2023 Fisker Ocean

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.

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.

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.

We purchased a 2023 Fisker Ocean Extreme to join our long-term fleet in January 2024, to see how it holds up for 20,000 miles. Read our coverage of our long-term Fisker Ocean.

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.