GWM ORA vs Toyota Corolla

What's the difference?

When the GWM Ora showed up in Australia last year, it seemed to rely somewhat on its divisive cutesy looks and sub-$40K entry price to draw attention - and to some extent it worked.

Convincing Australians to buy an electric car is hard enough for any car company, let alone one that doesn’t have the brand cachet of Tesla or the traditional companies.

But an entry price under $40,000 doesn’t apply here, this is the GWM Ora GT: the top of the range for the small electric car.

It’s just had a massive price cut, but is it worth paying more than $10,000 over the price of a base Ora for some extra goodies when simplicity and fun styling was the original selling point?

Up until 2024 when its title was nabbed by the Tesla Model Y, the humble Toyota Corolla has been the world’s best-selling car for quite some time. 

A reputation for reliability, affordability, efficiency and in its current guise, being fun to drive, the Corolla has seen off all comers to retain the title of the most popular small car on Earth.

The current twelfth-generation Corolla is now seven years into its life cycle having landed in mid-2018. In that time scores of buyers have moved across into small SUVs, and the Corolla’s competitor set has shrunk dramatically as car brands pull out of the small passenger car segment.

But as we gear up for the next-gen Corolla, is the existing one still worth considering against some newer rivals? And should you look at this instead of a small SUV?

I lived with the mid-range Corolla SX hatchback for a week to find out.