Category: funky cat

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I finally finally haz the CarPlay

Ora Funky Cat CarPlay

After waiting for a fair while, Apple CarPlay is now available for the Ora Funky Cat (or should I be calling it the Ora 03) as a dealer installed update.

CarPlay is a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone while you drive. You can get directions, make calls, send and receive messages, and enjoy your favourite music. All on your car’s built‑in display. And CarPlay now features more app categories and custom wallpapers for your CarPlay Dashboard.

It was announced on the 20th May and I booked my car in for the update with my local dealer. I took it in on the 24th May and left it with the dealer.

Well the CarPlay update to the Ora didn’t go to plan…

The dealer had the car for the whole day, but didn’t start the update until close to the end of the day. The update failed, so they needed to keep the Funky Cat to try again. Alas it was a bank holiday and I was working away in London this week. So the plan is to pick up the car on the following Friday.

In the meantime I was given a courtesy car, a Nissan Juke. After spending ten months driving the Funky Cat, it was quite disconcerting to go back to a manual petrol car. I had to remember to change gear.

Unfortunately failed update was a lot more serious than just a failed software upgrade. The update failed for an unknown reason and essentially bricked the head unit in the car. The head unit needed to be replaced, and it had to be sent from China.

Eventually the part arrived and was installed.

I was finally able to pick up the Funky Cat on the 20th August, just under three months from when I had dropped it off. You could tell it had spent most of the time parked somewhere out of the way, as it was covered  with cobwebs and a fair amount of bird droppings. The first thing I did was take it to a car wash.

After all that they still didn’t do the CarPlay update.

Spent time re-learning how to drive the Funky Cat, remembering there is no clutch nor a gearstick. I also realised how much I had missed driving the Funky Cat and the whole electric vehicle experience. I also realised that the Funky Cat was bigger than the Nissan Juke, but thought the Juke felt cramped inside, the outside felt huge, like an armoured car.

After sorting things out with the dealer, I booked in the update for the 6th September.

They did it in the morning and I am really pleased with the update. I had used CarPlay a fair bit with the Juke, so knew what to expect. It looked really good on the Funky Cat dashboard. Waze worked, as did my music apps. 

Both happy and relieved it is all done now.

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Unsuccessful Charge

I was visiting IKEA in Bristol and according to the Tesla app the Tesla chargers at the Eastgate Retail Park work with non-Tesla cars.

Alas, despite success with other Tesla chargers across the UK. I was unable to get a successful charge with these with my non-Tesla EV. I tried two different chargers without success.

Plugged in and the charger was unable to “find” my car. I had to manually release my car from the charger.

I got home with 8% left, so popped to the local MFG for an emergency top up charge.

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Problems at Sand Bay

Sand Bay

I have used the Revive chargers at Sand Bay before, and had a few issues. I was back at the car park, it wasn’t critical that I charged, but I thought I am going to be a couple of hours, let’s put it on charge. I have a Revive account now, and use it on a regular basis at Worle Railway Station.

I plugged it in and it all seemed to be going okay, but due to poor 4G, I was having issues with the Revive website.

I left thinking I had it sorted. The Ora app, said it wasn’t charging, but that happened last time.

Came back after a lovely walk, to struggle once more to access the website, but managed to stop the “charge”. I said the “charge” as it failed completely to work.

At least I wasn’t relying on getting a charge.

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157 Miles

After getting my car back from the dealer today was the first time I charged to 100%.

The predicted range is 157 miles.

I would have expected something more, but it’s not awful.

First time viewing the charging process using the new app as well.

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Number seven

Saw my seventh Funky Cat in the wild. This was a white model with a black roof. It was in Weston-super-Mare, and I saw it after a couple of minutes after leaving my house.

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Solitary Charging

ORA Funky Cat charging

After getting my Funky Cat back from the dealer (after three months), without the CarPlay update I should say; a few days later it needed a charge. I had planned to use the Revive chargers at Worle Station, but changed plans and didn’t go to work in Bristol. So needing a charge, rather than use the MFG chargers close by, I headed down to Tim Hortons to use the Instavolt chargers there.

It was in the evening, and for most of the charge I was the only EV charging. Though a Tesla arrived later. I went for a walk, and then stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee and a doughnut, well why not.

I only did a 85% charge, but this was from a starting point of 15%. 

Instavolt EV chargers

The process was nice and simple, though at 85p per kWh is not the cheapest place to charge. I did read that in September that they are introducing off-peak pricing. It will be 54p per kWh, between the hours of 10pm and 6am. Might be able to take advantage of that, I think for a top up charge, considering the location of the chargers in Weston.

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It’s back

funky cat headlight

I finally got my car back from the dealers.

I took it in on May 24th for the CarPlay update.

Unfortunately the update failed for an unknown reason and essentially bricked the head unit in the car. The head unit needed to be replaced, and it had to be sent from China.

Eventually the part arrived and was installed.

After all that they still didn’t do the CarPlay update.

Now spending time re-learning how to drive the Funky Cat, remembering there is no clutch nor a gearstick.

 

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Black Cat in the Wild

Walking around Ealing I saw a Black Funky Cat.

This is the sixth cat I have seen in the wild. As I post to the blog when I see one, it’s easy to know how many I have seen.

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European Travels

I had intended to blog about my experiences of driving the Funky Cat from the South West of England to Newhaven, taking the ferry to Dieppe, driving to a campsite outside Paris, then driving to Germany, visiting Cologne, Luxembourg City, before heading back home cross the Channel between Dunkirk and Dover.

However…

The Funky Cat is still with the dealer being fixed after the CarPlay update went wrong. In the end I had to take a petrol courtesy car across with me.

It had CarPlay and that worked well. I had planned a charging route, but relying on an internal combustion engine meant that this was thrown out! I had to re-apply for a range of low emission zone certificates, stickers and registrations, having already done that for the Funky Cat. I also had to change a range of bookings for the ferries and campsites with the different car registration.

It was a good trip, but I think I would have preferred to use the Funky Cat.