Just a few weeks after calling the Fisker Ocean “the worst car I’ve ever tested,” popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee gave the Ocean a second chance. Despite promised software updates and an official press car to review, however, Brownlee hasn’t changed his position: the Ocean remains the worst car he’s ever reviewed.
Much like the state of Fisker itself, Brownlee’s initial review of the Ocean was a mess. It all started when Brownlee got a used Ocean from a local Mitsubishi dealer because Fisker kept delaying delivery of a press vehicle. Once he got his hands on the Ocean, it was clear why corporate was giving him the runaround; Brownlee encountered elements of the car that didn’t feel complete. There was no way to know how much energy the solar roof had captured for instance. There were also weird design quirks, like random blank buttons.
When Brownlee’s review dropped, Fisker PR called the Mitsubishi dealer to insist that the company could fix the problems Brownlee experienced with a software update. The Fisker Ocean can’t receive over the air updates, however, so a tech from the company needed to come out to fix the car. Even if Brownlee’s Ocean had the software updates, however, it looks as if that wouldn’t have made a difference.
This time, Fisker actually sent Brownlee an Ocean. While features that didn’t work in the previous car were now working (like California Mode, which opens all the windows and the roof for fresh air by pressing the key fob) other malfunctioning features weren’t fixed. Take, for instance, the proximity sensor that didn’t detect the key and wouldn’t unlock the car without repeated keyfob presses
Worse yet, the update brought with it new issues that weren’t problems before, like the system taking a minute or two to boot up. Overall though he called the system a “buggy, laggy mess.”
Not everything is bad though. One important feature added addressed the aforementioned problem with the solar roof: a meter that shows how much charge the solar panels have captured was added. Brownlee alsocalled the interior very well made and said that he was glad he was able to give the Ocean a second chance. He also praised the “fundamentals” of the Ocean, calling the powertrain and battery solid. He still called the Ocean the worst car he’s ever reviewed, saying he would take the Vinfast VF8 or the original Tesla Roadster over the Ocean.
Of course, he wondered in the video if any of these defects matter given Fisker’s current state teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Brownlee admitted he can’t answer that, but given the state of the company, he can’t bring himself to even recommend someone to buy. Given what we’ve seen other owners go through with tech problems and cratering resale values, I’d have to agree with Brownlee on this one.