Opel/Vauxhall hopes the new Mokka, with its optional battery-electric drivetrain, will recapture the brands’ past success in the small SUV/crossover segment, one of the fastest-growing in Europe.
The second-generation Mokka has a new, more horizontal grille that Opel calls Vizor that will be adapted for future models. The car also features a new digital cockpit that carries over the grille’s cleaner look to the interior.
"Bold and pure, this is what the Opel design of the future will look like," Opel's design chief, Mark Adams, said in a statement released by the automaker on Wednesday.
The Mokka is based on PSA Group’s multienergy CMP architecture and drops the "X" from its predecessor, which was designed under General Motors ownership of Opel/Vauxhall.
The Mokka will go on sale in late summer with deliveries starting early in 2021. It will be built at PSA’s plant in Poissy, France, alongside the DS3 Crossback small SUV on the same platform, Opel said.
The launch of the new Mokka raises questions about the future of Opel's Crossland X small SUV, which was jointly designed by PSA Group and GM under a 2012 technology-sharing agreement.
At 4150mm long, the Mokka is just 62mm shorter than the Crossland X but will cost slightly more, a spokesman from Vauxhall in the UK said. “It’s a different design. It’s up to the customer which they prefer,” he said. Prices have not been announced.
The Mokka is 125mm shorter than the Mokka X it replaces, reducing the differentiation with the Crossland X.
The electric version, called Mokka-e, will be available from launch. It uses the same 136 hp electric drivetrain and 50 kilowatt-hour battery as Peugeot 2008 and DS 3 Crossback. Opel says the Mokka-e has a range of 322km (201 miles) on the Worldwide harmonized Light vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) cycle.
The Mokka will also be available with a range of internal combustion engines. Opel did not offer details of the engines in its statement, but they will most likely include PSA’s 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline unit.
Other technology on the Mokka includes a "Pure Panel" digital cockpit that combines a 10-inch and a 12-inch screen to span the instrument panel to the center of the dashboard. The panel is available on the highest trim versions; lower-spec versions will have smaller screens.
Driver assistance includes adaptive cruise control with the ability to bring the car to a complete stop in traffic without driver intervention. A lane-keeping function assists the steering on multi-lane roads, and all versions come with LED headlights.
