Skoda Scala vs GWM Ora 5

What's the difference?

The new Skoda Scala Select proves base models can be well-equipped and have a great price tag, which is not always the case at this grade level.

Its driving experience might not be as exciting as some rivals but it’s a great urban dweller nonetheless and it offers really good value overall.

While the Ora 5 still has a relatively divisive design that will turn off a chunk of those looking for a small electric SUV, the improvements made when compared to the hatch launched years ago make it worth a second look.

The interior is much more user-friendly, there are more features and a more sensible variant line-up, and the ride and handling localisation means you might actually want to drive it out of the city on occasion.

Regardless, the Ora 5 needs to be a lot more competitive than the Ora hatch was, because the market is so much busier with affordable rivals now. Fortunately, the value proposition is indeed much better than before, especially given the Ultra is only $3000 more than the Lux.

The new Scala has had a minor facelift that sees a redesigned black grille with slim LED headlights, refreshed 17-inch alloy wheels and an extended rear windscreen.

The new Scala more than holds its own against its European rivals when it comes to looks and while it's more unassuming at the kerb side than its peers, there will be those who appreciate that it's not too cutesy-looking.

Head inside and there are similarities between its corporate cousin, the VW Polo with the sharply-designed dashboard and air vents but it’s softened by lovely grey fabric-accent panels and soft touchpoints that have been liberally scattered across the cabin.

The technology screens look premium, if small, and the black and grey cloth seats look a lot nicer than the standard black fabric you usually get in base models.

There's also a certain charm to seeing the traditional elements, like the gearshift and new physical buttons for the climate control. There's enough in the cabin to satisfy most.

GWM is being pretty bold in calling the Ora 5’s design ‘timeless’ in its press materials.

The brand’s head designer says the Ora 5 isn’t shouting for attention, but I’m going to disagree. While I don’t think being attention-grabbing is a bad thing, the retro-leaning vibe the Ora hatch gave off a few years ago remains strong here on the 5 SUV.

We’re told much of it was inspired by nature - the wheels inspired by clovers, the lights by water drops, the body by smooth pebbles and the tail-lights by a sunrise - but it still looks a little alien from a couple of angles, mostly the rear.

The proportions are however better than the hatch, and from the side it gets away with looking a little like an attempt at a Porsche Cayenne.

The big thing you have to give GWM props for is including three properly vibrant colours (Cute Cyan, Flamingo Pink and Emerald Green) in the range, even though anything but Pepper White is a $595 option. Mystic Grey and matt Crystal Black complete the six options.

Inside, the Ora 5’s unique design feels distant, as the interior looks much like the vast majority of small Chinese SUVs. A focus on the large main touchscreen, a layout of phone holder, cupholders and the armrest in a minimalist central console, and the almost-lack of buttons are all hallmarks of the genre.

Only small touches like apparently Mini-inspired climate controls or the cat-shaped magnet (the Ora was called Funky Cat in China) holding the vanity mirror cover up really give it away as an Ora, aside from the exclamation mark logo on the steering wheel.

Ooh, the cabin of the new Scala offers fantastic practicality because it's class leading when it comes to space. There is no 'sardines in a tin' experience here, front and rear passengers get stacks of head- and legroom.

The only stumble on this front is the elbow room up front as you can at times jostle a co-pilot on the annoyingly sloping armrest.

Access is easy enough and you surprisingly don't 'fall in' or grunt when getting out, despite the low 149mm ground clearance.

The storage is good for a hatchback with the front getting a glove box that can fit more than just a manual, small middle console, two cupholders and a drink bottle holder in each door. As well as a sunglasses holder (always handy) and a medium-ish storage cubby in front of the gearshift that can accommodate a phone and wallet.

The rear enjoys two map pockets, two device pockets and a drink bottle holder in each door but misses out on a centre armrest and cupholders.

The boot is massive with its 467L of available capacity and we managed to fit luggage and golf clubs on a roadie this week without trouble.

