Does Fisker deserve to emerge from bankruptcy?

Henrik Fisker is a flawed genius. He helped develop the incredible BMW Z8 roadster and the original X5 SUV. He was the production designer for the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage. But despite the beauty of the Karma sports sedan, his company Fisker Automotive went bankrupt. His latest venture, Fisker Inc., is now also in financial trouble and has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. But is that because the car is no good? To find out, I spent a week in the Fisker Ocean.

It’s no surprise that the Ocean is a mid-size SUV, like the Tesla Model Y and XPENG G6. It’s the most popular car format right now. The Ocean is about the same length and width, but a little taller. The design is more distinctive than the Model Y, but with clear hints of the Range Rover Evoque. The tall front has a muscular texture. So far so good.

Fisker Ocean: Options and Advantages

The Fisker Ocean currently on sale in the UK comes in three versions: Sport, Ultra and Extreme. The Sport is front-wheel drive with 275hp and a 71kWh battery, while the Ultra has dual motors making 536hp and a 106.5kWh battery. The Extreme, which I test drove, steps up power to 563hp. The most obvious cosmetic differentiator between these models is the sunroof. All cars have a sunroof, but it’s fixed on the Sport; on the Ultra and Extreme it’s retractable, and on the Extreme it’s a solar panel – one of the Ocean’s many unique features.

A variety of 22-inch wheels are available, with 20-inch rims also available. There are 12 points and up to three interiors to choose from, depending on whether you choose Sport, Ultra, or Extreme. All are made with eco-friendly materials such as Alcantara, and leather is not available. At first, I thought the seats were a little hard, but after driving the Ocean for a few hours at a stretch, I changed my mind. They are quite supportive on long journeys. This means that Fisker offers a good foundation in terms of customization options and driver comfort. The back seat is spacious enough for two adults, and if no one is sitting in the middle seat, the backrest can be folded down to reveal a panel that allows you to operate the rear air conditioning.

The car has a few other unique features. The solar roof doesn’t mean you never need to charge it, but it does help with battery drain if you leave it out for long periods of time (if outside). Another nice feature of the Ocean is that if you drive the Sport or higher, you get California Mode. Press and hold the overhead button and all the windows open, the sunroof rolls up, and the rear window goes down, maximizing airflow while you’re driving. There are also two phone chargers. The rearview mirror is a camera-equipped mirror that can double as a regular mirror, but the camera is a definite improvement since visibility out the rear window is very limited.

A small table surface slides out from the dash for the passenger, and another one unfolds on the arm of the center console to provide a table surface for the driver. The huge 17.1-inch infotainment screen has a hidden little twist: it’s portrait-oriented while driving, but can be rotated to landscape when stopped. This is perfect for video entertainment features, including streaming services like YouTube, Disney+ (because Henrik Fisker isn’t arguing with Disney), Apple TV, and Amazon Prime. Spotify music playback is also directly supported. When you select drive, the screen automatically returns to portrait orientation, because landscape orientation would interfere slightly with the lever on the left side.

Fisker Ocean: Unfinished Business

But there are plenty of flaws. Oddly, the Ocean has no glove box, but there is a secret storage compartment under the passenger seat. The button to change power modes is on the right side of the steering wheel, in the middle of the cruise-control buttons, and is so inconspicuous that you’d never find it unless you knew it was there. Modes include Earth (Ocean’s fancy name for Eco, which turns off the rear motors), Fan for everyday driving, and Hyper for maximum power.

But the Ocean’s most questionable aspect is its software. While in theory it’s packed with technology, some features are currently missing, and some functions still don’t work entirely as intended. Cellular connectivity, for example, is very hit-and-miss; there’s no support for Apple CarPlay or Android Auto yet. And the cruise control was unpredictable. Not because it’s unsafe, but I found it sometimes impossible to turn on. On a long journey from London to Coventry and back, it worked for a while, then stopped working completely. A few days later, it worked again. This is disappointing for a car that has the potential to be great for long-distance driving (more on that later). Other reviewers have cited more serious issues, such as an inability to reliably lock and unlock the car and worrying warning messages, but I didn’t encounter these issues.

