The trishaw rider quickly whipped out his smartphone to search for more information about the bright-eyed, quirky car right in front of him. “Oh, it’s called Ora Good Cat and it’s an electric car,” he told us. “There’s a charging station in Mahkota Parade which is not far from here.”

Honestly, we didn’t really need to look for a charging station since the Ora Good Cat still had more than 300 km of range left and we last charged the electric vehicle (EV) at the Ayer Keroh R&R when it had 37% charge remaining.

We’re definitely good in terms of range as we drove around the historical town of Melaka to capture the sights and inadvertently turn the Good Cat into a bit of a celebrity. Aside from queries from the abang beca, the cutesy EV also caught the attention of a group of tourists as we drove around Jonker Street.

Also read: Cheapest EV with 500 km range? Ora Good Cat launched in Malaysia; priced from RM 140k, full ADAS among features

It was the weekend, so the historical town was packed with cars and people from all over Malaysia and other parts of the world. Regardless of their point of origin or age, the Good Cat was literally the talk of the town at that moment.

A Westerner stopped in her tracks and looked amazed as the two-tone Hazel Wood Beige/Wisdom Brown hatchback drove past her. A group of teenagers chased after us to get a quick snap of the car like paparazzi hunting down Taylor Swift. We overheard a couple of college girls calling it cuter than a MINI.

Also read: Up close and purr-sonal with the Ora Good Cat, the EV that will revolutionise Malaysians?

Those were some of the comments and looks the Ora Good Cat attracted as we descended into the colourfully historical street. Jonker Street and nearby Banda Hilir already have plenty of sights to see and our car just added another palette to the area.

The head-turning design is done by Emanuel Derta who was a former Porsche designer which is also why it looks like a Stuttgart sports car in the front and maybe a futuristic Macan SUV in the rear. Some remarked that it looked like a Volkswagen Beetle which is a sort of distant cousin to Porsche.

Also read: Video: More than just cute looks, here's why the Ora Good Cat is important for Malaysia's EV industry

But the college girls we overheard were right in thinking that the design is closer to a MINI with its large pair of circular LED headlights and inside the Good Cat are toggle switches in the middle that resemble that found in the German-British line-up.

The Ora Good Cat we’re in is the highest-spec variant, the 500 Ultra which is priced from RM 170,500 (OTR without insurance). If the beige colour doesn’t fit your image, the Chinese import (CBU) is also offered in 7 other eye-popping colours including the newly launched Pistachio Green hue.

Also read: 18 photos of the eye-popping 2023 Ora Good Cat EV in Pistachio Green

Certain colours come with an equally funky interior colour scheme. This two-tone brown and beige combination is offered together with the similar exterior colour combo but other colourful interior options include green-grey as well as green-beige. The latter is offered if you get the Pistachio Green Good Cat.

The Good Cat is also more than just a pretty face on the outside. The compact-like design belies its roomy interior with a wheelbase (2,650 mm) that is larger than the Proton X50 (2,600 mm). Not to mention that it’s also quite comfortable at the back with plenty of legroom.

Safety features are also very generous in this electric feline and it’s a tough kitty too. The Good Cat is built with an IronBone high-strength energy-absorbing body. The Good Cat's European-spec model called the Funky Cat was rated 5 stars by Euro NCAP with a 92% score on adult occupant and 83% on child occupant safety tests, among the highest scores in its class.

Also read: Ora Good Cat EV scores 5 stars in Euro NCAP crash test, ahead of BMW i4

The Good Cat is available with 6 airbags and ADAS as standard which include adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist (LKA), and Wisdom Dodge System (WDS). WDS is essentially an extension of LKA that detects and avoids approaching large vehicles like trucks by keeping a distance and helps to overtake them safely.

As for range, we managed to charge the Good Cat only once between our KL to Melaka and back journey for a combined trip of around 370 km. By the time we head back to KL, the Good Cat had 20% battery charge left.

Theoretically, you could make a trip and back in one single charge as the EV stated that it had around 400 km of range at 80% state-of-charge (SOC) but we advise you to at least charge once or twice along your journey.

In the end, the Ora Good Cat is more than just a fashion statement, it’s an electric vehicle that delivers. The cutesy electric feline brings plenty of joy to everyone in Melaka that weekend and not just to those behind the wheel.

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