There’s a temporary space saver tyre underneath the floor and while there’s no powered tailgate, it's not a difficult lid to operate. It even has a neat little toggle to help pull it down.

Other amenities feel well-rounded with two USB-C ports in each row, directional air vents, a 12-volt socket and reading lights.

The touchscreen multimedia system is responsive but looks tiny as it's almost the same size as my iPhone 15 Pro Max. This translates to smaller text and icon sizes as well as a smaller screen for the reversing camera.

There’s also not much in the way of customisation or extra features, like satellite navigation but the new wireless functionality for the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto makes it feel modern. Although the wireless function for the CarPlay drops in and out a lot.

The Ora 5 takes a noticeable step up over the previous Ora hatchback in terms of interior ergonomics, bringing it up to a decent standard.

The seats are more easily adjustable to find a decent driving position, the tech is a lot easier to navigate, and there are a couple of inclusions that put the Ora 5 a nose ahead of rivals.

As mentioned, the layout is fairly unimaginative in terms of design, but it does work practically in that there aren’t many elements of the interior to get in the way.

More buttons would of course be welcome, as using the touchscreen while on the move can be particularly fiddly. The upside is the software itself is more sensible in terms of menus, it just has small buttons. There is, mercifully, an always-on shortcut bar even while phone mirroring.

Android users will also be pleased to know there’s wireless Android Auto from launch in the Ora 5, rather than needing to wait for an update as some did when the Ora hatch launched.

USB-C ports and small storage slots are present front and rear, though single-zone climate means everyone needs to agree on one temperature (or be subjected to the driver’s decision).

There’s also only one vent in the rear, though the space itself is decently roomy, with the sunroof in the Ultra providing a nice amount of light. A central fold-down armrest would, however, be welcome.

Behind the rear seat is a 362L boot and underneath it lies an extremely welcome inclusion: a space-saver spare tyre.

GWM said it added the spare locally due to the heavy influence of the Australian market and the regular disappointment when only a repair kit is included.

The good news is that the Ora 5 SUV kicks things off with a fairly competitive price, $33,990 drive-away.

That’s for the entry-grade Lux, though a slightly upgraded variant called the Ultra comes in at $36,990. Still pretty good value for a small electric SUV.

The list of standard features is decent, with a large 14.6-inch multimedia touchscreen and wireless phone mirroring, a 10.25-inch driver display and synthetic leather upholstery with electric seat adjustment for the driver.

There are also 18-inch wheels, auto LED headlights and LED tail-lights, rain-sensing wipers and tinted privacy glass for the rear windows.

The Ultra’s extra $3000 makes both front seats electrically adjustable, while adding seat ventilation and heating, wireless phone charging, ambient lighting, a panoramic sunroof, and three extra speakers for nine in total.

Weirdly, single-zone climate control is standard for both variants despite the touchscreen having a set of controls for each passenger.

It’s priced just above the relatively new BYD Atto 2 small SUV ($31,990 before on-roads) or the even-more-recently arrived MG4 Urban ($31,990 drive-away) hatch that have slightly smaller batteries and somewhat fewer features. It undercuts the Jaecoo J5 EV ($36,990 drive-away) and Leapmotor B10 ($37,888 before on-roads).

The Scala Select is a front-wheel drive with a seven-speed auto transmission. It has a 1.0L three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that produces up to 85kW of power and 200Nm of torque.

At first glance you might think those outputs sound low and while most of its rivals have better outputs, there's plenty of oomph here to move the little Scala around. 

The Ora 5 uses a fairly tried and true propulsion method for budget-friendly EVs, that being a single motor mounted at the front axle.

This one has 150kW and 260Nm, the same for both variants, and feels just lively enough to avoid being branded sluggish.

The new Select has almost hybrid fuel efficiency with its official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel figure of 5.4L/100km. In comparison, its hybrid rival, the Toyota Corolla isn’t too far away with its 4.0L usage.

