If you don’t have a decent compact crossover in your range these days, you are pretty much doomed in the European sales chart.
Customers are showing much love to this particular segment and Vauxhall has them covered by offering the Mokka (sold as an Opel in mainland Europe and as the Buick Encore in North America, but without a diesel) as an alternative to Nissan’s Juke, Renault’s Captur and Citroen C4 Cactus to name a few.
What has changed?
The biggest news sits under the bonnet, where Vauxhall has placed the 1.6CDTi ‘Whisper’ diesel, known from the Astra. The new unit makes 135hp and 236lb ft of torque (320Nm) at 2000-2250rpm and is Euro 6 compliant, offering a combined 68.9mpg UK fuel economy and a CO2 rating of 109g/km. 0-60mph comes in 9.3 seconds with a top speed of 119mph.
As with the rest of the ‘Whisper’ engine family, a lot of effort has been put into reducing vibrations and suppressing noise in order to offer a class-leading unit. The engine block is made from aluminium instead of cast iron -a first for Vauxhall- as well as the crankshaft bedplate and cylinder head, saving 20kg in weight.
How does it perform?
