Henrik Fisker is courageous. With his start-up, the native Dane is opposing a whole flood of electric vehicles coming from China, Europe and the USA. His argument so far is a car: The Fisker Ocean, a 477-meter-long e-crossover that is supposed to rob in the territory of the Tesla Model Y or the Polestar 2. A task where others, such as the Faraday Future or Byton, have failed. But Fisker is convinced of the success of his mission. “We have a plan,” says the trained designer, who penned cars like the BMW Z8 and adds that the financing is also in place and cars are already being delivered. 45 vehicles were recently handed over to customers in Munich. The company’s CEO is still keeping a low profile about the exact strategy. The only thing that is clear is that it will not stop with just one car and that sustainability will play a major role.
That’s why the start-up is putting a lot of focus on the use of recycled materials and wants to bring a carbon-neutral car onto the market by 2027. Another ambitious goal, but certainly one that hits the nerve of the zeitgeist. The fact that the Fisker Ocean already consists of 50 kilograms of such reclaimed materials and that more than 70 percent of the suppliers are less than 1,000 kilometers away shows that these words are not lip service. So the Fisker Ocean should be a car for which even the latest generation of climate stickers release the road. The fact that the newcomers have teamed up with Magna Steyr for production is also a smart move. The Austrians know how to build cars and do it for BMW with the Z4, among others. “70 percent of our customers come from premium brands,” says Henrik Fisker happily.
Another great idea is the solar, which is supposed to bring an extra range of up to 2,400 kilometers in sunny areas like Southern California. Apropos: With a maximum range of 707 kilometers (without the sun factor), the Fisker Ocean is at the forefront of the e-crossover league. “We still live in a world of range anxiety,” clarifies engineer David King. The reasons for Radius include the capacity of the batteries, which come from CATL and are 113 kilowatt hours (106 kWh usable) and the aerodynamic design. However, Fisker reveals neither the Cd value nor the consumption of his Ocean. After a distance of 334 kilometers, during which we were sometimes quite brisk, we still had 30 percent left in the battery (we started with 97 percent). We charge with a maximum of 200 kW, so the batteries are charged from ten to 80 percent of their capacity within around 34 minutes.
There’s plenty of fun to be had on the road at Fisker Ocean. Pure power isn’t a great differentiator in an EV, but when you’ve got 415 kW / 564 hp and all-wheel drive under the hood, that’s certainly not a disadvantage. Many a VW ID.4 owner can sing a song about it. The Ocean reaches the 100 km/h mark from a standing start in 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 205 km/h. The Fisker developers didn’t artificialize the driving modes, but found funny names with Earth (Eco), Fun (Normal) and Hyper (Sport). Since the FM29 platform can be updated, a snow program is to follow next year. However, our favorite setting is activated via a button in the headliner: the Califiornia mode. Then the Fisker Ocean lowers all panes with the exception of the windshield and retracts the roof.
The fact that the rear motor is decoupled when sailing is now de rigueur for a modern Stromer. The Fisker Ocean is tuned for comfort without being a perpetually bobbing litter. The fact that the body of the 2,434-kilogram SUV leans in fast corners will only be noticed negatively by a pronounced driving dynamics enthusiast. The clearly noticeable steering intervention is more annoying as soon as you change lanes without indicating. The steering wheel column could also be longer and the lateral support of the seats could be a little better. The interior materials are vegan. “The principle of reduction is also reflected in the fact that we used as few seams as possible,” explains interior designer Nadya Arnaout.
But these are details that do not necessarily define the Fisker Ocean. Intelligent details that make life easier for the passengers and the pilot are more important. When stationary, the driver can fold out a so-called “taco tray” from the armrest, just like on an airplane, and enjoy his meal at the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant. The classic glove compartment is also omitted, instead a table opens up for the passenger. The storage space is located under the seat in a drawer. Clever (yes Skoda) are the foldable sun visors, which can be adjusted depending on the incidence of light. The battery of the Ocean not only serves as a power source for the electric picnic grill, you can also share the energy with a broken down Stromer. This is done using AC charging type 2. This altruistic power bank function should be available by 2024 at the latest.
Fisker makes no secret of the fact that the Ocean is constantly being improved via over-the-air updates, just like people know from their smartphones. Currently, the infotainment does not support Apple CarPlay. “If the customers want it, we’ll implement it,” Henrik Fisker makes clear. The start-up specialists wrote the software themselves. Definitely not a bad idea to just rely on yourself. Almost all programmers do not come from the automotive industry. For example, infotainment boss Joe Thompson worked on night vision devices for the US Army or on Microsoft’s HoloLens, augmented reality glasses. So the shortcuts on the central and reversible 17.1-inch touchscreen are arranged vertically at the level of the steering wheel spokes. “We could have made it nicer, but it’s more practical this way,” explains Thompson. The fact that a section of the navigation map is always visible and can be activated also helps to compensate for the lack of a head-up display. Another good idea is that vehicles approaching in the blind spot are not indicated by a flashing signal in the exterior mirrors, but also by a yellow bar on the respective side of the virtual instrument display.
That leaves the price: it starts at 41,560 euros for the basic Sport version with 202 kW / 275 hp, front-wheel drive and a range of 440 km, the Extreme version we drove with even more equipment, more power, all-wheel drive and a larger battery costs 69,950 Euro.
