Fisker Ocean review: ouch

[SeaGeo]

But to call it the worst car he's ever driven means he really hasn't driven many cars.

Parsing words a bit here, but he did say worst he's reviewed, not driven (at least per the title).

Basically it's worse than high end cars, the Hyundai e-gmp cars, and the bolt.

Sponsored

 

[RivianRunner]

Fun fact, he hasn't. Didn't even have a license until later in life.

Later in life? He just turned 30 in December! He wasn't even eligible for a driver's license until later in life!

 

[windblowlc]

I'd suggest anyone who is actually interested in the vehicle to watch this rebuttal to MKBHD's review. He's probably a little overly defensive and dismissive about software issues, but it does sound like the other vehicle probably was behind on software updates. Only thing I don't agree with is the complaint about the display switch between regen and power on, as if you're trying to coast instead of going into regen, it can kind of flap back and forth. I do find that to be slightly distracting.

I watched this video. Of course everybody has their own opinion but I call bs on his. For example, why try to re-engineer the sun visor with multiple flips and always block the windshield some? There's no need - with a traditional sun visor you can simply move it incrementally down to shield the sun as needed. And the mirror is laughably small that even his wife disagree with, you can't see anything in that mirror when you're flipping the mirror cover out. So who calls the little cubby underneath the seats that in his own words is hard to open with one hand a glove box? The taco tray? It's blocking the cup holder and would likely hit the cup moving it around. The right steering wheel button is too close to the overly large airbag that its hard to hit it, and the left button is too close to the 9 o'clock position that it's really a bad placement. He talked about the soft reset with everything that malfunctioned or didn't work. That would drive an owner crazy if they have to do that for the many things not working...the camera, the blank screen, the rear windows...and there's no guaranty if they even work after the reset. The car rolling back got me rofl laughing - that was something so easy to overcome, you'll just have to hit the brakes or hit the accelerator is what he said. The key fob, to open door you'll just need to hit the button once, count to 4 and then hit the button again. He's so defensive with everything that's really quirky about the Ocean. He's an owner who's bought in to the Ocean early on and he's defending his love for it. I just don't buy it.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I watched this video. Of course everybody has their own opinion but I call bs on his. For example, why try to re-engineer the sun visor with multiple flips and always block the windshield some? There's no need - with a traditional sun visor you can simply move it incrementally down to shield the sun as needed. And the mirror is laughably small that even his wife disagree with, you can't see anything in that mirror when you're flipping the mirror cover out. So who calls the little cubby underneath the seats that in his own words is hard to open with one hand a glove box? The taco tray? It's blocking the cup holder and would likely hit the cup moving it around. The right steering wheel button is too close to the overly large airbag that its hard to hit it, and the left button is too close to the 9 o'clock position that it's really a bad placement. He talked about the soft reset with everything that malfunctioned or didn't work. That would drive an owner crazy if they have to do that for the many things not working...the camera, the blank screen, the rear windows...and there's no guaranty if they even work after the reset. The car rolling back got me rofl laughing - that was something so easy to overcome, you'll just have to hit the brakes or hit the accelerator is what he said. The key fob, to open door you'll just need to hit the button once, count to 4 and then hit the button again. He's so defensive with everything that's really quirky about the Ocean. He's an owner who's bought in to the Ocean early on and he's defending his love for it. I just don't buy it.

I didn't really want to turn this into a "But Rivian" but Fisker is still going through their early adoption period, and I had to deal with a lot of Rivian's early problems too, so comparisons where there are some make sense. I probably have Rivian to thank for my willingness to deal with software issues in this vehicle.

Visor: I thought it was weird at first too, and my immediate reaction was also to not like it. After driving for a while though, and actually needing the thing, my opinion on it has changed. The windshield on the Ocean comes up more than a typical car. The bi-fold makes it taller when unfolded and it does a pretty good job of actually blocking the sun from poking between the mirror and the visor. (For the record, I struggle with this problem a lot this time of the year in my R1T) When it's folded up and forward, it's up into the portion of the windshield that has the frits, which you're not going to be looking through anyway. It is way above the typical line of sight for traffic lights, etc. I'm too ugly to want to look at myself in the car so I didn't even notice the small mirror, so I guess I'll give one point to the vain for that issue.