Based on its 50L fuel tank, you should see a theoretical driving range of up to 925km, which is excellent for an urban dweller.

After doing a road trip combined with a fair amount of city-driving, my real world usage has popped out at 5.7L/100km. Which is a great result overall.

An hour and a half drive through Melbourne into the Yarra valley saw the Ora 5 use 16.1kWh/100km, according to the trip computer.

At that rate, the claimed 435km range from the Ora 5’s 58.3kWh battery feels a little optimistic, but we did plenty of driving out of the city’s EV-range-friendly confines.

DC fast-charging is maxed at 120kW, and should take about 30 minutes from 10 to 80 per cent.

Hatchbacks are always a bit of fun to drive because of the dodgem car-esque handling and when the Scala is in Sport mode, it has enough pep to earn it a fun badge.

Out of Sport mode, the power delivery is still responsive enough for it to be a pleasant open-roader but you won't whoop with joy when you accelerate.

The steering is light without feeling loose and the Scala is nimble when cornering or in tight turns.

The ride comfort is very good and despite hitting some bad weather the Select didn’t miss a beat. It's a confident on-road experience because of its surefootedness.

There's a bit of road noise although its pretty quiet in the cabin, which also makes it a refined open-roader.

The visibility is decent and it’s easy to feel the dimensions of the car when you're in a skinny city laneway.

The Select gets a reversing camera with dynamic reversing guidelines and a clear quality feed but its tiny in the little screen.

The additional front sensors round out the parking experience considerably. You shouldn’t have any issue in parking this one!

First impressions on an unfortunately wet day from behind the Ora 5’s wheel are that it does feel much improved compared to the Ora hatch.

The biggest change under the skin appears to be the result of local tuning, undertaken by former Holden engineer Rob Trubiani.

The Ora 5 handles small bumps and rough roads better than the hatch did, while settling over bigger imperfections relatively quickly. 

Even with questionable tyres on wet roads, the Ora 5 remained steady under quick, sharp cornering and wouldn’t understeer as the hatch did.

While it’s not brimming with dynamic prowess, the Ora 5 now feels capable of taking on Australian roads without frustrating its driver.

The steering feel, response and feedback aren’t anything to write home about, but do at least result in accurate cornering, and there is the option of adjusting the steering weight.

The Ora 5’s power delivery feels about right for its class and, even though it won’t rocket past anyone during an overtake, it’s more than enough for the city driving it’ll regularly be doing.

The advanced driver assist safety systems (ADAS), too, are a lot better programmed than expected. In highway driving and along twisting semi-rural roads, the Ora 5’s ADAS systems were all left on without much unnecessary intervention.

ANCAP hasn’t completed an assessment of the Ora 5 SUV yet so, for now, the model remains unrated.

GWM says it has built the car to a standard it expects should be awarded five stars, though we won’t have the answer to that until late 2026.

Seven airbags and a pretty comprehensive list of features including door-open warning and rear cross-traffic alert should mean the Ora 5 fares well for at least the on-paper assessment. 

The Ora 5 SUV also has a space-saver spare, and one of its seven airbags is a centre airbag, both things that are sometimes neglected in more affordable models.

All safety features are also standard for both variants, including the surround-view camera, so points for GWM there.

The Scala is offered with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is good for the class and you can pre-purchase a seven-year/105,000km servicing program for a flat $3650, which is competitive.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12-months or 15,000km. You also get roadside assistance as a part of your servicing pack if you service on schedule. 

The Scala likes to drink the good stuff, though, and Skoda recommends a minimum 95 RON premium unleaded petrol be used.

GWM’s seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty is on the better side of average for mainstream brands, with the battery getting eight years, also unlimited.

But it’s the seven years of roadside and seven years capped-price servicing that make it a strong offering, especially when each service is just $195. That’s every 12 months or 15,000km.