Want to buy a small two-wheel-drive sports utility vehicle (SUV)? No problem. There's a long list of contenders. That's the problem facing the Mokka, Opel's relative newcomer: it's joining a competitive market.

Opel claims to be the first German manufacturer to enter the sub-compact SUV market but fails to tell us that the new Mokka is in fact Korean-built. This new Opel has an attractive exterior styling that gives an impression of strength with its large chrome front grille. It's clearly Opel in design and when you hear the 1.7-litre turbo-diesel engine, it's clear that it's also Opel in origin.

I stepped into the Mokka, prepared to be wooed. After more than 500km and a mix of short and long drives, I felt that Opel missed the sweet spot when it comes to the smaller SUV market.

It's an issue of presentation and feeling and the Mokka fails to excel in either. The interior is rather bland as Opel tried to mix a leather effect plastic with a leather type steering wheel in rather gaudy colours. It was not a pleasant cab cabin to be in - even though I liked the high seating position. It's as if Opel wants to be seen more, but I would prefer to remember the Mokka interior a little less.

On a technical front, the 1.7-litre turbo-diesel engine has a good power and torque rating. It has modest acceleration ability, while it's noisy at the lower revs. And this engine seems to use older technology, making it a less than pleasant car to drive. I felt a degree of engine or transmission feedback in the clutch pedal, which I found made driving in town more tiring.

I found the suspension a shade on the hard side, especially when I took to the smaller rural roads, where I felt thrown about a little. The test car came with what are highly rated Continental 215/55R18 tyres so I expect that it may be more a function of the suspension setting than the tyres.

The Mokka's diesel engine is a good performer in terms of economy. The official rating of 21.2 km/litre (4.7l/100km or 60 mpg) is a reasonable figure. My test drive experience returned a figure about 15% less, and I've no complaints about that.

The fuel tank is a little small at 52 litres. Most of the competition boast 60 and 70 litres in capacity. That means more fuel stops in the Moka - even with its economy.

I used the test drive opportunity to fold down the 60:40 split rear seats and that was easy. They give good load space and the ceiling height gives good capacity. There is good head space with a reasonably airy feel. The boot floor is a shade higher than some of the competition but not difficult to load. Opel provides a space-saver spare wheel in the boot.

The Opel Mokka has scored well in the Euro NCAP crash test. It has plenty of safety features and now traction control is standard. This acts like a limited slip differential to give safer stopping.Opel is fitting its Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL+) to the Mokka. This is a system which automatically adapts its intensity and range of lighting in urban and country roads as well as motorways. I was impressed with its function when driving at night.

The Mokka seems a shade expensive. As I mentioned, there's lots of competition in the smaller SUV market, so the Mokka diesel entry price of €25,195 (£21,999 in NI) is a little high, especially when you compare it with the bigger Toyota RAV4 at about €2,000 more or the new Peugeot 2008 that comes in at €21,945.

Overall, the Mokka lacks smoothness, interior styling and value. This has potential to be a solid car but it needs more engine smoothness and the value, even with its relatively high entry specification, need to be examined.