Opel’s Mokka GSE ‘born in rally racing’

The all-electric Opel Mokka GSE, introduced here in May of this year, is the first Opel to get a ‘GSE’ makeover, making it the most powerful electric road car ever produced by the German automaker. Inspired by the Mokka GSE Rally, and packaged in a unique GSE motorsport design, it brings motorsport energy to everyday driving with maximum safety and comfort features, and many high-end technologies. The new model is a Golden Steering Wheel 2025 award winner.

Opel Ireland say the car ‘is a showcase of pure driving pleasure’, reviving the high-performance Opel GS badge of old. The three letters stand for Grand Sport Electric. This GSE version is offered as a single, comprehensive special-order configuration in Ireland.

Dimensions are similar to the standard Mokka, except the GSE’s 10mm lower suspension offers a more sporty ride.

Details include GSE inserts on the front apron and at the rear, aerodynamically optimised 20-inch alloy wheels, and yellow GSE brake calipers at the front. I wasn’t sure about all the advertising slogans along the sides of my review car, but they resulted in many people asking me about the model, which looked well in a grey exterior colour, black roof and pillars, and GSE sports bumper in high gloss black with performance inlets.

The inside of my car was predominately in a nice grey/black, white and yellow colour scheme, with attention paid to detail. The driver and co-driver sit on special Alcantara suede bucket sports seats with a white line down the centres, yellow stitching, and integrated headrests. Front seats have manual adjustments and can be heated.

Centre dash is the 10-inch multimedia navigation screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, angled towards the driver. The built-in sat-nav features electric vehicle routing, factoring in real-time battery charge levels and scheduled charging stops. This central screen becomes a high-definition monitor for the car’s 180-degree HD rear-view camera during parking and reverse manoeuvres. Full marks to Opel for providing knobs and button controls for the dual-zone climate control, fan, front seat and steering wheel heaters, and for volume. There’s a C-type USB port, 12v power socket, and a wireless charging pad.

The drive mode selector and the transmission selector are both located on the flat of the centre console. The 10-inch driver’s display screen can be customised in a few ways while the vegan leathered, flattened steering wheel has audio and cruise controls.

Cubbies are a good-sized glovebox, fine door bins, two cupholders in the centre console, and space under the front armrest.

Rear passengers enjoy good headroom but legroom could be somewhat tight for tall people sat behind an equally tall person in front. The low tunnel doesn’t interfere with foot space but the integrated headrests of the front seats do restrict front visibility for rear occupants; there are two USB ports for charging devices.

Boot space is 310 litres with rear seats in use, expandable to 1,060 litres with the 60:40 split-rear seats folded down. The boot opening is square-shaped for ease of lifting items in and out, and the boot floor can be adjusted. As there is no frunk, charging cables are stored in the boot.

All high-voltage components of the standard Mokka GSE, such as the motor, inverter, battery and wiring harness, come from the Mokka GSE Rally. The steering system, chassis and brakes have been designed to be sporty and optimised thanks to Opel’s experience in electric rallying. The car is as powerful as its motorsport counterpart, the Mokka GSE Rally, with a peak output of 281hp and immediate torque of 345Nm, and can sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds. Top speed is 200km/h.

I enjoyed driving this Mokka GSE with all the power on tap when needed. An agile, fun and fast car, but manufactured engine sounds would have been appreciated when I pressed the accelerator pedal hard. The lowered suspension and large wheels contributed to the sportier ride, but you feel bumps in the road more than in the standard version.

You can fast-charge the battery from 10–80% in under half an hour, or eight hours from a 7kW home wallbox. Up to 336km (WLTP) range can be covered in local, emissions-free driving. With its 54kWh battery charged, the range provides up to 336km (WLTP), which isn’t that great.

Other standard items included matrix headlights, front and rear parking sensors with camera, adaptive cruise control, enhanced automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, and good blind spot alerts on side mirrors.

The Mokka GSE has not been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but the standard model was awarded a 4-star safety rating out of five by that independent body.

PRICE: RRP from €39,410 inclusive of SEAI grant and VRT rebate, but excluding delivery and related charges.