Vauxhall Mokka GSE review: can car nuts take a go-faster Mokka seriously?

Do I spy a carbon bonnet?

Not quite. But a black bonnet is just one of several clues that you’re ogling no ordinary Vauxhall Mokka. There’s the bright yellow brake calipers. Enormous 20in alloy wheels. And, if you’re a really keen Mokkanista, you’ll have clocked it sits 10mm lower on its springs and boasts newly negative camber on its wheels.

Is anyone a keen Mokkanista?

You’ve identified one of the reasons this car exists, dear reader: to perk up a Vauxhall range that “under indexes on passion,” in the words of its marketing presentation. In more colourful English? It’s a brand that needs a bit more bounce in its bungy.`

So what does GSE mean?

It claims a vague assonance to GTE and GSI badges of old, and it signifies Grand Sport Electric. The Mokka GSE draws all of its power from a plug, with a 54kWh battery (51kWh usable) feeding a front-mounted 276bhp motor for some reasonably potent performance. The claims being 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds and a 124mph top speed.

Its official range figure peaks at 201 miles on its standard Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres, but creeps up to 209 if you pay £100 extra for optional Goodyear Eagle F1s. That’s if you can achieve (or better) Vauxhall’s officially claimed 3.4 miles per kilowatt-hour of efficiency, mind you. Drive quickly on a good piece of road and you can lower it to around 2.0 mi/kWh. Take it on track and you’ll half that efficiency again. Eek.

A Mokka? On track?

The components are built for it. Much like its Stellantis cousins – currently the Abarth 600e and Alfa Romeo Junior, soon the Peugeot E-208 GTI – there’s been a healthy raiding of some big-brand cupboards. The brakes are by Alcon, like an Aston Martin Valkyrie, with discs measuring 380mm on the front axle. A Torsen limited-slip differential helps translate its instantly available torque more cleanly to the road. New steering knuckles and a quicker rack amp up its turn-in response.

The suspension setup represents an enormous step forward on paper, claiming significantly more stiffness all round and perching you lower to the ground. Which does somewhat defeat the point of a crossover, of course, not least when the battery, motor and all of the components above will soon be scooped out and slotted into a lower, tauter Vauxhall Corsa GSE. We’ll review that in early September.

So is this one any good?

The short answer is yes. We’ve already tried the Mokka GSE on road and track in sunny Spain and flew home reasonably enamoured; now it’s the turn of a UK drive in a not dissimilar heatwave. It’s a crucial opportunity to ask if it rides well enough over here and again, the short answer is yes.

Enormous wheels and a dinky wheelbase ensure the GSE always feels a touch busy, and you’ll be eyeing up rougher bumps and ruts to perhaps brace yourself at least a little into its fabulous (standard-fit) sports seats. It’s no fiddlier than numerous rivals we could name, however, and the engineers have clearly managed its 1.6-tonne weight – not a slim figure for a small crossover – as well as they can. Tightening up the springs keeps the mass in check but the Mokka still gleefully pitches and rolls with higher cornering speeds to keep you involved in the process.

At the cost of handling?

Thankfully not. The Torsen diff helps hook you out of corners with great precision; you can tip the car in before eagerly jumping back on the throttle to haul you onto the next straight with ease, the rear obediently following around. Taking it on track – and throwing considerable speed and commitment at the GSE – reveals more flamboyance to its behaviour and a willingness to rotate (at least a little) like the hot hatch legends of the late 20^th century.

It just never goes full hooligan. The ESP keeps a tight grasp on things and your only option of loosening its reins lies within Sport mode, where the engineers have dialled things back only a smidge.

Sport also decouples the brake regen, for purer response through the pedal during harder driving. A fabulous idea in theory – but surely a knife in the back of any attempt to claw back some efficiency to keep those modest range claims in sight. You can toggle the regen back on (via the teeny B button beside the gear selector) though it’s not a system with any great adjustability – and chiefly no paddles on the steering wheel to engage with on the move.

No virtual gearshifts either, then…

Vauxhall’s engineers don’t sing to the same hymn sheet as Hyundai, Honda and now Porsche. They’ve benchmarked purely electric rivals while developing the (and its Corsa twin) and none had virtual shift tech equipped. The E of GSE stands proudly for electric, they say, meaning there’s no need for this car to try and pretend it’s got ICE tendencies.

Which does mean it can be accused of feeling a little binary in fast driving. Instant torque and dutiful handling make for a car that can cover ground with impressive pace and – because it’s happening in a Vauxhall Mokka, of all things – genuine amusement. We’d just welcome a mite more driver engagement.

Mind you, there’s also the small matter of Vauxhall’s exploits in the ADAC GSE Rally Cup, where Welsh hopefuls Ioan Lloyd and Sion Williams have already scored a win in a car that looks reassuringly similar to this one. You can reveal motorsport DNA with only a light scratching of its surface.

Will rallying nous really make people buy one?

Not directly, we’d imagine; those folks might wait for the Corsa, at the very least. Or they still polish their prized Mitsubishi Evo VI Tommi Makinen every weekend and thus harbour no desire for a small electric SUV.

The price may prove much more persuasive, however. Vauxhall’s financial folks must have pulled an all-nighter doing the sums, because the Mokka GSE kicks off at £36,995 and then immediately benefits from a £1,500 slice of taxpayers’ grant to cut things to £35,495. A quick scour of leasing sites reveals plenty of deals below £300p/m and it’s easy to imagine this looks appealing on a company car list, too. So while this car hopes to inject pizzazz into the Vauxhall range, it might end up being bought for much the same reason as any other model. Affordability and the fact the dealer’s half a mile away.

Is that faint praise?

It doesn’t need to be. The Mokka GSE is a fairly charming thing to spend time with and while far from perfect, we feel compelled to praise the fact they’ve bothered making it. Whether or not petrol hot hatches can reverse their slide towards extinction, having a cheery bunch of electric alternatives not taking life wholly seriously can only be a good thing. Bring on that new Corsa.