The Tesla Model Y received the highest rating given by Euro NCAP on the latest test grid in force. Euro NCAP regularly raises the rating criteria, the latest tightening of the rules in 2020 awards additional points to vehicles with high-performance driving aids (ADAS) for safety
The Tesla Model Y therefore becomes the new benchmark to beat at Euro NCAP, we can’t wait to see who will manage to do better!