The Fisker Ocean is a spacious electric SUV with impressive range and power. However, its appeal is marred by significant drawbacks. Issues such as a clunky touchscreen interface and an unreliable key fob make the ownership experience frustrating. Following the company's bankruptcy, many promised features remain undelivered, and postpurchase support has largely disappeared. Even with its low price on the used market, the Ocean is a vehicle we strongly recommend avoiding.
Fisker is looking to make a big splash (pun intended) with the introduction of its first mass-market electric vehicle, the Ocean. A tweener SUV that sits between compact and midsize, the Ocean arrives in both single- and dual-motor versions that cover a wide range of prices. Top versions offer up to an EPA-estimated 360 miles of range, which is more than what most other electric SUVs offer. Pleasingly, we found that to be accurate in our own real-world Edmunds EV Range Test, where we got 358 miles on a single charge. But like other new EVs from startup automakers, the Ocean is a work in progress, and software updates are likely to change everything from how it drives to the features owners will have access to over time.
Trust Auto is excited to offer this Loaded 2023 Fisker Ocean Sport Electric SUV. The Fisker Ocean Sport Electric SUV offers a fair amount of utility t...
We drove the 2023 Fisker Ocean on our test track and on real roads. Our Edmunds team conducts rigorous independent vehicle testing, driving 500,000 miles a year.
Performance
7/10
How does the Ocean drive? The Ocean has plenty of power to both have a little fun and make light work of day-to-day driving. Passes and merges onto the highway are easy, and when you switch the Ocean into its Fun or Hyper mode to activate both of its electric motors, it gets up to speed with pleasing quickness. At the Edmunds test track, our Ocean One test vehicle sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, which is competitive with the acceleration of rival EVs such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y.
Handling and braking, however, leave a lot to be desired. Around turns, the Ocean is not sporty. It leans heavily and doesn't provide much feel for the road through the steering wheel. Emergency stopping power is fine, but braking around town is not smooth at all. When you initially engage the brakes, nothing happens. Pressing on the pedal further suddenly engages the brakes hard. This characteristic makes stopping the SUV smoothly an exercise in frustration. Unlike other EVs, the Ocean does not have a full one-pedal driving mode. It was supposed to be added via an update, but it never arrived. It brakes appropriately when you lift off the accelerator but will not bring the vehicle to a complete stop.
Comfort
7/10
How comfortable is the Ocean? The seats in both rows are comfortable. We also like how the Ocean rides comfortably over bumps in the road. Even on rough pavement, it feels solidly built as it goes down the road without any creaks or rattles. Noise inside the cabin is nicely mitigated as well. All you'll get on the highway is a touch of wind and tire noise, but it remains easy to have a conversation at normal volume.
On the downside, the Ocean's climate controls leave a lot to be desired. You have to aim the air vents with touchscreen controls rather than physically aiming them as you do on most cars, so it's hard to get the airflow the exact way you want. We also found our test car's auto climate setting couldn't hold a set temperature well on a sunny day. The other problem is that if you turn the fan up past about halfway, it emits a high-pitched whistle along with the air.
Interior
7/10
How’s the interior? There are some big positives to this interior, with a few annoyances that take the shine off. The Ocean is a bigger SUV than most of its compact rivals, so it offers a roomier experience for backseat passengers with a good amount of both legroom and headroom for adults. That helps make the inside feel expansive. It's also easy to get in and out of.
In general, the controls are easy to use. Simpler can often mean better, as Fisker shows by including a physical volume control rather than a button on a touchscreen. It's hard to get a sense of how all of the controls work together, though, because many of the buttons don't actually do anything. The Ocean shipped without promised features — with the idea that they'd eventually be activated via updates — but now that the company is shuttered, those controls are glorified noisemakers.
Special mention goes to the functional inadequacy of the key fob. In a yearlong test of an Ocean that we purchased, we had to replace the battery in the key fob (Fisker only gave us one at the time of purchase) multiple times over the course of a year. Even with a fresh battery in, the fob frequently fails to lock or unlock the car when those buttons are pressed. Even worse: After you finally get inside, the car often will not shift into gear because it doesn't detect a key present. The only solution is to hold the fob next to the NFC reader and hope that the fob and car can communicate so you can shift into drive or reverse.