Glovebox: You mean that thing Rivian doesn't have either? I rarely go into the glovebox on other vehicles. On my Camaro Convertible, it was locked with the same key you put in the ignition, so it ended up inaccessible while driving anyway. The underseat storage in the Fisker is cavernous, the Rivian's is really only good for small things like sunglasses. The Fisker's isn't difficult to open with one hand while seated, I think it's probably more awkward to use otherwise but I haven't tried.

Taco tray: It's a useful gimmick, if you're the type of person to spend time in the car while you aren't driving (and with Hollywood mode turning the whole screen into a TV, I imagine more people might find themselves doing that while waiting for a charge, etc). If you have an enormous cup, sure the cup can get in the way. Depending on how you have the steering wheel set, the wheel can also get in the way. Fisker probably needs to fine tune the placement to avoid those issues, but it's still functional even considering them. It would be better if it had it's own separate section in the center console instead of sharing the storage area.

I haven't had any issues hitting the steering wheel buttons. I suppose if you were coming from a Tesla with a yoke then you might need to re-think your steering position in the Ocean. I don't find the buttons difficult to hit at all. Imagined problem.

Previous software versions to the one that's on my vehicle ( which is not on 2.0 yet) were definitely worse about notifications when something wasn't working right. Fisker tuned them to be less annoying but they still have a lot of work to do. Maybe you'll remember that Rivian had issues with glare and rain kicking these systems off for quite a while.

My backup camera pretty frequently doesn't work (but the camera for the rear-view mirror has never faulted). When that happens, the backup sensors are also not working. Definitely an inexcusable problem and not one that's always cured by a soft-reset (Had the issue this morning and verified it didn't work). Biggest problem with it is I've discovered how reliant I've become on the camera systems. Have to actually use the side mirrors to look around my vehicle again and I honestly hate it. But I can still back up with the mirrors.

As a driver of stick shift vehicles before moving to EVs, I don't think the rollback thing is really a big deal. One thing people don't know, because the car doesn't inform you about it, is it has a 2 second brake hold if there is enough pressure being applied at a stop to activate it. You can give the brake a quick shove before moving over to the accelerator. Same effectiveness as the hill-start assist in my stick Camaro but you just aren't informed it's happening. Since it's an EV, you also just don't get any "feel" for how much accelerator pedal is enough to hold the car in place until the 2 seconds is over. Software 2.0 is supposed to implement an automatic brake hold instead, which I expect will cure this problem for people. It's already on some folk's vehicles that have posted publicly about it.

Key Fob: How long did Rivian have issues with this? Fisker doesn't have proximity enabled so it takes a keypress for the vehicle to wake if it's asleep. Rivian was the same way for a long time, but took longer to wake up, seemed much less consistent. If I hit the unlock when I'm 20 feet away and hit it again when I'm 5 feet away, it's worked every time. I think this behavior was worse in older software versions, but my car's was new enough when delivered that I avoided those issues.

Overall, as it stands today, it's a fun car to drive and that's what I care about the most. The fit and finish on my car is miles better than my R1T was. The hardware itself is pretty solid. The software is still a hot mess, but Fisker has been actively working towards improving it, so I can't be too disappointed on the current problems.

 

[windblowlc]

I didn't really want to turn this into a "But Rivian" but Fisker is still going through their early adoption period, and I had to deal with a lot of Rivian's early problems too, so comparisons where there are some make sense. I probably have Rivian to thank for my willingness to deal with software issues in this vehicle.

Visor: I thought it was weird at first too, and my immediate reaction was also to not like it. After driving for a while though, and actually needing the thing, my opinion on it has changed. The windshield on the Ocean comes up more than a typical car. The bi-fold makes it taller when unfolded and it does a pretty good job of actually blocking the sun from poking between the mirror and the visor. (For the record, I struggle with this problem a lot this time of the year in my R1T) When it's folded up and forward, it's up into the portion of the windshield that has the frits, which you're not going to be looking through anyway. It is way above the typical line of sight for traffic lights, etc. I'm too ugly to want to look at myself in the car so I didn't even notice the small mirror, so I guess I'll give one point to the vain for that issue.

