Opel Mokka

  • Vauxhall Mokka (2021) review: the ultimate glow-up Vauxhall Mokka

     

     

    Your eyes don’t deceive you: this really is the new Vauxhall Mokka. We, frankly, didn’t quite believe Opel/Vauxhall design boss Mark Adams when he said that the GTX Experimental concept was a preview to this all-new crossover, built from the ground up using PSA platforms and technology.

    Woah, what a change!
    Definitely. Gone is the fuddy-duddy and dumpy looks of the Mokka’s predecessor, replaced with an all new and thoroughly modern look from Mark Adams and Co. The all-new Mokka is the start of a new design language from Vauxhall, with the new ‘Vizor’ front panel on the exterior, chunky wheelarches and sharp lines.

    Inside, there’s a design revolution, too – going beyond even the new Corsa in terms of modernisation. It’s all part of Mark’s ‘Pure Panel’ mantra – keeping fuss to a minimum, and designing a dashboard that looks like it flows the digital instruments and central touchscreen in one. Other details include a super-minimalist shifter for the automatic gearbox versions, a lot like VW Group’s efforts with the latest Golf and A3.

    Our SRi Nav Premium test car had supportive seats, with thick side bolstering and a kitch pattern on them. There’s ample adjustment in the driver’s seat, with allowance for drivers (like me) to whump it to the floor like a touring car driver. Material quality is good, with chunky indicator stalks and familiar PSA switchgear dotted around. The central touchscreen uses the much maligned PSA software, but arguably seemed to run faster here than previous experiences. Still, the digital instruments (seven inches on lower-end trims, 10 on higher) are clean and easy to digest, and come with varying layouts to suit you.

    The only fly in the interior ointment is the rear space – tall adults might suffer sitting behind an equally tall driver in terms of legroom, but will have plenty of headroom. Boot space is rated at 350 litres, which is fine and adjusted with a movable boot floor, but the Mokka doesn’t excel here when up against myriad crossover rivals.

    What engines can you get?
    Vauxhall offers two 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engines (99bhp and 127bhp – the latter available with an eight-speed auto) and a 1.5-litre diesel. Along with the combustion engine versions, Vauxhall offers the Mokka e, an EV with a 50kWh battery and 134bhp. We tested the 127bhp petrol with an eight-speed auto.

    It’s arguably all familiar territory to those who have tried the latest Corsa, or Peugeot’s 208/2008 or Citroen’s C3 and C3 Aircross. The engine has a properly characterful gargly three-cylinder engine note and can get out of its own way, too.

    When mated to the eight-speed auto, shifts are smooth in auto and can be controlled by pressing the ‘M’ button on the shifter – the new Mokka comes with wheel-mounted shift paddles. They’re a tad plasticky in feel but they manage not to surprise the auto ‘box when a shift is requested, so there’s little to no lurching when you want a different gear.

    What about the Mokka’s handling?
    If you’ve not read our Mokka e review already, I’d say that model is fractionally more comfortable in terms of ride quality. There’s an additional softness to the way it rides over lumps and ruts that is missing with the combustion engine Mokka variants. Still, damping is impressive no matter what variant you go for – while it may jitter over lumps a tad more than the Mokka e, the Mokka in general is still a better compromise than the ‘sporty’ Puma and downright irritating Juke.

    As for overall handling, it’s a sweet blend. Opel/Vauxhall’s engineers have clearly been busy tweaking their own geometry for the steering, adding in welcome weight to the usual PSA’s excessively light steering. It’s the Mokka’s supremely light kerbweight here that does it some favours for keen drivers, with excellent body control and grip available if the moment takes you. Even with the automatic, flicking the drive mode into Sport mode and getting aggressive with your steering inputs… the Mokka is right there with you, ready for action.

    Vauxhall Mokka: verdict
    Comparing this new Mokka to its predecessor would be a low bar, in reality; the drab looks, dated interior and stodgy drive of the old one is nowhere to be seen here. No, while this new Mokka isn’t perfect – particularly in terms of practicality – we can comfortably say it’s now a small crossover worth looking at. I’d chalk that up as a result for Vauxhall.

    Source: carmagazine.co.uk

  • Vauxhall Mokka e (2021) review: green and keen Vauxhall Mokka e

     

    Not content with just offering combustion engine variants, Vauxhall has released the electric Mokka e version, too.

