Opel Mokka-e. Green and new, outside and inside
The Opel Mokka is an ultra-compact SUV created by Opel and unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. To this day, the vehicle, named after the type of coffee, is one of the most successful models by Stellantis, which includes Opel. The Mokka-e is an electric version of this SUV, released in late 2020. According to the established tradition of the automotive industry, the letter ‘e’ means that this is an electric model. It is not the same model with a different powertrain, but a deeply modernized ‘green’ vehicle.
The manufacturer started accepting orders for the Opel Mokka-e in September 2020, but the demand was so great that the quota for the entire 2021 was immediately exhausted. Most of the orders came from Germany, where buyers were given an “environmental bonus” of €9,570, bringing the initial price of the Mokka-e down to €23,420 (the entry-level version in Germany costs € 32,990). The price of the Peugeot e-2008, the technical twin of the Mokka, starts at 37,700 euros.
Exterior
The new Mokka-e is the first vehicle by Opel to feature a new design styling developed by the team led by Mark Adams (he has developed many more, such as the Cadillac CTS). Designers are especially pleased with the front face of this ‘little city ship’, which is called the ‘Vizor’. There are cute stylish L-shaped headlights, expressively reminiscent of the Eva’s eyes from Wall-E. Plastic wheel arches and 16-inch alloy wheels are standard. Strictly speaking, the design is not outstanding. Most of all, the Mokka-e resembles a modern running shoe. The feel is heightened by the black/green color that is standard on this vehicle.
Interior
The 2021 Opel Mokka-e is a modern electric vehicle of the middle class, which features modern comfort devices. It is so great to see on physical buttons on the dashboard. Some modern vehicles are almost completely devoid of physical buttons, which is hardly a good idea. The buttons in the electric vehicle provide quick access to the settings of the infotainment system, to the climate control, while those on the steering wheel simplify interaction with the dashboard and allow you to control multimedia data quickly, conveniently and with familiar movements.
As a reminder, the Mokka-e is not a family vehicle. Its trunk volume is only 0.3 cubic meters, although a whole 1 cubic meter will come out with the rear seats folded down. But the SUV has neither a flat loading compartment nor a convenient location for charging cables. Compared to its competitors, the Mokka-e is the smallest: the Audi E-Tron expands its interior to 1.7 cubic meters, the Volkswagen ID.4 offers from 1.5 to 5 cubic meters, the Kia e-Niro has a maximum trunk volume of 1,405 liters, and the MG ZS EV offers 1,375 liters.
Powertrain
The batteries of the 2021/2022 Opel Mokka-e are similar to those on the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense and Peugeot e-2008. They have the capacity of 50 kW/h, while an electric motor develops 134 hp. The driving range is 330 km. The compact vehicle accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds. The electric SUV is designed for sports driving. According to reviews, it has a rather significant body roll when driving on country roads, when driving at high speed, it is not very manageable even on asphalt, but the Mokka-e was not designed as a sports car. Its element is tight, narrow city streets, with potholes and stacks of speed bumps, in which case it is assisted by a reinforced suspension and many driver assistance options.
Assistants
In addition to having inherited a solid ergonomic chassis and body structure from the gasoline model built on the same platform, the new Opel Mokka-e, is equipped with such functions as:
- forward collision alert;
- cruise control;
- lane departure warning;
- lane keeping assist;
- speed sign recognition;
- hill start assist.
Emergency braking, lane keeping assist, side blind spot warning, and adaptive cruise control are optional.
