Opel brews up a Mokka

The Opel Mokka is a chunky looking mini-SUV

While the Opel Mokka does not represent Opel’s diversification into the coffee business, this new addition to the family is the German car manufacturer’s first foray into the world of the sub-compact SUV.

A stable-mate of Chevrolet, the Opel Mokka has somewhat of a Chevrolet look to its nose. It’s chunky, big and imposing looking, with the blacked out rear windows in the test car contributing to this feel.

The Deep Espresso coloured car I was driving had a lovely leather interior, although the terracotta coloured dash wasn’t to my taste (the colour is only an option though).

The Opel Mokka test car had heated front seats and a heated steering wheel

The driving position in this car is lovely – nice and high up with a commanding view. Leg room was great, both back and front. Less favourable was the position of the hand brake, close by the driver’s seat, which left me elbowing my passenger.

The Opel Mokka also has a good sized boot, which can be extended by lowering the rear seats.

While three children would be comfortable in the back, I think adult-sized rear seat passengers would thank you for limiting them to two. The middle rear seat can be converted into an armrest, housing two cup holders.

The spec on the 1.7-litre 130hp diesel model I was driving was excellent. The test car had heated front seats and a heated steering wheel – both of these features were very welcome on a really cold day and I have to say I missed the heated steering wheel much more than I expected.

It also had cruise control and speed limiter, stop/start technology, hill start assist and cornering lights.

The Opel Mokka had a decent sized boot

Storage was also good, and included well designed bottle holders on the doors, a cooler box between the front seats, and a double glove compartment.

Infotainment-wise, the test car had radio/CD/DAB radio and well placed USB and AUX ports. The ports were located at the bottom of the centre console, with a media shelf.

We took this car on a variety of routes, including city centre, suburban roads and urban motorway as well as the highways and byways of Wicklow and Wexford.

I found that the six-speed manual Opel Mokka I was driving handled very well in the city and on winding country roads.

It tolerated nothing less than precision in gear changing though and was very unforgiving if you were tardy in changing down from third to second gear. It was an adequate motorway cruiser and overtaking on national routes was not a problem. I also found it easy to park and it was a handy three-point-turner.

Overall, I found the Opel Mokka to be a well styled, well specced family car.

Three variants of the Opel Mokka are available in Ireland – the diesel model I was driving and two petrol models – a 1.6-litre 115hp and a 1.4-litre 140hp Turbo all wheel drive unit.

Prices for the Opel Mokka start from from €19,995. The top of the range SE model I was driving costs from €26,495, with extras bringing the test car to €29,581.

Tech Spec
Engine: 1.7-litre 130hp (diesel – front wheel drive)
Acceleration: 0-100kph in 10.5seconds
Top Speed: 184kph
Fuel Economy: 4.7l/100km
CO2 emissions: 124g/km
Annual road tax: €270

Visit the Opel Ireland website for further details.