2026 Vauxhall Mokka GSE | UK Review
Vauxhall's go-faster Mokka makes it to UK roads - a surprise package?
Do rally victories sell cars? The sheer number of Subaru Imprezas and Mitsubishi Evos cruising our fair isle in the late '90s and early '00s would suggest it’s a big fat ‘yes’. The pair’s riveting battle was one we could all enjoy, whether buying and owning them or simply spectating on the sidelines as their countless special editions exponentially gained focus. Good times.
Rallying isn’t quite the same deal now but WRC has at least indirectly gifted us the Hyundai i20 N and Toyota GR Yaris. It’s relevant here because much of Vauxhall’s marketing spiel around the Mokka GSE concerns the supposedly near-identical car that’s currently navigating the European stages of the ADAC GSE Rally Cup, a championship that, as we type these words, young Welsh hopefuls Ioan Lloyd and Sion Williams are leading with an official Vauxhall motorsport effort.
Lovely lads they are, too; Ioan is a bright-eyed talent who we should all be rooting for. Whether his success this season can tangibly shift a bunch of electric crossovers is another matter entirely. But the fact his (and our) GSE perfectly aligns with the decreed 280hp of those old on-road rally icons means this warmed-up Mokka can gently puff its chest out in front of an enthusiast audience.
It’s front-driven only, of course, and the fact many of the most outlandish JDM performance cars only claimed 280hp is another matter entirely. Yet a 5.9-second sprint from 0-62mph and a 124mph top speed feel perfectly ample in a compact package and the instant access to its 254lb ft, with a hint of tyre scrabble as you delve into its full potential, ensure its performance is backed up by adequate drama.
We learned its spec on its international launch in Madrid (and around Jarama) but as our second go materialises in, erm, Darlington (and around Croft), it bears repeating. The brakes are by Alcon with its front discs measuring 380mm (helping explain the large 20-inch wheels). A Torsen limited-slip differential translates its outputs more cleanly to the road. New steering knuckles and a quicker rack dial up its turn-in response. The suspension setup arguably represents the biggest step forward on paper, with a huge increase in tension – anti-roll stiffness climbs 189 per cent at the rear, contributing to an overall increase of 48 per cent – while there are hydraulic bump stops, a 10mm drop in ride height and newly negative camber. On a Vauxhall Mokka, remember. While all very familiar from its equivalent Abarth 600e and Alfa Romeo Junior, it’s heartening to know this is no half-hearted sticker pack and e-motor boost.
You’ll also find much of the above in both the upcoming Corsa GSE and Peugeot E-208 GTI, ensuring those rally ties must work especially hard to make the Mokka stand proudly alongside those for people like us. Anyone who’s owned a Nissan Juke Nismo (or any of the vast array of much larger performance SUVs) might credit how useful a few inches of additional ride height can be on a Great British B road, increased visibility over unkempt hedges imbuing you with a dash of extra confidence. A bit of body roll can go a long way to keeping you in the thick of the action at road-appropriate speeds, too.
And so this Mokka charms in its own way. While the taut setup keeps its 1.6-tonne mass in check without ever truly masking it, the GSE merrily pitches and rolls with higher cornering speeds to keep you amused and engaged in its progress. And with no real loss in accuracy either. The Torsen diff allows you to tip the car eagerly in before returning keenly to the throttle to haul you onto the next straight with ease, the rear axle obediently following around. Perhaps the ESP exhibits too tight a grasp on your progress; though the engineers have loosened its leash a little in Sport mode, you’re never permitted to go full hooligan.
The commitment of some hot laps of Croft – with a lead driver who’s clearly driven this place a lot – reveals a far more mobile rear end with greater speeds and bungs, helping pivot you nicely through turns, but the GSE still falls a few steps short of full rascal. Yet it’s a nicely biddable thing to hang onto for my first ever laps of an iconic BTCC circuit (and a place where Vauxhall enjoyed plenty of success in its tin-top prime), however unlikely it is these things will be subjected to a classic British track evening.
