the Bucket: Bucket Seat: Opel Mokka GS Line

Opel have always seemed to be the forgotten German brand, while they may not be punching high with their counterparts, their offerings are aimed more at the middle end market. Over the years in SA, the most popular model has to be the Corsa, apart from the quirky TV adverts, the car was the perfect fit for the lower income person, offering something that was not only affordable to the masses but looked great and was reasonable reliable. It was a hit with students and new earners, the model then expanded over into commercial types and then the introduction of the Corsa Bakkie just took the country by storm. Other models that were quite popular included the Astra and the much loved OPC models. The brand however remained under the radar for a while but in the past year with the introduction of some new models, the Opel name seems to be coming up again. While the newer Corsa might not be hitting the selling points as its original model, the cars offerings and designs are getting noticed. The latest model to arrive locally from the brand was the revised Mokka. A car that has garnered a lot of attention world over, thanks to its striking looks and great engine, I was quite keen to see what just had everyone out there speaking so highly about this car.

DESIGN

One can't fault the Opel design team on this one, striking is a word that seems to be over used of recent but I can't come up with another superlative for this car. It has great European roots with a bit of modern American coming up with the chiseled front face. The colours just add that extra "perzaz" to the design and make the car pop more than it would when in the crowd. its definitely bold in appearance and while the design might be minimal, the little details add so much character to the shape. One thing that would get people scratching their head, is the flat grill which the headlamps fit on either ends of. There is no perforations, making it look like an electric car but sadly this one isn't as the vent is featured neatly below with the bigger grille slotted in the front diffuser at the lower end. The wheel arches are big and bold with black outlines, giving the car that bold crossover look. There are lots of black elements finished off in hardy type bumpable plastics that add to the rugged look of the Mokka. Side profile on the Mokka makes it look bigger than it actually is, also some elements of the new Corsa come through when looking at it from this perspective. Moving to the rear, more of that clean design comes through with the new signature Opel L shaped lights with the Mokka badge evenly spread apart on the tailgate. One thing that confused the hell out of me was finding the boot latch, but I later found out that it was hidden in the actual bumper of the car, rather than just using the key all the time to access the luggage compartment.

PERFORMANCE

The Mokka is powered by a 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder Turbo engine, producing 96kW and 230Nm of torque, which at first didn't excite me too much but after driving around with it, it surprised me quite a lot. I guess that 8-speed gearbox has helped a lot in terms of delivering the right amount of power and torque to mitigate the lack of power by delivering the higher torque on the lower gears. You'll be surprised by the amount of power and speed you can get up to in a short distance with the Mokka, the motor puts out quite a punch from stand still, this will however impact your average fuel economy but its plenty of fun especially with a car this size. Handling on the Mokka is great, you don't actually feel the car being like an SUV but rather sporty hatch with a crossover type frame. The car handles great around bends and even out of corners with it being front wheel drive gets good acceleration when exiting. Overall, it seems like Opel have a good little engine on their hands, and even with me driving it most of the time on eco mode, I didn't really feel the need to switch the drive into sport mode.

COMFORT

Sports Coupe's are always impractical in one way or another and with the Mokka there is some gripes but nothing that is too concerning, we'll start with the good stuff. Seats, extremely comfortable for both driver and passenger. It has creature comforts such as dual climate control, seat heating and funny enough, massaging function for the driver which I found odd because the actual seat was manually adjustable but I wasn't complaining, after a game of golf, you will be surprised how much a lower back rub helps. The back seats however don't enjoy the same comforts and space is compromised as per normal with a sloped roof, there is just a single vent for the rear passengers and oddly enough the center front vent is one big which is located under the infotainment screen. The dash is designed very well with everything quite driver centric, with a large touchscreen infotainment and digital dash, my grip comes in with the interface for both. I feel that Opel have wasted a great opportunity by having big screens but not making good use of them. For example, the infotainment screen is squared out to show either the Opel OS or your mobile apps with big black borders either side displaying climate control settings. Then you get the dash, the animations shown are pretty bland and ordinary not making use of the entire display, so I think on their next upgrade they should focus on making these better.

VERDICT

In the greater scheme of things, from what we're used to Opel, the new Mokka has taken massive strides into making the brand better and noticeable again. The amount of looks and comments I gotten while driving the Mokka, all of which was great feedback and I couldn't say anything bad about the car to them as well. So I hope the future models that roll off the production line from them yield similar interests as it will go a long way to help the brand get back up there competing with others. With a few tweaks this Mokka can be a great car for the market compared to its competitors, its a decent offering with good build quality and materials used on the inside, modern design and great little engine all at a competitive price.

SPECIFICATIONS