Glovebox: You mean that thing Rivian doesn't have either? I rarely go into the glovebox on other vehicles. On my Camaro Convertible, it was locked with the same key you put in the ignition, so it ended up inaccessible while driving anyway. The underseat storage in the Fisker is cavernous, the Rivian's is really only good for small things like sunglasses. The Fisker's isn't difficult to open with one hand while seated, I think it's probably more awkward to use otherwise but I haven't tried.

Taco tray: It's a useful gimmick, if you're the type of person to spend time in the car while you aren't driving (and with Hollywood mode turning the whole screen into a TV, I imagine more people might find themselves doing that while waiting for a charge, etc). If you have an enormous cup, sure the cup can get in the way. Depending on how you have the steering wheel set, the wheel can also get in the way. Fisker probably needs to fine tune the placement to avoid those issues, but it's still functional even considering them. It would be better if it had it's own separate section in the center console instead of sharing the storage area.

I haven't had any issues hitting the steering wheel buttons. I suppose if you were coming from a Tesla with a yoke then you might need to re-think your steering position in the Ocean. I don't find the buttons difficult to hit at all. Imagined problem.

Previous software versions to the one that's on my vehicle ( which is not on 2.0 yet) were definitely worse about notifications when something wasn't working right. Fisker tuned them to be less annoying but they still have a lot of work to do. Maybe you'll remember that Rivian had issues with glare and rain kicking these systems off for quite a while.

My backup camera pretty frequently doesn't work (but the camera for the rear-view mirror has never faulted). When that happens, the backup sensors are also not working. Definitely an inexcusable problem and not one that's always cured by a soft-reset (Had the issue this morning and verified it didn't work). Biggest problem with it is I've discovered how reliant I've become on the camera systems. Have to actually use the side mirrors to look around my vehicle again and I honestly hate it. But I can still back up with the mirrors.

As a driver of stick shift vehicles before moving to EVs, I don't think the rollback thing is really a big deal. One thing people don't know, because the car doesn't inform you about it, is it has a 2 second brake hold if there is enough pressure being applied at a stop to activate it. You can give the brake a quick shove before moving over to the accelerator. Same effectiveness as the hill-start assist in my stick Camaro but you just aren't informed it's happening. Since it's an EV, you also just don't get any "feel" for how much accelerator pedal is enough to hold the car in place until the 2 seconds is over. Software 2.0 is supposed to implement an automatic brake hold instead, which I expect will cure this problem for people. It's already on some folk's vehicles that have posted publicly about it.

Key Fob: How long did Rivian have issues with this? Fisker doesn't have proximity enabled so it takes a keypress for the vehicle to wake if it's asleep. Rivian was the same way for a long time, but took longer to wake up, seemed much less consistent. If I hit the unlock when I'm 20 feet away and hit it again when I'm 5 feet away, it's worked every time. I think this behavior was worse in older software versions, but my car's was new enough when delivered that I avoided those issues.

Overall, as it stands today, it's a fun car to drive and that's what I care about the most. The fit and finish on my car is miles better than my R1T was. The hardware itself is pretty solid. The software is still a hot mess, but Fisker has been actively working towards improving it, so I can't be too disappointed on the current problems.

His video wasn't persuasive one bit, but I'm not an owner. It doesn't matter what others said, at the end of the day what's important is how you like your vehicle. Look at the love the Rivian has from owners and compare it with the opinions of the critics.

 

[rkalbiar]

Yeah, have two on preorder but cannot pull the trigger. They need to get their Shiz together!

 

[rmalzo]

To let you skip the long review: if you have any Rivian SW issues and bugs…. You don’t know how good you got it . Fisker: a sea of bugs, non operable features, and a UI from super Mario brothers. Reviewer liked the interior , I kept thinking it needs more for 75k, exterior good

I was an early adapter of his first car in 2012. It too was a disaster and they went bankrupt the first year, leaving owners with no warranty a car plagued with issues. It looks like it’s happening all over again. This guy is a designer and a good one. He should stick to what he does best and stay away from manufacturing

 

[Monkey]

Fun fact, he hasn't. Didn't even have a license until later in life.

