Opel Mokka-e long-term test provides up and down results

After six months and 5,000 km driving an Opel Mokka-e, I am able to answer only one of the many questions I had when I decided to lease a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) for three years.

That question was: Using a home charger, would an electric small SUV suffice for my short commutes of 50 km on average that mix suburban and urban driving? The answer was a strong, convincing: Yes. I really love the car for this.

The more difficult questions -- What is my actual highway driving range? How much time does it really take to fully recharge -- still lack definitive answers.

Living electric is like going back to school: The learning never ends.

During suburban/urban driving, the range from the Mokka-e’s battery, a 50-kilowatt-hour unit that is common to most BEVs made by parent Stellantis, is very close to the 316 to 322 km promised under WLTP guidelines.

But to get this range I have to do two things: 1) Put the Mokka-e in Eco mode, which cuts output by 40 percent to 60 kilowatts/ 82 hp from 100 kW/ 136 hp and 2) engage the so-called “B” strong regenerative braking mode.

Does this make the Mokka-e boring to drive in the city? Not at all. The lack of gearbox means I’m still a traffic-light champion -- even in Eco mode.

Cold reality

Another lesson came the first time I started my Mokka-e with temperatures just below zero Celsius. The computer said my consumption jumped to 50 kilowatt hours per 100 km from an average 13 to 17 kWh at mild temperatures.

The first time you see this it is terrifying to think the car’s range has collapsed to just 100 km from more than 300 km. Luckily, once the battery warmed up range stabilized, but you have to count on a reduction of 10 percent to 15 percent in cold weather.

Fortunately, automakers are addressing this issue. Stellantis recently updated the battery management software in its small BEVs to make them less susceptible to low temperatures.

The most common question

The most frequent question friends have asked since I switched to a BEV is: What is the true driving range on the highway?

It’s embarrassing to say, but I’m unable to give a complete answer.

The partial answer to the question is: about 200 km. But that is under ideal temperatures. We have covered the range reduction caused by cold temps. Hot days are equally detrimental to range because my air conditioning system robs power from the battery. Stellantis has addressed this by giving its new BEVs a heat pump-based A/C system that is less taxing on the battery.

That 200 km range is also achieved under the ideal speed of 110 kph, which is 20 kph below the top speed on Italy’s highways. This speed also needs to be driven without the air conditioner. Under these conditions, I can remain below 25 kWh of energy consumption per 100 km and drive about 200 km on the highway.

In theory, I could go beyond the 200 km threshold and just recharge on the road.

Opel says the Mokka-e can be recharged to 80 percent of the battery’s capacity –adding another about 125 km of highway range – in 30 minutes at a 100-kWh fast charger. Getting to 80 percent takes about an hour (55 minutes, Opel says) using a 50-kWh charger.

In practice, this is not possible where I am, which is northern Italy.

Of the 10 fast chargers available to anyone using Italy’s 7,000-plus km of highways, none is located along the highways I normally use.

So, with almost 200 km of real highway range, you need to plan your trip in advance. Like a sailor, you need to identify an array of safe harbors along the route. The problem is that even if you find a public charging station, it’s highly unlikely it will provide a rapid refill.

Therefore, a 300 km trip in my Mokka-e could take me more than 6 hours compared with 3 hours for a non-EV.

No matter how many kWh the D/C charger delivers, my Mokka-e, with its standard configuration, can receive just 7.4 kWh. Opel estimates that adding 25 kWh, resulting in a bit more than 100 km of real highway driving, will take about 3 hours and 45 minutes under these conditions.

Even if I had opted to pay 450 euros for the Mokka-e’s optional 11 kWh on-board charger, the charge time would be about 2 hours and 40 minutes.

The final insults

If you are ambitious enough to spend 6 hours to cover the same 300 km on highways you could have traveled in 3 hours in a non EV, some final insults await.

While most refueling stations for gasoline or diesel cars are covered to protect users from the elements, so far, I have never seen a covered charging station. That means your 2 to 3 hours on the plug will be spent under the heat of the sun or while getting pelted with rain or snow.

Want to grab a coffee, a newspaper or some sweets to pass the time while recharging? You better bring them along because most charging points offer nothing.

Want to pay for your charge with cash or credit card? Forget about it. You can pay either using the energy provider’s dedicated app or an app from an integrator such Stellantis’ Free2move.

Unfortunately, these systems are very unpredictable. At one charge point I was able to refill using either of the providers. A week later I couldn’t get either to work. Why? No idea.

Since paying by app provides odd results and credit cards are not allowed, I have built up a collection of eight apps on my smartphone and added three recharge cards to my wallet. Most of the time these 11 options are not enough because new players are constantly arriving. That means more apps to download.

Despite all of these challenges, I am very happy with my Mokka-e.

Home charging makes it a perfect car for urban and suburban trips. At home, where I can only recharge at a rate of 1.8 kWh (no matter how many kWh the household has), a full charge is estimated to take 27 hours. In practice, the one time I arrived home with about 50 km of remaining range, I was told by the car that a full charge would take 32 hours (under mild summer temperatures). Normally, I recharge when I still have 50 percent of my battery capacity, so an overnight top up takes me to between 90 percent and a full charge.

The preliminary results of my EV experience have proved that until a decent fast-charging infrastructure is available on highways, a trip of more than 200 km in northern Italy will be something to avoid.

If Europe wants most new cars sold in 2030 to be electric, a fast charging network needs to be created as soon as possible. Otherwise, most BEVs will be relegated urban and suburban use.