Opel Mokka SRI | Review

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The original Opel Mokka had sharp styling, keen prices and it sold in spades. For the new Mokka, Opel has again focused on design.

Special mention : Good spec for the price. Standout looks with a light and comfortable driving style.

Needs work : A little bit more space for rear passengers and some pace to match the sporty design.

BHP – 130Petrol / Auto
0-100 km/h in 9.2 secondsRoad Tax €210

Price: €28,795
As Specc’d
€28,950
Boot space 350 – 1,105 litres
Splits 60/40

This really is a significant new look for the Mokka because it previews the new design direction that pretty much all other Opel’s will follow. At the front you get the Vizor, a new grille and headlight treatment and there’s a natty two-tone contrast roof that helps to give the car a more rakish look than its upright predecessor.

The new Mokka is wider and lower than the car it replaces giving it a more dynamic stance with the wheelbase growing by two millimeters. The Mokka is the crossover alternative to the Corsa and the Astra. It’s for people who want something flashier than a super mini but who are moving away from family hatchbacks. Inside, the dash is dominated by a twin display layout with either 7”, 10” or 12″ screens. There are conventional heating controls too so the touchscreen technology is being used in the right places. In the SRI you get the red sporty highlight and some carbon fibre effect, some hard textured finishes and of course that piano black lacquer for that premium effect.

The Mokka is a car that’s best suited to couples and young families but would need a little more space to cope with four adults on a regular basis. The boot capacity meanwhile is a respectable 350 litres. It’s matched by the Renault Captur which also has a sliding rear bench that allows you to prioritise passenger space or the load bay.

The Mokka is based on the CMP platform which also supports the Opel Corsa, the Peugeot 208 and the new Citroen C4 which means that Opel can offer this car in a choice of petrol diesel or pure electric versions.

This petrol version is expected to make up around three quarters of the Mokka’s sales. It’s a 1.2 litre three cylinder engine producing 99 brake horsepower or as in this car 128 brake horsepower. The diesel option has a 1.5 litre motor producing 99 brake horsepower and of course there’s the 134 horsepower all-electric Mokka-e which can manage around 320 kilometres on a single charge. 

SRI trim is the sportiest version of the new Mokka. So along with those red flashes in the interior you also get 18” alloy wheels but it also comes with more useful equipment such as heated seats, automatic wipers, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

This higher powered petrol engine seems happy enough to cope with a car of the Mokka’s size without feeling in too much of a rush. The 8-speed automatic gearbox is very smooth shifting, it’s better at low speeds than any of the dual clutch automatics you get in Volkswagen group cars. If you want to get a move on though you do have to rev the engine to the point where you will hear the three-cylinder whirr.

For the most part around town the CMP chassis is able to cope with bumps and potholes pretty well even on the larger wheels but when you get up to higher speeds the increased frequency of inputs can catch it out a bit so the car tends to shimmy over lumpy surfaces. The steering is consistently weighted, it’s pretty light and doesn’t really tell you what the front wheels are doing and body control is decent for a car of this type. If you do try to really chuck the Mokka around on a twisty road, the nose will sway into understeer. It’s got the sporty image that comes with the SRI badge but without the engine power.

It may have a bold look but the new Mokka keeps much of what made the original a sales success. What you have here is a sharply styled small crossover with a decent range of efficient powertrains including of course that all electric version. As long as Opel’s sales staff remain keen to do monthly finance deals, the Mokka success story should continue.