Returning back to more nuanced on-road driving and it’s hard not to crave more involvement. It’s easy to accuse the Mokka’s behaviour as ‘binary’, with no faux-gearshifts or synthetic sound to interrupt its professional approach to a twisty piece of road. Opel’s engineering team didn’t even dabble with faux shifting – and none of the (all electric) benchmarks in its development programme were equipped with it. Shame.
If the petrol hot hatchback really is to become extinct, though, we need to welcome these early attempts at a fully electric alternative and cross our fingers that more engagement arrives as they receive updates and replacements. As a perky electric company car or an affordably leased, somewhat practical daily, the Mokka GSE gets an awful lot right. There’s just enough potential beneath its skin to justify its occasionally fussy ride, frequently vocal tyre roar and potentially limiting range.
The official WLTP claim is 201 miles on its standard Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres, a figure which creeps up to 209 if you tick a £100 box for optional Goodyear Eagle F1s. That’s if you can achieve (or better) Vauxhall’s officially claimed 3.4 miles per kWh of efficiency too: drive briskly on road and you can lower that figure to around 2.0mi/kWh. Take it on track and the figure halves again.
It’s a long way from perfect then, the Mokka GSE - but it’s a charmer. And you can always fire up some ADAC Rally onboard footage if your mates aren’t convinced…
SPECIFICATION | 2026 VAUXHALL MOKKA GSE
Engine: permanent magnet single electric motor, 50.8kWh usable battery
Transmission: single-speed auto, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280
Torque (lb ft): 254
0-62mph: 5.9 seconds
Top speed: 124mph
Weight: 1,597kg (without driver)
Efficiency: 3.4 miles/ kWh
Electric range: 201 miles (WLTP), 100kW charging
Price: £36,995 (£35,495 after ECG)
150 miles is fine for an affordable second car such as the Renault 5, but at £35k it's a big ask in my view.
I can't see them selling many, I'm guessing one for every Vauxhall dealer discounted to ~£27k as an 'ex demo'.
We have a BMW i4 M50 and an MG5 now, and even with the longer real world ranges, we still stop after 2.5-3 hours of real world driving to stretch legs and/or grab a drink. Both of these charge quicker than the i3s did too, so it stretches out the stops accordingly.
I might have a shufti at one of these, see what the interior space is like regarding boot/teenagers as a possible replacement for the MG5 when it's time is up.
Was a much more enjoyable experience than crashing against bumpstops in a performance/sports car.
I actually (embarassingly) quite like this. But I do also have a soft spot for the Juke Nismo RS so i'm already off to a bad start.
Reviewers wishing that they had "fake" gearchanges?
I remember when reviewers were opposed to "fake" engine noise.
EVs are the death of driving pleasure. No wonder I got approached in the street by a VW dealer wanting to buy my old manual hot hatch off me. There's still a market for a proper compact
driver's car, it's just that EU rules won't allow it (and our politicians don't have the imagination to do things differently).
As for the above, that EVs are the death of driving pleasure. They might remove the tactility of manually changing gear, but we're nearly 30 years in to the flappy paddle box, which was already a step away from that.
I find driving without gear changes in corners to be liberating, balancing throttle and regen without the car being able to bog down, or miss a shift. Spent a good portion of 240 miles on Saturday on the A roads of Somerset and Wiltshire, thriving on the instant response of my Tesla and it was one of the best drives I've had since my Swift Sport, and I've had four cars since that, including an Abarth.
This is the white goods end of the EV market where most people are looking at something that will reliably get them from A to B without breaking the bank and that will look good outside the house. To that extent it meets the brief.
Range looks as bit low given the price and, as others have commented, that makes it an expensive second car.
I also understand that things have got more expensive. But £37K seems an awful lot of money for this. Taking into account that it has less moving parts and out with batteries its cheaper to make than an ICE car.
If any manufacturer wants to break into the EV market I maintain that the rule of 3's is the way to do it. 300bhp, 300 mile range, charge in 3 minutes, £30k to buy. Also make it look like a car rather than a jelly mould copy of everyone else's car.
Right now there's another thread with a Renault 5 GTI (the original one) for similar money. Sure, it'll be slower, but I know which one I'd prefer.
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