Technology
3.5/10
How’s the tech? Let's start with the positive: The ELS sound system is an absolute joy. Its 15 speakers, all hidden behind fabric so you don't see them, produce delightfully clear highs and powerful, clean lows. It's everything you'd want in a sound system. And the rotating screen that flips into landscape orientation for watching videos when parked is a neat trick. Unfortunately, things drop off quickly after that.
The native Tom Tom-based navigation is prone to some weird routing, and the charging station integration is mediocre. This is compounded by the fact that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay aren't offered, and those systems could potentially solve a number of these issues. It also thinks the vehicle is in Alaska when it boots up sometimes, and that wasn't an Easter egg. (We asked.)
The infotainment system can be slow to start up, and the exterior camera views are quite blurry and slow to refresh the image. We also encountered numerous bugs throughout our testing, including system restarts and the backup camera not working. There were also severe Bluetooth connection issues, which ranged from Bluetooth randomly disconnecting while driving to failing to recognize your phone at all. There isn't adaptive cruise control, and the lane keeping system doesn't work with anything resembling consistency. What few advanced driving aids exist are prone to failures, or at least apparent failures, judging by the number of warning lights that often illuminated on the instrument cluster.
Storage
7/10
How’s the storage? Cargo room is measured at only 16.8 cubic feet of behind the rear seats, lagging the Model Y and other competitors. But the space feels larger than its measurements suggest and comes with some helpful storage flexibility. The floor pops up to form a nice divider with hooks to keep grocery bags from sliding around. The space is also large enough to handle luggage and a set of golf clubs with ease. The rear seats also fold in a 40/20/40 configuration to store longer items.
Interior storage spaces are less useful. There's no glovebox, for example. Instead, there's a tray that slides out of the dash and another not-particularly-useful tray that folds out from the center console. There is a larger storage area tucked under the wireless smartphone charging tray, and it's hard to access and see what's down there. Parents with small children will like the Ocean for the ease of child safety seat installation. There's a convenient flap over the lower child seat anchors that unzips easily and covers the anchors when not in use. The seatback anchors are also very accessible, and the large doors give you plenty of room to maneuver.
Range and Efficiency
9/10
How are the range and efficiency? The Ocean One we tested is the most powerful variant of the Ocean, but it also comes with the largest battery (113 kWh) and the greatest range, an EPA-estimated 360 miles. On the Edmunds EV Range Test, the Ocean covered 358 miles, a result made even more impressive given that our test vehicle came on the larger 22-inch wheels rather than the 20-inch ones used to achieve the EPA rating. Our measured consumption was 35.4 kWh of electricity used for every 100 miles of driving, which was slightly better than the EPA estimate of 37 kWh/100 miles and speaks to the efficiency with which the Ocean operates.
Value
4.5/10
Is the Ocean a good value? The Fisker Ocean feels a lot more solidly put together than most of the initial offerings from other electric vehicle startups (see Lucid, Tesla). However, the Ocean's value statement completely collapses with the carmaker's bankruptcy. With so many promised features no longer coming, ownership benefits like roadside assistance evaporated, and with probable difficulty sourcing replacement parts, an Ocean purchase is tough to justify objectively.
Wildcard
7.5/10
Though quick, the Ocean isn't all that fun to drive, as shown in our testing. That being said, there's something about the Ocean that gives it a presence. Its styling draws the eye and draws curiosity from bystanders. And the California mode found on Ultra and Extreme models, where all of the vehicle's glass drops except the windshield (including the rear glass and roof), is a neat party trick. So is the rotating center screen. Unfortunately, supply chain issues could result in a delay of replacement parts, or mean no parts at all, so that alone introduces risk in just driving the car.
2023 Fisker Ocean trim level differences
The 2023 Fisker Ocean is a small electric SUV with seating for up to five passengers. It comes in four trim levels at launch: Sport, Ultra, Extreme and the limited-edition One. The Extreme and One have identical feature sets, but the One gets some extra badging and some included service and charging perks. Though the Ocean is already on sale, not all of the features that are advertised as standard are operational on the vehicle but will be turned on via over-the-air updates as they become available. Compare the 2023 Fisker Ocean trim levels in-depth.
Which Ocean trim does Edmunds recommend?
