Electric Mokka SUV kick starts Opel’s day
Opel has launched in New Zealand with a mixed bag of combustion and electric models,
Opel is back in New Zealand, launching with the Corsa and Mokka in both combustion and fully electric guises. These days the carmaker is part of the Stellantis family, not GM as you might remember, and the local brass were keen to point out that it’s the only German brand there.
It still uses French bones in its vehicles, though. The Corsa represents an alternative Peugeot 208 supermini and the Mokka is related to the Peugeot 2008 small SUV.
Opel wanted to offer Kiwi buyers a selection of powertrains and pricing, so each model is available with either combustion or electric power.
Since March this year, Opel has seen around 5000 inquiries for the two electric options. Both options get rebates. The petrol-powered Mokka SRi and Edition nab just under $2000 back and the Corsa SRi pulls $2438. The Mokka-e and Corsae both get the full $8625 return.
As for pricing, the combustion Corsa SRi asks $36,990 and the electric comes in at $59,990. Meanwhile, the Mokka Edition costs $38,990, the upspecced SRi starts at 44,990, and the Mokka-e goes for $69,990.
Opel New Zealand’s commercial manager, Noah Robertson, said while these are launch prices, there were no plans to raise them yet.Various global issues may force some adjustments down the line, though.
Something else to note is that by sourcing power from Peugeot’s 1.2-litre engine, Opel now has the lowest fleet emissions in New Zealand, with 80g/km of CO2.
Because of those Germanic roots, local distributor Auto Distributors New Zealand (ADNZ) is targeting Opel more toward the likes of Volkswagen instead of Peugeot or Citroen, despite undercutting Peugeot on each of its cars. There is also the likes of the BYD Atto 3, Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona and MG ZS to contend with.
Opel had a couple of electric Mokkas and Corsas for brief urban test drives. The Mokka-e is Opel’s hero car for now. It has some smart styling, including the ‘‘visor’’ stretching between the matrix LED headlights, a closed grille, black roof, and character line along the flank. It also has two large digital screens inside, lots of driver assistance, and plastics made to look like carbon.
The two-tone paint job is very smart, as are those thick DRLs with the black visor and closed grille.
It’s a good thing to drive as well, unsurprisingly reminiscent of the Peugeot e-2008 with smooth, linear acceleration rather than the instant smack of torque you might be used to from EVs. The driving position can be dropped quite low, too.
Unfortunately, the vague brakes from the e-2008 seem to be present as well, but we’ll wait for a proper road test to be sure.
Meanwhile, the Corsa-e is ever so slightly less impressive, with smaller digital screens and no visor on the nose. But it’s a bit quicker as it is smaller and lighter, and felt like it had better brakes. Again, a proper road test will reveal more.
Also watch for the Grandland SUV and Astra hatchback, due sometime early next year.