WHAT DOES German engineering and Continental design have in common?
Class and near autonomous technology. Yes, I’m referring to the new Opel Mokka which I tested recently.
It is packed with GS Line guise, with the latest entertainment, top features, comfort and safety- thanks to the Rüsselsheim engineering and design team.
The compact five-seater luxury compact crossover vehicle can, and will take, the market by storm.
As I took this green (mamba) that famous deadly snake- the colour that caught the attention of on-lookers- Mokka to Mahikeng in the NW, yes potholes are still a mess and services are non-evident in that part of the world, I had to be mindful of tyre punctures, especially since it comes in Michelin Primacy 215/60 R17 tyres. It can ruin one’s plans.
Its front also necessitated comments such as “Tesla Cybertruck” from my Son and his cousins.
The interior boasts fully automated full LED Matrix headlights, which dip for oncoming traffic and switch on automatically in poor light or visibility.
In terms of safety there’s also Forward Collision Warning with Automatic Emergency Braking and Pedestrian Detection, adaptive cruise control, driver awareness alert, lane control, road sign recognition, rain-sensitive wipers, courtesy door lights (very handy at night), 360° camera view and cable-free phone charging.
With animals going astray and everyone crossing roads, as if it’s a norm, safety is paramount on Mokka.
Leather upholstery features inside, electric adjustment for the driver and heating for both front occupants’ rears. Keyless entry and start, a 10-inch infotainment system, with navigation, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, as well as a 12-inch digital cluster are featured.
The driver’s seat is adjustable on six axes as standard in the GS and has a massage function.
This eight-speed auto gearbox possess 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine on a 96kW and 230Nm and claims impressive fuel consumption of 5.3 and 6.1 l/100 km.
Ground clearance is 160mm, so it has some pretence to be a real crossover. The speed-sensitive power steering is a joy to use, thanks to its leather-clad steering wheel with particularly good function controls. I quite liked the ride quality.
You would generally get just above 6.0-litres/100km in general driving but around 5.9-litres/100km on the open road, particularly on hair-bend corners.
The only snag: The start button requires you to hold your index finger in for a bit longer than usually expected. The fingertip-operated gear selector needs to be tipped twice on some occasions and there are reservations about how long those rubber nubs serving as steering controls are going to last.
But it’s still ‘venomous’ on the road though.
The Mokka has a three-year or 120 000km warranty and a four-year or 60 000km service plan.
It retails: 1.2T Elegance R469 900
GS Line R519 900
Verdict
Performance 1-10 (7)
Fuel 1-10 (5)
Image (Opel Mokka is ‘venomous’ on the road).
