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With German precision, Opel engineers give the next generation of the bestseller the finishing touch: they trim the new mocha in the Hessian Test Center Rodgau-Dudenhofen for exemplary acoustic comfort in the interior, best driving safety up to maximum speed and Opel-typical steering and pedal feel. Since February, the Opel experts for chassis, drivetrain, electronics and lighting have also used the polar winter in Swedish Lapland for extensive coordination trips of chassis and assistance systems on frozen lakes and cramped country roads.
The upcoming Opel Mokka generation is a completely new design and is based on the company’s multi-energy platform CMP (Common Modular Platform). It allows the use of a purely battery-electric drive as well as internal combustion engines. The customer has a choice. In addition, the new mocha weighs up to 120 kilograms less than the previous model – with almost the same wheelbase and tire sizes.
↑ Despite icy conditions: Nothing should change in terms of precise handling and always good-natured driving behavior.
Detail work: every part is continuously being tuned by the Opel engineers – gas pressure damper, springs, steering. →
← The control software is also perfected for the ideal pedal feel for accelerator and brake, the desired steering support and the confident interaction of all assistance systems.
Phase 1: testing, tuning, trimming at the Arctic Circle
Opel engineer Gunnar Nees never tires of doing one lap after another on the ice. He keeps stopping for a few minutes. Reaches for the laptop, reads out measured values, logs every kilometer traveled. The vastness of Swedish Lapland is still freezing cold in March. Exactly the right conditions for test drives with the new Opel Mokka. The interplay of ABS, ESP, assistance systems and the entire chassis is orchestrated here.
The Erlkönigs are still hiding under a green and black camouflage film with three-dimensional graphics that blur all contours of the vehicles. The test engineer on the steering wheel came to the far north to tune the chassis. Like every Opel, the new mocha must be able to be steered precisely and with good feedback, be comfortable and at the same time be tight enough. This is Opel’s philosophy: driving safely and stress-free. An Opel must be easy to control by everyone under all circumstances – and at the same time offer plenty of driving pleasure.
↑ Huge wealth of experience: Opel engineers have been testing on the routes of the Test Center in Rodgau-Dudenhofen for decades.
An Opel must not show uncontrolled body movements when driving over a bump at medium speed. →
← Precise spring-damper tuning: on the site not far from the Opel headquarters in Rüsselsheim, all treacherous pavement slips in Europe have been replicated.
Phase 2: Traveling at high speed on German test tracks
Back in Germany: The same Erlkönig, the same test engineer elsewhere – in the Rodgau-Dudenhofen Test Center at home. Gunnar Nees works here with Karsten Bohle, the project coordinator for the second generation of mocha. “The test drives run like clockwork, also because the mocha with its low weight and compact dimensions is very easy to adjust. Handling and comfort are great. This makes development work fun, ”says Opel engineer Karsten Bohle.
Finally, the maturity test for the new mocha is due in the Test Center. Rolling comfort and interior noise should not be disturbed by the torture route either. Here, not far from the Opel company headquarters in Rüsselsheim, all the malicious roadway documents in Europe are reproduced. Opel engineers have been testing these routes for decades and have acquired a wealth of experience. The spring-damper adjustment is fine-tuned again and again. The combination of sensitive responsiveness and sporty precision is becoming ever better. The new mocha offers a particularly low rolling noise for the best acoustic comfort, which is also supported by the high-quality materials in the interior. There is nothing crackling or cracking.
^ Top priority: Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller was also on the test drive with the new mocha.
The steering and chassis then get their Opel trim on the handling course in Rodgau-Dudenhofen. Two standard struts additionally stiffen the strut domes in the mocha. These so-called tie rods increase the precision of the front axle. This makes the newcomer a bit more precise and agile. The new mocha can be turned in in a playful manner, controlled in a good-natured manner, the control systems work in an exemplary manner. Continue. Off to the supreme discipline – the high-speed railway with its steep curves and then to the long test straight in Dudenhofen. This is about absolute stability at all tempos.
In practice, this coordination means an enormous increase in safety even in the event of unwanted evasive maneuvers in lower speed ranges. Only when the Opel engineers return satisfied from the circular track will there be the “Autobahn tested” seal. The new Opel Mokka passed this test with flying colors.
However, testing, testing, testing will continue until summer. When series production is ready, production will start at the end of the year. Customers can already look forward to a very agile second generation of mocha, which will be available in car dealerships from early 2021. Until then, the calibration runs continue at full speed.
May 2020
Text: Roland Korioth, photo: Opel