Road Test: Opel Mokka 2015

 Opel Mokka 2015 driven in South Africa with pricing, specs, warranties and pictures

As visually arresting the Opel Adam is, or as well packaged the Corsa turns out to be, the most relevant car to Opel is the Mokka. South Africa caught its first glimpse of the Opel Mokka at Johannesburg Motor Show in 2013 and at the time Opel made no promises about it coming here. These days a compact SUV in the crosshairs of R300 000 is where all the action is happening; Ford defibrillate its numbers with the EcoSport and Nissan managed the same with the Juke.

The Opel Mokka proves there’s no slack in Opel’s creative team, even when faced with an entirely new proposition of upscaling designs into SUV dimensions. The proportions are beefy, the overhangs short, there’s no bizarre styling trait to offend and it’s a design that resonates strongly with both sexes. Almost everyone who laid eyes on the Mokka had something positive to say and in an era where SUVs are merely swollen versions of small city cars, this seems conceived from a blank sheet. Want to convince your neighbours you own the toughest small SUV? The Opel Mokka obliges.

Engine range is simplified to one conventional 1.4-litre, 4-cylinder turbo. This is not the most sophisticated engine around but power output is exactly where you expect it to be and the choice of two gearboxes is an effective way of broadening appeal. A C02 figure of 159g/km does mean you’ll be paying a small tax penalty. Our automatic version was content to trundle along, happiest below 3500rpm and absolutely epileptic above it. This is not a combination that dispatches slow traffic at will nor is it one of those cars that feels deceptively fast. As a general rule, keep the accelerator from touching the carpets to avoid working the engine at its coarse limits. Strange considering how much better the Opel Meriva performs with the same engine.

Opel’s interiors have improved dramatically with the introduction of Adam and Corsa but the Mokka sits behind that curve, burdened by a dashboard cluttered with buttons and a screen that would, if given the software, easily eliminate half of them. It’s a confusing mix that has one too many layers, saved only by lovely and consistent haptics – although the same can’t be said of the clunky steering stalks. Build quality is great and the materials, sections of brushed aluminium, flow smoothly within the interesting cabin contours.

Echoing its exterior muscle, passengers will find more than enough space and comfort features. Where else do you find heated steering wheel and heated seats in the segment? Include cruise control, Bluetooth, reverse cameras, semi-electric front seats and SMS read-out and the Opel Mokka Cosmo meets every possible desire. Plenty of storage spaces is an extra boon for a family car.

Deep down however there’s a nagging feeling that the Opel Mokka has come to South Africa not equipped with the latest Opel advancements. Built on an older platform, the Mokka is not as effortless or fun to drive as some of the others in the segment and the interface needs to be streamlined to be a true segment leader.

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