    Still just as stark to look at and with PSA electric tech underneath, it’s already off to a decent start. As for the combustion engine variant, you can read about that one here.

    This doesn’t look like a Mokka…
    Right? But we promise it is. What a design leap ahead of the Mokka’s desperately dull predecessor.

    The Mokka is the first car under the Opel/Vauxhall banner to debut a new design language spearheaded by Mark Adams and his team, with the new ‘Vizor’ nose being the starkest visual differentiator. You can spec two-tone colours, with the roof and bonnet available in black and a colour called Mamba Green is available, too – Vauxhall is clearly giving a quiet nod to the Opel Manta GTE here.

    Add that to many more angular lines, sharp creases and a floating roofline that’s been par for the course for modern Vauxhalls for years and it all sums up to bringing the new Mokka crossover out of the bland crossover no man’s land.

    Inside, it’s much more sensible than its Peugeot cousin, but still a big step forward. Digital instruments – as part of Vauxhall’s new ‘Pure Panel’ nod clean design and some scope for a little colourful personalisation are all on offer here. There’s good adjustment in the seat – though the digital instruments might impede where is best place to put the steering wheel so you see all of the information – and, if you go for a higher trim, the seats have plenty of bolstering to keep you snug.

    However, the rear seats are best placed for kids only – lanky adults will be jabbing their knees into the back of the seat even if they have plenty of headroom, and the 350-litre boot is around 100 litres smaller than a Ford Puma or Nissan Juke.

    Any electric-specific details?
    Vauxhall says the Mokka e can support up to 100kW charging capacity, claiming a near empty to 80 per cent charge is done when zapping in energy at that highest capacity. A 50kW rapid charge to a similar state takes a claimed 45 minutes, a 22kW one will take around five hours and a 7kW one is done in around seven and a half hours. Vauxhall claims up to 201 miles of range; during our test we averaged about 3.4 miles per kWh.

    Bespoke Mokka e details are few and far between – as Vauxhall treads the same path as Peugeot in terms of making an electrified powertrain seem normal – so all you’ll notice is a power meter instead of a rev counter on the digital dials, a ‘B’ button next to the shifter for additional brake regeneration and an ‘e’ button underneath the central touchscreen to see energy flow and control when the car charges. Pressing said ‘B’ on the shifter allows harsher, if not quite one-pedal, driving – a boon for driving around town but merely par for the course in terms of EVs right now.

    How does the new electric Mokka drive, then?
    To say ‘just like an e-2008’ wouldn’t be telling the entire story. Let’s start with the electric powertrain: Stellantis’ (although technically Groupe PSA’s) platform houses a 50kWh battery, with a single 134bhp/192lb ft synchronous electric motor driving the front wheels.

    All of that is familiar, with a smooth (if not Ludicrous) surge of torque when you hoof it, gentle regeneration when coasting and a feint whine from the electric motor to go along with your progress. Vauxhall has tweaked how much power is outputted by the motor via the drive modes: in Eco, the throttle mapping is much softer and the motor generates just 80bhp and 133lb ft; Normal ups that to 107bhp and 162lb ft; prodding Sport unleashes all of the shove via a sharper throttle.

    As for handling, I’d argue the Mokka e is slightly more comfortable than a combustion engine one – most likely due to the BEV powertrain’s additional weight. It’s impressively well damped and simply not as jittery as our tests with an e-2008 (or even a Puma or Nissan Juke, for that matter), compressing potholes in the road into feeling half their size when driving over them and, given the lack of engine noise, it’s a remarkably hushed experience at the wheel.

    Opel/Vauxhall engineers have also clearly tweaked the e-CMP platform and the Mokka’s extensive use of PSA-based controls to their own specifications. The steering isn’t arcade racing game light – like it is in the e-2008 – with a respectable weighting up of the wheel when turning more than a quarter lock and amicable body control. And PSA’s notoriously spongey brake pedal is nowhere to be seen – the Mokka e’s is progressive and bites early. A tidy handler all-round.

    Vauxhall Mokka e: verdict
    A design revolution outside and an attractive proposition now, too. Granted, it’s not the most practical of small crossovers but, if you’re after a stylish electric runabout for you and your small family, you can now look beyond just Peugeot’s e-2008.

    Source: carmagazine.co.uk

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