When it was launched in 2020, the Opel Mokka was a bit difficult to place next to the technically identical Crossland, but in facelifted form and with Hybrid powertrain, it is better prepared than ever.
Oh yeah, the Opel Mokka. Let’s start at the beginning…
Good idea! The current Opel Mokka appeared on the market in 2020 as the successor to the much duller first Mokka, which was still entirely under the flag of Opel’s former parent company General Motors and drove around in America as a Buick. The new Mokka introduced Opel’s current design language and looked much more youthful than its predecessor, which should also distinguish it from the approximately equally large Crossland built on the same technical basis.
And now that Mokka has been facelifted?
Yes. You probably already knew that, because outside of the necessary news reports, you have also been able to find a test on this site before. However, that was the electric variant, now we drove the Hybrid. It was already presented just before the facelift, but together with that facelift it now forms enough news for an extra block.
And then we are undoubtedly talking about that Hybrid 136 powertrain that is in almost all Stellantis products.
Yes, but it is now listed as 145 hp strong. That is ‘just’ a different way of calculating, because otherwise this powertrain is indeed identical to the 136 hp Hybrid powertrain that Stellantis has been using for a few years now. This hybrid form is somewhere between fully hybrid and mild-hybrid, but in any case delivers a pleasant package. The electric motor nicely absorbs the dips in the torque curve of the turbo engine, the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission shifts quickly and the whole thing feels alert and smooth, but without the nervous feeling that we sometimes experienced with the ‘old’ EAT8 automatic transmission. Especially in the compact Mokka you simply have enough power with 145 hp, while the Mokka also drives pleasantly in other respects. The steering is light, but not completely devoid of feeling, the chassis firm, but quiet and comfortable and the seating position is pleasant.
Is it just as nice to sit in the back of the Opel Mokka?
Well, no. That nice, relatively long nose considerably limits the space in the back and the luggage space is also not large at a maximum of 350 liters, although the Mokka Hybrid can nicely have 40 liters more than the electric version. The two Mokka variants can now also be clearly distinguished optically, because the ‘slot’ in the renewed front bumper is larger on the Hybrid and petrol versions.
How is the interior of the renewed Opel Mokka?
Although the current Mokka has never been a GM product, its steering wheel and some controls in the interior were still clearly designed in that style. That comes to an end with the facelift, which brings a new steering wheel, new levers on the steering column and fewer buttons. The interior still looks sleek and modern and we even think the quality is higher than the interior of many newer Stellantis cars in this segment. Incidentally, with the facelift of this Mokka there is still one Opel with a GM steering wheel: the Corsa.
Well refined, but undoubtedly also more expensive?
On the contrary! The Opel Mokka has fallen in price by thousands of euros across the board. A manual non-hybrid 1.2 with 136 hp is now available for € 29,999, while a 100 hp entry-level Mokka still cost 1.5 mille more at the beginning of 2024. The difference is even greater with the Hybrid, even compared to the less pleasant 130 hp petrol engine with automatic transmission. Compared to its competitors, the Mokka may be in a better position than before, while within the Opel range it clearly remains below the larger Astra. And then there is the position in relation to that other compact SUV from Opel. That is now called Frontera and is much more of a budget model than the Mokka, so here too it looks a lot better for the Mokka.