We'd recommend the midgrade Ultra trim level for most buyers. It comes with the more powerful dual-motor all-wheel drive and the larger 113-kWh battery pack. You do lose out on the rotating central screen and the ELS sound system (among a few other features), but you still get the range and brisk acceleration of the Extreme and that gives the Ultra some added value compared to the top trim.
Competitors to consider
The Ocean's wide price gap between its trim levels means that it competes across a few different classes and sizes of vehicles. At the bottom end, the base and midgrade models go up against other compact EV SUVs like the Tesla Model Y and Hyundai Ioniq 5. But the top trim levels are expensive enough that they will be considered against luxury vehicles, like the Genesis GV60 and GV70 Electrified. Read our test team's Expert Rating below for a full analysis of the Fisker Ocean's performance, technology features and more.
Edmunds spotlight: Vehicle software is a work in progress
The positive spin on modern vehicles' dependence on software is that there is great potential for a vehicle to improve and evolve via updates (over-the-air and otherwise). But the flip side is that many vehicles that are launched today can feel incomplete, and in the case of the Ocean, it goes to market with some features that you are paying for not yet activated. An example is adaptive cruise control, a feature that is supposed to be standard across the board for the Ocean but wasn't yet available at the time of our testing. In that way, the vehicle you're buying at this moment in time is not a fully realized product, and depending on your tolerance (and patience), this reality could make or break the Ocean for prospective buyers.
What’s it like to live with?
We purchased a 2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme to join the Edmunds One-Year Road Test program in January 2024. Our editors tested it and drove it daily for more than a year. For the most part, our ownership experience was not a good one. Follow that journey on the Ocean's long-term road test page.
EV batteries lose 1-2% of range per year. Est. range for this car is 218 miles.
Estimated range mapfrom
Charging
SAE Combo
Plug Type
No charging time information available
EV Battery Warranty
10 yrs or 100,000 miles
According to GeoTab’s data, if the observed degradation rates are maintained, the vast majority of batteries will outlast the usable life of the vehicle.
Estimated battery warranty remaining is 7 years or 58,000 miles for this car.
EV Tax Credits & Rebates
$100
Available Rebates. Restrictions apply.
Restrictions: Edmunds is partnering with Treehouse, an independent provider of home EV installation services. Edmunds visitors receive a $100 discount when they contract with Treehouse for their home charger installation. Discount excludes permit, hosted inspection, and load management devices. Valid for 30 days.
The 2023 Fisker Ocean has a 6 years / 60,000 miles basic warranty and 6 recalls. Below you’ll find our owner reviews.
Recalls
6 recalls found
Checking if a car has a recall is simple. Just type the car's VIN number into the NHTSA website (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls). If there's an unrepaired recall, you'll see it there.
If a recall shows up, just call your local car dealer. They'll know about the recall and will work with the car maker to fix it for free (if the recall happened within 10 years of the car being first sold).
Recall Number:
24V865000
Manufactured from:
2023-02-01 to 2024-03-13
Number of vehicles affected:
7745
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Ocean vehicles. The transmission may not shift into the selected gear, allowing the vehicle to roll away while in Drive or Reverse.
Defect Consequence:
A vehicle roll away increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Corrective Action:
Fisker released an over-the-air (OTA) software update on March 11, 2024, free of charge. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371.
Recall Number:
24V623000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
TSB1006240
Manufactured from:
2023-02-09 to 2024-03-13
Number of vehicles affected:
7745
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Ocean vehicles. The brake module software may cause an unexpected reduction in regenerative braking, decreasing the braking performance.
Defect Consequence:
Decreased braking performance can extend the distance required to stop, increasing the risk of a crash.
Corrective Action:
Fisker will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 26, 2024. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371. Fisker's number for this recall is TSB10062408.
Recall Number:
24V499000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
TSB3003240
Manufactured from:
2023-02-09 to 2024-03-13
Number of vehicles affected:
7545
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling all 2023-2024 Ocean vehicles. A communication failure with the cabin electric water pump can cause the high voltage battery management system (BMS) to enter limp mode, causing a loss of drive power.
Defect Consequence:
A sudden loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Corrective Action:
Fisker will replace the pumps, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 19, 2024. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371. Fisker's number for this recall is TSB30032401.