Rear luggage capacity is an area where the Ocean is clearly inferior to the market-leading Tesla Model Y, and indeed most SUVs in this class. With the rear seats upright, the base capacity is 476 litres, which is decent but not outstanding. However, with the rear seats folded down, this expands to only 918 litres, which is inferior to many compact hatchbacks. Even the Nissan Leaf has more capacity than this, although it doesn’t have a flat surface. At least the rear seats are 40/20/40 split, so you can fit two passengers in the back and fold the centre section forward to load long items. And while rear luggage space is limited, the electrically releasing towbar allows the Ocean to tow 750kg unbraked and 1820kg braked in Ultra and Extreme models, although this drops to 1090kg in the front-wheel drive Sport.

Fisker Ocean: Impressive performance and range

Both the Ultra and Extreme are very quick cars, taking 4.2 and 3.9 seconds respectively to hit 62 mph. The Sport takes a much more mundane 7.4 seconds. In both cases, however, to get the headline figures, you need to enable Boost mode, which overvoltages the system, but is only guaranteed for 500 uses. This can be enabled in the menu system, and a countdown appears showing the number of Boosts remaining. But even if you don’t use it, the Ocean Extreme is noticeably snappier when you step on the gas in Hyper or Fun mode. It’s certainly fast enough for a family SUV. But if you have a passenger in Hyper mode, you might want to avoid pressing the pedal too hard, as they won’t be happy.

The car I drove had 22-inch wheels, and still the ride was decent, although the wheels are easily damaged on raised kerbs. Handling is adequate, but the larger battery means the Extreme is around 2500kg, the Ultra 2400kg, while the Sport is just a little lighter at 2300kg. That’s too heavy for cornering, and there’s a noticeable amount of body roll at speed on twisty roads. It’s also a little big for tight UK city streets, but the steering is light enough that it’s comfortable to drive around town. Still, the Ocean is commanding on the motorway, where it feels most natural.

Because where the Ocean really wins is in range, which isn’t surprising given the size of the battery. Its 106.5kWh (net) capacity gives the Ultra a best-in-class WLTP range of 429 miles, a figure that rises to 440 miles for the more powerful Extreme. The Sport version’s 71kWh (net) battery gives it a much less competitive 288 miles, outdone by EVs with smaller batteries such as the Kia Niro EV and Hyundai Kona.

In theory, the Xtreme is efficient at 4.1 miles per kWh, but when I drove a 183-mile round trip from North London to Coventry, I used 72% of the battery, which equates to 2.4 miles per kWh, which isn’t very efficient. This is with a significant portion of the trip driven in economical Earth mode, but in general I’m not overly frugal with my driving style. Still, that equates to a real-world range of 254 miles, which is very usable.

Charging capacity is also adequate; with three-phase power, 11kW AC charging is possible; DC charging speeds vary depending on the model, with the Sport going up to 200kW, and the Ultra and Extreme up to 250kW. While they’re not the absolute best I’ve seen, the Sport can charge from 10% to 80% in 31 minutes, while the Ultra and Extreme can charge in 35 minutes. Combine this with the real-world driving range and you’ll need a 30-minute break every three hours or so of driving, which is fine for anyone other than someone towing a caravan and thinking they can “drive 700 miles in a stretch”.

Fisker Ocean: Great deals for gamblers

In the UK, base prices are reasonable, if not absolute bargains: the Sport starts at £36,900 ($47,000), the Ultra at £50,900 ($65,000), and the Extreme at £57,900 ($74,000). However, Fisker’s financial difficulties mean that, at the time of writing, the company is trying to liquidate inventory to stay afloat, and the cars currently in stock are heavily discounted: the Sport has been discounted by £6,000 ($7,500), the Ultra by £12,000 ($15,000), and the Extreme by a whopping £14,000 ($18,000). This means that the Extreme I tested can be had for just £44,000. That’s Tesla Model Y RWD money, and the Ocean Extreme offers a significant boost in performance and range.

Software bugs aside, the Fisker Ocean could be a reliable car with its own features. But it’s overshadowed by the company’s current financial problems. As of this writing, Fisker is still open, albeit on life support, due to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Given the discounted price, the Ocean is a bargain in any form, especially the Xtreme. If you’re lucky and want to gamble that Fisker will find a buyer and fix the Ocean’s problems, this is a bargain. For the more cautious, there’s the Tesla Model Y.