Fisker Ocean (2022 – 2024) Review

Electric drive systems make it theoretically easier for new companies to become car manufacturers — but there’s still a chasm of difference between ‘easier’ and ‘easy’. One recent debutant disappeared within months going on sale making buyers question its viability as a used electric SUV. Find out whether you should take the plunge with our full Fisker Ocean review.

Former Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker was the brains behind Fisker Inc, the company which produced the electric Ocean family-sized SUV. It was his second eponymous car company after Fisker Automotive.

Key to Fisker Inc’s appeal was that the Ocean would major on sustainability, heavily marketing this approach to environmentally conscious car buyers. After a protracted gestation, the production version was revealed in 2022 with orders opening well ahead of first customer deliveries in 2023. Yet by summer 2024 the showrooms were closed.

Manufacturing was contracted to Magna Steyr in Austria, the company also responsible for building a diverse range of models for other car companies including the BMW Z4, Jaguar I-Pace and Mercedes G-Class.

Based on its size, chief among the Ocean’s rivals is the Tesla Model Y, although the Fisker didn’t have a seven-seat option.

Similarly close in spirit to Fisker Inc’s American origins and where the company expected the greatest demand to be — while conveniently ignoring the Ocean’s nationality — is the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Other alternatives include the closely related pair of the sharp-suited Hyundai Ioniq 5 and its sleeker, coupe-esque cousin, the Kia EV6.

So other than being an electric, how did Fisker play on the sustainability theme? Take the Ocean’s seat fabric — it’s made from being made from recycled T-shirts while the flooring had a former life as plastic bottles. Fisker claimed more than 50kg of recycled materials was used in each car.

Overall the Fisker Ocean’s design shows various elements of fresh thinking, whether to reduce the retail price or just to offer something different.

The bonnet is fixed shut, avoiding the need for hinges or seals, while the large multimedia touchscreen can be rotated from portrait to landscape view — that’s Hollywood Mode in Fiskerspeak — so you can watch films or TV in the correct aspect ratio. Ultimately the BYD Atto 3 reached the UK with similar tech before the Ocean, but still.

One Fisker Ocean feature that wouldn’t have been cheap to make was called California Mode. With the press of a single button, the enormous sunroof, all six side windows and the tailgate glass all open — perhaps the most convertible-like experience without being in a convertible.

According to Fisker’s website, the Ocean was available in two motor and battery combinations. Entry-point was theoretically the 286PS front-wheel drive, 73kWh gross capacity Touring Range battery fitted to the Ocean Sport. It had a 288-mile range but very few were shipped to the UK.

Demand will be greater — relatively speaking — for the 113kWh gross capacity Hyper Range battery installed in all other Oceans, providing a driving range of up to 439 miles depending on the trim level. Fiskers with this battery have all-wheel drive and 564PS of power.

Despite its many appealing features, the elephant in the room is Fisker’s 2024 bankruptcy with production suspended indefinitely. Potential Ocean buyers were told warranties and claims for material defects were unenforceable, while software update support is uncertain — the company’s UK office was also closed.

There are nearly new and low-milage used Fiskers Oceans around via independent retailers, many at temptingly low prices. If you can source a third-party warranty at a cost you’re happy to pay and a compliant EV specialist should anything major go wrong, this intriguing SUV could be worth a punt. If that sounds like a lot of hassle, do yourself a favour and choose something else.

Fisker Ocean: Range

A key element to the way the Fisker Ocean behaves is its weight, which at 2.4 tonnes for the bigger Hyper Range battery versions is at the high end of the scales.

For the most part it doesn’t intrude on the driving experience but it can struggle with sharper bumps or pot holes. With its suspension set up to be relatively stiff, the ride quality is not as good as some key rivals. The specification plays a part here, with the optional 22-inch wheels giving the suspension a tougher job filtering-out imperfections.

The flip side is that the Fisker Ocean handles well for something of this size, weight and height. The steering is sufficiently responsive without being sporty and offers reasonable feedback, while body roll is kept well in check.

It will hustle through corners at a reasonable rate too but keen drivers should consider sportier options such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

The Fisker Ocean was available with two battery and motor options, with the result that they offer a significantly different driving experience.

Only available with the entry-level Fisker Ocean Sport model was the Touring Range battery, providing the energy for a single electric motor driving the front wheels. It produced 282PS of power and 387Nm of torque, sufficient for a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds and a 117mph top speed.

Fitted to Fisker Ocean Ultra and Extreme versions, plus the limited edition One that was the sole model available to order at first, the power system associated with the Hyper Range battery turned this SUV into a very different beast.

Two electric motors work together to provide all-wheel drive producing a maximum of 564PS and 737Nm of torque. While the top speed is electronically governed at 128mph, the 0-62mph acceleration benchmark took just 4.2 seconds, putting it within touching distance of some EV sports cars. That it can do so with five people on board and their luggage makes it all the more remarkable.

Euro NCAP did not crash-test the Fisker Ocean and is unlikely to do so unless production is restarted, so there’s no star-rated safety score for comparison with rival SUVs.

However the Ocean’s standard safety equipment was competitive, with features such as adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure avoidance fitted as standard to all models.

All-wheel drive versions of the Fisker Ocean can tow up to 1820kg braked, while the front-wheel drive Sport model manages up to 1090kg braked.

The Fisker Ocean delivers in terms of practicality given its size and could make a useful family wagon. Space in the front is excellent and taller adults should have no issues getting comfortable, although the large central touchscreen can make you feel like you’re sharing the space with too much tech.

It is similarly impressive in the rear with enough headroom for six foot-tall adults and enough width to sit three of them across the rear bench. Even legroom is good for the middle occupant.

