Consumer Reports Slams The Fisker Ocean As Bizarre, Unappealing, And Unfinished

About a month ago, YouTuber Marques Brownlee posted his review of the Fisker Ocean, and it’s safe to say it wasn’t exactly positive. For starters, he titled the video “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed,” which really set the tone for the rest of the review. Allegedly, the popularity of such a negative review even upset Henrik Fisker himself, which, considering bankruptcy could be just around the corner, is probably understandable. Unfortunately for Fisker, Consumer Reports also had a disappointing experience, calling the Ocean “Quite Unappealing In Its Current State.”

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Last month, Consumer Reports took delivery of a 2023 Fisker Ocean Ultra that had the version 2.0 software that Brownlee’s Ocean didn’t. With options and destination, the final price came out to $63,981. The site praised the car’s design, spacious second row, available storage options, airy cabin, use of physical controls and promised 350 miles of range, so it wasn’t a completely negative review, but that’s about where the positives ended for CR.

Despite having software version 2.0, the car reportedly still felt incomplete, with one tester saying, “It’s inexcusable that safety and other features promised on the Ocean’s window sticker come and go, with their absences only occasionally accompanied by warning messages.” Apparently, blind spot warning and lane keep assist were there when CR took delivery but disappeared the next day, only to reappear a day later. The car also still doesn’t have adaptive cruise control, the driver monitoring system either doesn’t work or hasn’t been activated and Bluetooth was unreliable at best.

Consumer Reports’ problems didn’t end with software issues, either. Regenerative braking was reportedly poorly calibrated, causing one tester to feel carsick while driving it, but true one-pedal driving isn’t even available. A brake system malfunction light also came on for most of one day before disappearing. As for the suspension, reviewers found it both floaty and jarring in a way one called “the worst of both worlds.”

The $2,438 destination charge was also reportedly the highest on any car that CR has ever tested, and despite the pricey shipping charge, the car showed up with a dent, a scratch and no floor mats. The floor mats still haven’t arrived, and there’s currently no timeline for getting the scratch and dent repaired. That section ends with the ominous line, “Bankruptcy courts may eventually decide how much warranty coverage Ocean owners will get, as they did for Karma owners a decade ago.”

Unfortunately for Consumer Reports (and to an extent, Fisker), the complaints didn’t stop there. CR also dealt with a number of shifter problems and error messages, had issues with the throttle and traction control tuning, experienced several rattles, found the upholstery cheap and thought the door pull was uncomfortable to use.

All together, Consumer Reports’ experience with the Fisker Ocean makes it incredibly difficult to recommend that anyone buy one. Coupled with the news that bankruptcy is almost inevitable, and it becomes even more difficult to recommend. Maybe another software update fix everything if CR just waits long enough. Just one more software update, bro.