It seems our second stab at Opel’s mystery crossover, which it teased yesterday, was correct. The sheetmetal looked a tad too bulky to be a regular Mokka, which led us to believe a new Meriva was hiding behind the sheet.
Instead, it’s the Opel Mokka X, which trades its compact shapes for a wider, taller stance. The new Opel Mokka X is the first of many new crossovers to come, and introduces the “X” badging, signifying an emphasis on a more adventurous and rugged personality.
The more rugged personality is apparent right away in the redesigned front clip. Gone are the droopy headlamps from the current Mokka, with signature Opel “double-wing” LED ones replacing them. Opel’s latest design motif makes its way to the front grille, too. The double-winged horizontal grille presences a much sharper look, and less plastic trim gives way to a sculpted style.
The rear keeps things more or less the same than the traditional Opel Mokka, but double-winged LED taillamps help things look fresh.
The interior cabin, however, has seen plenty of reworking. The cabin takes plenty of design cues from the 2016 Opel Astra K, and the wider stance portrays an even higher seating position for a distinctly big-crossover feel. The center stack has been redesigned with ergonomics in mind, and is centered around either a seven- or eight-inch touchscreen unit. Many functions are now accessible through the touchscreen itself, too.
As for the mechanics, Opel has dropped a few new bits for the Mokka X. The 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which made its debut with the 2016 Astra, may now be had in the Mokka X alongside the newest generation of Whisper Diesel powerplants. The 1.4-liter also arrives with standard stop-start technology for optimal fuel economy. Each engine is mated to a new six-speed automatic gearbox.
All-wheel drive has also been beefed up for the Mokka X, with Opel touting its clever and efficient system. The AWD system’s electro magnetic multi-plate clutch will only power the front wheels when the system detects dry roads, keeping fuel consumption down as much as possible. Torque can be distributed 50/50 between the front and rear, should the conditions call for it, though.
Should you ask for the Opel Mokka X’s safety credentials, it will be happy to present them. The latest Adaptive Forward Lighting LEDs are on board, along with the Opel Eye camera to enhance a suite of active safety options such as Traffic Sign Assistance, Following Distance Indication and Forward Collision Alert.
And what would a new Opel product be without Opel OnStar? It’s alive and well, offering a WiFi hotspot and OnStar’s standard features and benefits from the car’s launch.
Opel will debut the Mokka X publicly at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, and the Mokka X will reach showrooms this coming fall. Does the Buick Encore have a bigger brother on the way? Seems to be so.
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Comments
So encore refresh should come in a few months?
I hope so.
Although still doing quite well in sales it is still important to not let off the gas.
I still wouldn’t buy an SUV/CUV or whatever you want to call it, but I definitely like the Mokka’s new look much better than the original one. Interesting analogy to Buick’s “Tour X” trademark. That grille shape also looks very “buick-ish”.
Meet the refreshed Encore, minus the Buick badges! My only issue is that they seem to have eliminated the upper glove box, which was a very useful feature.
This model looks far more premium and like a kinder, more gentle Infinity Q30.
I’d expect Buick, far stronger than Opel, to have an outsized impact on future design cues. By 2020, Buick will be providing all non PSA-derived SUV vehicles to Opel as well as in all likelihood one car may it be Avista or LaCrosse.
Once Opel-Buick finally takes shape, you gotta wonder if this wouldn’t make for a stronger premium brand for Latin America than Cadillac? Autos like Adam, Insignia and Enclave stand up well against both Lexus and Audi.
My only gripe is that the bonnet and grille look very Ford and we all know that GM can do better.
Although Buick may compare well with some products from Lexus and Audi, I will throw Acura and Infiniti in there as well, it is not a luxury brand and will never will.
Cadillac is GM’s designated luxury brand and it carries more brand equity than Buick in all markets than including Latin America. Cadillac is positioned to for competition with Lexus, BMW, MB, Audi, etc. not Buick.
do not understand what people see mokka. onse two things to what lams are front – halogen?. rear lamps is to oldschool porntuning old led system. but whent people buy it . but i am not proud.
Look VW tiguan, top qality like audi-bmw-mb. Yes, I know that I am perhaps too demanding. and Opel needs more time to get the momentum up again. so much better cars in this class. others simply go away. simply update your face is not enough.
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/vw-tiguan-2016-fahrbericht-6054821.html
Are you serious?
Entry level price of Tiguan is 30,000 EUR while Mokka starts at less than 19,000 EUR!
And where is the quality of Opel inferior to the quality of the brands you mentioned?
opc don’t be a dope, this is a far better value.
i love opel but i dont care better value i want better brodukt to. only better valu not argument. go buy cheap crap who wants
Opel’s Mokka X which is sold as the Buick Encore and Chevy Trax in the United States is a success with a combine sales of 8,666 units for January 2016; thus a mild refreshing could help boost sales especially as people are discovering that you can have the look of the SUV without the bulk.
The front grill has the same new shape as the Buick one.
If the new vehicle has the same HVAC controls as in the pictures… it will fail in my book! It needs to have a SYNC button so you don’t always have to manually adjust the two sides separately. Aside of that, a nice new look and can’t wait to see what Buick does with it. I hope there are many new options avail for this… will see.