Watch: Make mine a Mokka – Opel's new well-flavoured crossover

THe Mokka X is Opel’s entrant into the small crossover market, and it is a very well finished and enjoyable little car to drive. From the minute you climb into the driver’s seat, it has everything you need and expect at hand and some extras that you never knew you needed. More about those later.

On the road

The Mokka X that I test drove had the 1.6 CDti engine, which produces 136bhp. It also came with four wheel drive. On the road it was very comfortable and had sufficient power to get it down the road swiftly. In saying that, it is by no means an exciting experience.

The steering was direct and had enough feel to make it engaging. One of the really nice techy bits is Opel’s infotainment system, called Intellilink, which comes with an 8in colour touchscreen to control many different features from the radio and phone to the inbuilt satellite navigation system.

The little Opel also comes with an app projection setting, which combined with either Android auto or Apple car play gives the ability to see some of your phone’s apps and information on the touch screen.

In order to avail of these features, a cabled connection is required. Once your phone is connected to the car, it cannot be used normally and can only be accessed via the car’s screen.

Parking sensors and a rear view camera were also fitted to the test car and are very useful when parking in a tight spot. If the driver is in anyway nervous or lacking in parking skills, it gives great peace of mind and help. I found the sensors and the camera on the Mokka to be very accurate. Unlike some of the cameras, it didn’t distort when getting close to an object. This Mokka comes with a modest towing capacity of 1,500kg.

Off road

As the test car was a four by four, it would have been rude not to bring the Mokka X for a spot of soft roading. When I brought it onto some rough farm lanes it showed that it had sufficient clearance to get over the standard high middle that is on many lanes around the country.

It proved to be gutsy and grippy enough when asked to climb a moderate incline on a stony/muddy surface. When faced down the same hill, the Hill Descent control system did its job brilliantly, moderating the brakes to each wheel to gain as much traction as possible. The hill that was used was by no means cliff-like but still a stern enough test for the little Opel. The intelligent four-wheel-drive system on the Mokka X worked very well – even with one wheel cocked in the air it still managed to propel itself forward to the next obstacle. The Mokka X is by no means an off-roader but it has the capability to get across roughish ground and fields with ease if required. This could come in handy for getting tea to a stranded and tired driver late in the evening.

Technology

The test car that I was given came crammed with technology. Some of this has been mentioned already but the main piece of tech that Opel is pushing is its OnStar system, which comes with some really handy features.

Automatic crash response uses sensors on the car to alert an adviser in a call centre that the vehicle has been in an accident. This operative will then contact the car and depending on the driver’s response or lack of, they will take the appropriate action.

The OnStar system also allow the car to become a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to seven devices, which seems a little extreme to me. There is also a smartphone app which can be downloaded to your phone which then allows you to remotely lock and unlock the doors, check your oil life/service interval and sound the horn and flashlights for when you can’t find it in the airport carpark.

If your car is ever stolen, OnStar will be able to track the whereabouts of your vehicle and prevent it from being started and moved. There is also a setting where you can get the vehicle diagnostics such as the wellbeing of essential functions such as the engine and gearbox emailed to you on a monthly basis to keep an eye on wear and tear.

Destination Download is a very cool function on the Mokka. With the push of the OnStar button, you get connected to a real person in a call centre who you can ask for directions to anywhere or get help finding petrol/hotels or anything you may need. Once the operator has found what you are looking for and clarified that it is the correct place, they can send it directly to the car’s navigation for you.

For people for whom technology can be stressful it is a very well-thought-out and smart system. In this current world where we are constantly being watched and tracked, the OnStar system comes with a privacy button if you don’t want to be seen. Opel do say that this can be overridden in an emergency such as an accident or the vehicle being stolen.

Verdict

Having driven the Mokka X for a week, I found it to be an enjoyable little machine with lots and lots of nice techy bits. Its decent off-road capability means that it is suited to the country lifestyle but still small and tidy enough to be comfortable in and around heavy traffic. I found it to be very economical over the 1,200km that I covered, doing 5.2L/100km (54mpg). It is not a trailer lugger but is a very capable everyday driver.