 |
| Where GM dealers are closing, good discounts await on the Mokka X, as modern a crossover as you can want. |
THE Opel Mokka X embodies all the latest trends in crossovers and
all this modernity now comes at a steep discount at your nearest Opel dealer in
South Africa.
This after Peugeot and Citroën (PSA) bought the Opel/Vauxhall
brands from General Motors for over R29,2 billion.
The new PSA bosses gave Opel and Vauxhall’s bosses until November
to draw up a strategic plan which builds on expected synergies of around
€1,7 billion per year for the new group. The local region, long used to be
flexible in Africa, has already announced that Williams Hunt will sell Opel
vehicles through an exclusive network of 35 dealers from January.
Williams Hunt promised the same quality of after-sales service as
current GM dealers deliver. All current Opel warranties and service plans are
also to remain in place.
Pessimistic buyers typically steer away from any such uncertainty,
which is making demo models of the Mokka X look mighty attractive on the GM
showrooms.
More optimistic buyers realise this is a buyers’ market, which is
when the recommended retail price becomes the vaguest of guidelines and good
deals can be negotiated.
Made for the City
The Mokka X is — for all those somewhat butch
lines — aimed squarely at the city driver with Hill Start Assist and Hill
Descent Control, EcoMode and tyres with 45% profiles, which is a bit low for
potholes.
“Made for the city” does not, however, mean sloppy handling. This
is an Opel after all, made for Europe’s twisty, narrow roads, and the suspension
over SA’s city roads is on the point of stiffness.
Opel also really shines with its connectivity. The latest R 4.0
Intellilink in the Mokka X features a seven-inch touch screen, Bluetooth and
USB. Apple CarPlay and Google Android Aut seamlessly integrate the most-used
smartphone functions and apps. Other standard luxuries include a rear-view
camera, front seat with full back support and extendable thigh support,
three-stage heated front seats and heated leather steering wheel, the latter
which is particularly comforting on cold nights.
Under the hood
The turbo-charged 1,4 makes a handy 103 kW and
200 Nm between 1 850 and 4 900 r/min, with a six-ratio automatic to shift the
power to those 225/45 R19 wheels. Opel wisely included a space saver spare wheel
in the back for our roads.
My consumption over mixed roads was a bit better than Opel’s listed
6,5 l/100 km, but a lot of this was spent crawling behind slow trucks on the
Umbumbulu Road.
At night, when rural roads like this become the playground for
KZN’s kamikaze drivers, the Mokka light shine as bright as you need it.
Competition
The Opel Mocca The Mokka X 1,4 turbo comes with
a five-year or 120 000 km warranty and a 90 000 km service plan. Service
intervals are 15 000. The Cosmo auto retails for some R368k, at which price it
competes with the top-of-the-range Mazda CX-3 2,0 Individual auto at R365k —
itself a formidable crossover
The Ford EcoSport, however, has the highest monthly sales figures
in this segment, and no wonder, for the Ford EcoSport Tintanium automatic model
sells for R313k.
Other competition for the Mocca includes the respected Honda BR-V
1,5 Elegance at R297k; curvy Renault Captur 88kw at R310k; proven Suzuki Vitara
at R342k; and glam Nissan Juke CVT AWD at some R400k.