Recall Number:
24V466000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
TSB5506240
Manufactured from:
2023-02-09 to 2024-05-31
Number of vehicles affected:
8204
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling all 2023-2024 Ocean vehicles. The exterior door handles can stick and fail to open.
Defect Consequence:
A door that fails to open can prevent occupants from exiting in an emergency, increasing the risk of injury.
Corrective Action:
Fisker will inspect and replace the door handles as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed August 19, 2024. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371. Fisker's number for this recall is TSB55062401.
Recall Number:
24V405000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
TSB7006240
Manufactured from:
2023-05-01 to 2023-12-31
Number of vehicles affected:
6864
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling all 2023 Ocean vehicles. The instrument panel displays the incorrect font size of the Brake, Park, and Antilock Brake System (ABS) warning lights, and displays certain warning lights in amber instead of red. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard numbers 135, "Light Vehicle Brake Systems" and 101, "Controls and Displays." Additionally, multiple warning lights fail to illuminate during the ignition cycle bulb check, failing to comply with the requirements of FMVSS 138 and 208.
Defect Consequence:
Warning lights that do not display correctly can fail to alert the driver to critical safety information, increasing the risk of a crash or injury.
Corrective Action:
Fisker will release an over-the-air (OTA) software update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 11, 2024. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371. Fisker's number for this recall is TSB70062404.
Recall Number:
24V404000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
TSB1003240
Manufactured from:
2023-05-01 to 2023-12-31
Number of vehicles affected:
6864
Defect Description:
Fisker Group Inc (Fisker) is recalling all 2023 Ocean vehicles. The Motor Control Unit (MCU) and Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) software may cause the vehicle to enter a safe state protection mode unexpectedly, causing a loss of drive power.
Defect Consequence:
A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Corrective Action:
Fisker will release an over-the-air (OTA) update to the MCU and VCU software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 13, 2024. Owners may contact Fisker customer service at 1-844-347-5371. Fisker's number for this recall is TSB10032403.
2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
I actually love the car, the design and looks, how it drives and feels on the road. I prefer driving it over my '23 Tesla Y. However I rate it low because many of the features you paid for are promised in the "next upgrade", which will never happen. The business model of Henrik Fisker is flawed and the cause of the company's failure. You'll never have proper support for the car, the … software will never be upgraded to the car you thought you were buying, so you're out of luck and stuck with a dead car if anything goes wrong. It's a handsome car. Too bad H. Fisker and his family bungled the business so badly and has left 7K+ owners just hanging.
Pay strict attention
5 out of 5 stars
mikey b, 01/23/2025
2023 Fisker Ocean Ultra 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
This is a awsome vehicle, and a bit of a turd as well. Keep in mind that you are looking at buying a $60K to $70K originally priced vehicle for under $25k. Where can you get a 564HP 4wd for $25k or less. Where can you get 22" wheels and a sweet looking ride for less than $25k. leather seats and a Pano operable window for $25k. how about a 17" display, and a 6foot bed with the seats down. … a full electric 350 mile range for $25k.
look at what else is on the market for 25K. Nothing compairs.
here is what doesn't work:
Apple Carplay - Do other $25 k cars have that on their 17" screens?
Adaptive Cruse control - Is there any other $25k car with that?
Warranty - yep... you are SOL. but the car is way less than half price. Worth it?
Parts and service - an organization called FOA that you can join for part discounts, forums, on everything fisker, and possibly some of the lacking updates for the $70k originally priced car.
So take your pros and cons, and think it over.
I did. The 106 usable KW battery can be modified (Yes at a cost) as as a huge home solar battery that is 10x the capasity of the Tesla wall units . I have (2) Tesla batteries at my house and they cost me more than this entire car. The parts on this car are worth way more than the entire car. There are lots of ways to look at it. So, someone crying today about a $25k EV that doesn't have all the tech goodies of a $70k EV is just sad.
Ocean review
4 out of 5 stars
MJS, 11/29/2024
2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
Car is great to drive! Very peppy as long as you know how to operate it. Reading the owners manual is a must as this is a very complicated car, but once you learn its ins and outs it is a great car! The ability to convert the car from front wheel drive to four wheel drive with the touch of a steering wheel button is amazing. No other car allows the driver to do this! 350 miles of … range is amazing too.
