Shortly after the launch of the all-new Mokka, Opel presented a heavily revised Opel Crossland this week. He gets a nose in the style of that Mokka and also loses his X.
That X, we have to talk about that. During the facelift of the first Mokka in 2016, also discussed in this section, Opel decided that the Mokka should be called ‘Mokka X’. That ‘X’ had to distinguish the crossovers from the rest of the range, so we also got a Crossland X and a Grandland X presented.
The Crossland X and Grandland X appeared in 2017, the year in which Opel was taken over by the French PSA group. That event was nicely reinforced by the brand new models, the development of which had started a few years earlier as a joint project between GM and PSA. The arrival of the Crossland X also meant that the Mokka X got an in-house competitor. Both types are crossovers in the B-segment, with the GM alternative more like an SUV, and the Crossland as a somewhat ‘softer’ crossover.
That is a thin dividing line, so with the new Mokka Opel has made the difference somewhat wider. With the slightly shrunken Mokka the emphasis is more on design, while the Crossland is clearly more spacious and practical. Even more striking: the Mokka loses its X again after three years. This appears to be new policy, because the Crossland has to do without the addition from the facelift.
Half Vizor
The Mokka is also the model with which Rüsselsheim launches its ‘Opel Vizor’ family face. The interplay between headlights and ‘grille’ (with the Mokka it is completely closed) should eventually appear on all new Opels. After the Mokka, the Crossland is the first to be taken, although the German manufacturer does not proceed too drastically. A modified front bumper with a black panel between the headlights gives a Vizor-esque look, but the headlights themselves still have the old shape. The rest of the façade also became a bit bolder, thanks to elements painted in contrasting silver and a larger, highly accentuated air intake.
At the rear, the emphasis also shifted more towards horizontal shapes. Here, too, the light units are optically connected to each other by a black panel, which apparently has actually been punched into the cover. The word ‘Crossland’ is, entirely according to the latest fashion, spread over the full width of the lid. But without that damned ‘X’.