It's well known he's not a "car guy". His initial reviews of both the Lightning and R1T showed pretty clearly that he had no prior knowledge of pickup trucks before those reviews. That said, I like the MKBHD reviews. Even the car ones as he approaches it from the perspective of a layperson or someone who doesn't know or care much about all the stuff us car forum geeks care about. Very relatable to Joe Consumer.

 

[DaveA]

I'd suggest anyone who is actually interested in the vehicle to watch this rebuttal to MKBHD's review. He's probably a little overly defensive and dismissive about software issues, but it does sound like the other vehicle probably was behind on software updates. Only thing I don't agree with is the complaint about the display switch between regen and power on, as if you're trying to coast instead of going into regen, it can kind of flap back and forth. I do find that to be slightly distracting.

I watched this video. Of course everybody has their own opinion but I call bs on his. For example, why try to re-engineer the sun visor with multiple flips and always block the windshield some? There's no need - with a traditional sun visor you can simply move it incrementally down to shield the sun as needed. And the mirror is laughably small that even his wife disagree with, you can't see anything in that mirror when you're flipping the mirror cover out. So who calls the little cubby underneath the seats that in his own words is hard to open with one hand a glove box? The taco tray? It's blocking the cup holder and would likely hit the cup moving it around. The right steering wheel button is too close to the overly large airbag that its hard to hit it, and the left button is too close to the 9 o'clock position that it's really a bad placement. He talked about the soft reset with everything that malfunctioned or didn't work. That would drive an owner crazy if they have to do that for the many things not working...the camera, the blank screen, the rear windows...and there's no guaranty if they even work after the reset. The car rolling back got me rofl laughing - that was something so easy to overcome, you'll just have to hit the brakes or hit the accelerator is what he said. The key fob, to open door you'll just need to hit the button once, count to 4 and then hit the button again. He's so defensive with everything that's really quirky about the Ocean. He's an owner who's bought in to the Ocean early on and he's defending his love for it. I just don't buy it.

This guy is on Stocktwits investor board and is a huge investor in the stock. He is definitely going to be defensive AF. Lol.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Later in life? He just turned 30 in December! He wasn't even eligible for a driver's license until more than halfway through life!

Even shorter of a span to drive vehicles.

 

[Dark-Fx]

That said, I like the MKBHD reviews. Even the car ones as he approaches it from the perspective of a layperson or someone who doesn't know or care much about all the stuff us car forum geeks care about. Very relatable to Joe Consumer.

I think MKBHD's review just speaks to his inexperience. Had Fisker actually loaned him a vehicle, they'd probably make sure he was knowledgeable or at least aware of all of the features. It's probably his modus operandi, and he stumbled working outside of it. I typically want my reviewers to be experts about the vehicle and to point out things that I might've overlooked. I don't want to watch a car reviewer doing a "Whose slide is it anyway" style review.

 

[KRG]

I think MKBHD's review just speaks to his inexperience. Had Fisker actually loaned him a vehicle, they'd probably make sure he was knowledgeable or at least aware of all of the features. It's probably his modus operandi, and he stumbled working outside of it. I typically want my reviewers to be experts about the vehicle and to point out things that I might've overlooked. I don't want to watch a car reviewer doing a "Whose slide is it anyway" style review.

They should have. It at least would've been a more positive review than this dumpster fire with likely outdated software he found on a used car lot.

 

[NY_Rob]

Fisker's main issue at this point is not the car, not the software... it's support!

"Support" basically ghosts everyone (owners, body shops, insurance co's, etc..) so if you need anything (like you bent a rim and need a replacement, new windshield, etc..) you're waiting months and even then still no response from Fisker. Owners Ins co's have totaled cars with very little damage because Fisker is just unreachable for even a parts estimate no less actually procuring the actual parts needed.

 

[White Shadow]

Later in life? He just turned 30 in December! He wasn't even eligible for a driver's license until later in life!

I was eligible for a driver's license at 16, so I got my license when I was 16.

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

I was eligible for a driver's license at 16, so I got my license when I was 16.

Around here it was 15 and 8 months way back when. No idea what it is now. If I were to believe a lot of the mainstream news articles that come across my feed, "kids these days" don't care so much about getting licenses anymore, as we did way back when.

Sponsored