Abandon All Hope
1 out of 5 stars
NowWithMoreBugsAndFewerFixes, 08/25/2025
2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme 4dr SUV AWD (electric DD)
EV companies rely on "hope". Hope that even if a vehicle is released with buggy software/hardware it can be updated to fix those things down the road. The Fisker Ocean was clearly released with the mindset of just get it out and we can make it better later. I am not surprised to read multiple dealers abandoned these cars on the side of the road when the company announced bankruptcy … because this is the second time Fisker has done this and those vehicles are all left with issues that won't be fixed. So if you want to drive a limited addition POS and don't mind having to tow your car to one of the few places that might be able to fix your car (assuming it is one of the handful of errors that doesn't require new parts) then by all means buy this experimental at best vehicle. Currently at a third the MSRP and still too expensive. I warn you that there is basically ZERO resell value on this one.
We Owned a Fisker Ocean for Almost a Year and It Was Rough | Long-Term Test Wrap-Up
When we bought our Fisker Ocean Extreme at the beginning of 2024, we had a feeling things could get interesting, but we never could have predicted just how interesting. From bankruptcy to crazy depreciation to problems galore, join Edmunds’ Brian Wong and the Edmunds editorial team as they debrief our Ocean ownership experience.
Uses a rearward facing camera to project a wider image onto the rearview mirror, allowing the driver to still see what's behind even if the cargo or passenger area is full.
Blind-spot monitoring
Flashes an alert if a vehicle is in or approaching your blind spot on either side.
Lane keeping assistance
Warns the driver if the vehicle is drifting out of its lane and can also perform light steering adjustments to help straighten the vehicle out.
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1200" height="588" fill="none" preserveAspectRatio="none"%3E%3Cmask id="b" width="1200" height="588" x="0" y="0" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" style="mask-type:alpha"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23a)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/mask%3E%3Cg mask="url(%23b)"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23c)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23d)" fill-opacity=".15" d="M581.718 62.893c42.993 1.53 86.281 5.888 129.704 13.204 311.828 52.485 552.538 242.016 657.698 483.656-149.97-147.971-450.891-226.33-789.375-232.079-338.534.839-640.434 74.572-792.746 220.292 108.75-240.047 352.255-425.97 664.832-473.803a1041.548 1041.548 0 0 1 129.887-11.27Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23e)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M611.247 209.93a1458.84 1458.84 0 0 1 139.573 27.692c333.61 83.239 577.16 267.208 668.67 475.188-148.93-138.63-468.279-241.218-835.209-290.421-367.6-43.915-702.265-24.445-881.281 72.561 140.567-178.524 422.355-295.817 766.181-293.074 47.867.484 95.274 3.212 142.066 8.054Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23f)" d="M735.039 879.394c48.524-6.62 97.023-16.967 145.3-31.2C1227.03 746.059 1475.76 472.327 1564.28 145c-151.17 209.633-482.23 344.436-865.05 388.31C315.515 568.571-35.93 504.564-227 330.342-73.333 632.61 226.169 849.617 586.429 878.604c50.15 3.871 99.74 4.07 148.61.79Z" opacity=".3"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23g)" d="M694.222 783.712c50.956 12 103.317 20.27 156.946 24.578 385.102 31.013 738.232-146.76 952.062-439.434-231.22 151.216-613.24 158.795-1012.047 55.796C394.784 312.716 68.643 114.101-55.211-133c37.44 360.528 253.087 691.895 601.449 858.946 48.557 23.091 97.963 42.302 147.984 57.766Z" opacity=".9"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23h)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/g%3E%3Cdefs%3E%3ClinearGradient id="a" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".333" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%230A4AAB"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="c" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".334" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="d" x1="675.999" x2="879.999" y1="648.999" y2="120.999" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23fff"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="e" x1="656.5" x2="637.602" y1="213" y2="622.259" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".115" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".944" stop-color="%23017D8D"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="f" x1="398" x2="737" y1="599" y2="387" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%2300ABB5"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%2300A0B5" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="g" x1="1051.5" x2="271" y1="567" y2="575" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%230098C2"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23033E96" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="h" x1="1005" x2="986.038" y1="23" y2="587.43" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".813" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".972"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3C/defs%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Photos not available$16,820great price$3,356 below market
We Owned a Fisker Ocean for Almost a Year and It Was Rough |...