Ora 5 Diaries: I bought an EV

I finally made the switch to an electric vehicle, after a decade of covering EVs. It was a long time coming, even before installing an EV wallbox charger at home for my EV tests.

I covered it on my Tech Things newsletter earlier today, but for the purpose of documenting my EV journey on Recharged, I’m going to touch on the points I made there, including other bits of info that I think may be useful for anyone considering the move.

Record high fuel prices aside, I’ve been covering the tech for so long that I knew I wanted to make the move but had to wait for the right car. I also had to have spent time in the car for a week of testing at least, to know how it drives before choosing one.

Fast forward to November 2026 and I chose a GWM Ora 5. I attended the media launch event in Cape Town in July and I had the car on test at the end of September, which featured on my Living Electric series.

Prior to that, I was keen on the Volvo EX30 until I drove it for nearly 3 months, and loved the Mini Cooper SE I had for 6 months long-term but it was a bit pricey. I also considered the iCaur V23 but alas I didn’t get a chance to test it (not without trying) and I wasn’t going to buy a car I didn’t test.

WHY I CHOSE THE ORA 5

1. The brand has a track record: GWM turns 20 in South Africa in 2027, which makes it one of the older, more established Chinese brands here, and not a newcomer with no history. It’s also privately owned and not state-owned.
2. The battery and range: It has a 58.3kWh battery and around 435km of WLTP range. When I charge it to 100%, it shows 520km but I’ll get a better idea of actual kms as time goes by.
3. The tech and features: It has 360° cameras, wireless Apple CarPlay, and a spare wheel in the boot, which is a big deal for me. It also supports vehicle-to-load at 6.6kW, which makes it a proper power bank for my home if load shedding ever returns. Or if I want to take my Jura on a road trip.
4. The R50 000 question: The Ultra Lux package of extras gets me ventilated and heated seats, memory seats, a pano roof, and additional safety features. Sounds fancy but with Joburg’s extreme weather, it should keep me comfortable.
5. The Mini I wanted instead: I’ve owned two Minis and spent six months with the Mini Cooper SE, which I really wanted but found the Ora 5 offered more car for the money. Funny enough, in my review I wrote that GWM is clearly going after the Mini driver. Turns out, I’m the Mini driver.

All that said, I know it’s only 120kW max DC charging speeds but it reportedly does 10-80% in 30 minutes, and that an app is promised for 2027 per GWM but my expectations are low for that. I am using the car to track my consumption and apps for charging.

WHAT I GOT WITH MY ORA 5

My EV only came with an emergency 3-pin plug charging cable. I didn’t get an RFID charge card or credit to use on public and neither did I get an AC to AC charging cable to use at malls.

That said, my dealership gifted me a 7kW GWM branded wallbox charger. I have bought 2 additional cables/plugs that I will share more about soon.

As a journalist who has been testing EVs for a while now, I have two public charging EV cards, one from the Jaguar I-Pace launch, and another one supplied by GridCars. It’s one of the reasons not getting one from GWM didn’t bother me.

Follow along on my Ora 5 Diaries that I will be sharing as an actual EV owners now, which I have no doubt is different to testing EVs for a week. If you have any questions, let me know!