Less impressive is the amount of oddment storage with no glovebox and the space beneath the central armrest is taken up by a small folding table — clever though that is, a cubby in the void it takes up would be more useful.

Boot space is 476 litres which is competitive with rivals like the Kia EV6, and the space itself is a good shape with a flat floor. Fold the rear seats over and this extends to 918 litres. There’s also a space underneath the boot floor for storing charge cables although the lack of an opening bonnet means there’s no front boot space.

How frequently you would use the features is debatable but there’s potential to carry very long loads or provide dogs being ferried in the boot with fresh air by independently lowering not only the tailgate window but also those at the side behind the rear doors.

The Fisker Ocean is something of a mixed bag in terms of quality. There’s obvious quality to it in terms of its design with a distinctive exterior, minimalist but smart interior and some clever touches such as the solar panel roof and California Mode which lowers all the side windows and sunroof in one go.

In terms of material quality it is more inconsistent, with appealing surfaces higher up on the dashboard but more obviously cheap materials lower down.

This is less of an issue on the cheapest Ocean Sport model but buyers choosing higher-spec models may feel disappointed with those same finishes.

All versions of the Fisker Ocean are fitted with the same 17.1-inch central touchscreen which defaults to portrait orientation but can be changed to landscape with a button press so you can watch TV or films while you charge. Fisker called this Hollywood Mode, while the inexpensive BYD Atto 3 simply says ‘same’.

From launch the infotainment system included features such as DAB radio and Bluetooth connectivity, with navigation provided by TomTom.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were promised as later software updates but with uncertainty over ongoing support for such matters it is not clear whether current or future examples will have these features — assume it won’t happen to avoid disappointment.

The system itself works relatively well with a clear display although the layout of the menus is more complex than is ideal. That you need to navigate through the system to adjust the steering wheel angle and reach is senseless but on the upside there are physical buttons to operate the climate control and gear selection.

From launch the Fisker Ocean Sport was priced at £36,900 making it a larger alternative to similarly priced compact SUVs such as the BMW iX1 (from £46,205) and the Mercedes EQA (starting at £49,750).

With significant jumps in performance and driving range, the AWD Fisker Ocean Ultra was appreciably more expensive at £50,900, while the range-topping Ocean Extreme weighed in at £57,900.

A lot of money, sure, but considering the performance and driving range available the Ocean was competitive with its more immediate rivals. The Ford Mustang Mach-E cost from £50,830, you needed £43,445 to get a Hyundai Ioniq 5, while the Kia EV6 started at £44,495.

Today there are barely-used examples for sale albeit not directly from Fisker, so prices can look tempting, with many year-old Extreme models hovering around the £20,000 mark. If you’re feeling brave that’s a massive saving.

Charged at home using a domestic wallbox the Fisker Ocean should be cheap to run, even on the larger battery models. Try to restrict using expensive public ultra-rapid charging facilities to when you’re on longer journeys rather than your norm otherwise it’ll be ruinously expensive.

One potential cost issue is insurance — with a lack of manufacturer support and a very limited supply of replacement parts, insurers may penalise owners with very hefty premiums, assuming they’re willing to insure you in the first place.

Replacement parts may also prove expensive where they are specific to the Fisker Ocean. Although this model was sold with a six-year/60,000-mile warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty for the battery, since Fisker's collapse these are now null and void.

Fisker Ocean: Range and charging

Fitted only to the Fisker Ocean Sport is the Touring Range battery with a gross capacity of 73kWh. It’s a less costly lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery which means it’s less energy-dense than other types commonly fitted to electric cars but it’s able to be emptied and recharged more times without a significant drop in overall capacity.

All other Fisker Oceans have the Hyper Range battery — this is a more energy dense lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) type, that’s also much larger in gross capacity at 113kWh.

In terms of driving range there are stark differences between the two: Ocean Sport models with the Touring Range battery have a claimed WLTP Combined cycle range of 288 miles. With the Hyper Range battery, the Ocean Ultra can be driven up to 429 miles between charges, increasing to 439 miles for the Ocean Extreme.

Recharging the smaller Touring Range battery to 100% takes 12 hours using a domestic wallbox, while a 10-80% ultra-rapid DC charge requires 31 minutes. For the Hyper Range battery, set aside 18 hours and 35 minutes, respectively.

The standard Fisker Ocean range consisted of three core models — the front-wheel drive Sport and the all-wheel drive Ultra and Extreme.

Standard equipment on the Fisker Ocean Sport included 20-inch AeroStealth wheels, a fixed, glazed BigSky roof, an electric tailgate, darkened privacy glass from the rear doors backwards, plus LED day-running, head and tail lights.

Inside you will find black EcoFabric seats, a digital rear-view mirror, dual-zone climate control, electrically adjustable and heated front seats, ambient lighting, a 17.1-inch multimedia touchscreen, an eight-speaker Fisker Premium audio system, a wireless charging pad, cruise control and two driving modes.

Upgrade to the Fisker Ocean Ultra and as well as the larger battery and all-wheel drive you’ll also gain a battery heat pump, an opening OpenSky roof, California Mode window-dropping, Doggie Windows (opening side windows in the boot) and a Fisker Premium Sound+ 12-speaker audio system.

Topping the range was the Fisker Ocean Extreme which added to the Ultra’s kit roster with a 360-degree surround view camera system, an opening SolarSky roof with integrated photovoltaic panels, black FeelTek upholstery, rear seat controls for the dual-zone climate controls, a heated steering wheel and electrically reclining heated rear seats.

Depending on the trim level chosen, original Fisker Ocean customers may have also chosen one or more of the optional equipment bundles, such as the Performance Package, the Winter Package, the Ultimate Package, the Fisker Intelligent Pilot Upgrade Package or the all-encompassing Fisker Max Package.