Vauxhall energises its Mokka Electric with this fast GSE version. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Background

Vauxhall and its partner Opel used to be experts in small sporting cars, as anyone who's owned an old Corsa VXR or Astra VXR will tell you. So when its classic GSE badge was dusted off in 2023 for use in modern day Astra hatch and Grandland SUV performance models, much was expected. But what a disappointment. No proper performance tuning, no huge hikes in power - not even much of an exclusive look. And with all the clumpy weight of a PHEV drivetrain to cart around, those two models weren't even particularly fun to drive either. But forget about that now and consider here a Vauxhall far better tuned to what a small, sporty car should be - the Mokka GSE. To suit the mood of the moment, it's all-electric, but the engineering here is promising, basically the same as we've seen in other recent perky Stellantis Group small EVs like the Peugeot E-208 GTI, the Abarth 600e and the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce. This was Vauxhall's very first all-electric GSE model, followed shortly after by the similarly-engineered Corsa GSE. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

The Mokka GSE was inspired by the brand's GSE Rally competition model, which was the first rally car to be developed to the FIA's new eRally5 regulations. And Vauxhall claims the production model shares its competition counterpart's motor, battery, inverter and wiring harness. You're going to want to know about power - there's 280hp of it, a massive 120hp increase over the ordinary Mokka Electric, which is why the 0-62mph time of 5.9s is a full 3.1s faster than that standard model, helped by a meaty 345Nm of torque (85Nm more). What the GSE does share with its standard counterpart is its 54kWh battery (51kWh of which is usable), though the range it delivers here is just 209 miles (about 50 miles less). You might hope for a more sophisticated independent rear suspension system to handle all this extra power, but the budget here didn't allow for that, so the GSE retains the same simple torsion beam rear axle as any other Mokka. But it's been worked on quite a lot and the spring and damper system's been upgraded, with new shock absorbers and double hydraulic bump stops all round. The engineers have added new knuckles on the MacPherson strut front suspension, which create enough space for the bigger 20inch wheels to clear the 10mm lowered body. And there's a bespoke 30.8mm anti-roll bar for the torsion beam rear suspension that means roll stiffness is up by an enormous 189% compared to an ordinary Mokka Electric. There's also a wider track, and a Torsen locking front differential, with 36% lock-up under acceleration and 34% under braking. Plus four-piston Alcan brakes with 380mm front discs featuring yellow GSE calipers. There are beefy 268mm rear discs too. Oh and the electric power steering's been tweaked (to a 14.5:1 ratio, increased from 16.2:1 in a standard Mokka) so that the rack's faster-reacting. In short, it's all been properly done. The thought of taking an ordinary Mokka on a track is almost laughable, but you could could almost consider venturing onto a circuit in this one. In the unlikely event that you did, you might find it quite entertaining; the steering feel's good and the suspension's not easily upset by mid-corner bumps. It really is a proper hot hatch; just a bit taller.

Design and Build

Vauxhall hopes you won't mistake this GSE for any ordinary Mokka. That's certainly the idea behind the neon yellow exterior elements and the more aggressive front bumper with its contrasting GSE-branded black beam. You might also notice the lower ride height and the big 20-inch wheels with their yellow calipers. Surprisingly, there's no bespoke rear wing or rear diffuser but the back features black shrouding around the lower reflectors. There's a bespoke feel inside too thanks to sports bucket seats with alcantara inserts and contrasting green stitching. Plus a sportier steering wheel with flattened top and bottom sections. The 10-inch instrument and infotainment screens haven't been changed but Vauxhall has added extra performance features to show data like battery temperature, power and torque management, plus a G-Force meter. As usual with the Mokka's centre screen, there are clear 'widget'-style menus, 'Hey Vauxhall' voice recognition with ChatGPT functionality and wireless 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring. Obviously, it's all the same as any other Mokka further back. So there's no useful sliding bench mechanism to improve leg room for adults. That would be OK on a short to medium-length journey, but you wouldn't really want to be in the back for much longer than that. Boot space remains set at 310-litres - which is 40-litres less than the combustion version and a huge 150-litres less than the entry-level Vauxhall SUV EV model, the Frontera Electric.

Market and Model

You might be surprised to find that the Mokka GSE qualifies for a £1,500 government Electric Car Grant, bringing the near-£37,000 asking price down to a slightly more manageable figure of around £35,500. For reference, standard Mokka Electric models start from just over £31,000 (after ECG deduction). As for standard equipment, well we gave you a lot of the items in our 'Design' section. Other features in the standard spec include Intelli-Lux Matrix headlights with adaptive beam, plus front and rear parking sensors, a panoramic rear-view camera, power-folding mirrors and keyless entry and a 10-inch Multimedia Navi Pure Panel system featuring satellite navigation with electric vehicle route mapping and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. On the move, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go, Lane Positioning Assist, and Speed Sign Recognition work together to aid drivers, supported by intelligent features such as Lane Keeping Assist, Forward Collision Alert, Side Blind Spot Alert and Autonomous Emergency Braking. There's also a Drowsy Driver Detection system, Intelligent Speed Assist and an automatic headlight levelling set-up. Unique to the GSE are specific pages featuring performance data such as G-force display, acceleration values and battery management data. 

Cost of Ownership

This Mokka GSE is quite light for an EV of this size (around 1,600kg) but as we told you in our 'Driving' section, that doesn't stop its drive range from being on the low side (209 miles). The same could be said of the 100kW DC charging speed, this allowing the car to be replenished at a DC public charging point to 80% capacity in 30 minutes. Full AC charging from a 7.4kW home wallbox needs 7 hours 30 minutes, which you can reduce to 5 hours if you're able to use a three-phase supply and charge at 11kW. Plug into a domestic socket and you'll need a yawning 21 hours 45 minutes. At the time of this review in Autumn 2026, Benefit-in-Kind tax ratings for the Mokka GSE were pitched at 4%. Like any other Mokka Electric, this one needs a service at the end of the first year or at 8,000 miles, after which it'll need garage visits every two years or 16,000 miles. For all Mokkas, there's an unremarkable, but potentially extendable, three year 60,000 mile warranty. And this EV model has the usual eight year / 100,000 mile battery warranty. Vauxhall's offering this Mokka GSE with what it calls an 'Electric All In' offer, including eight years of comprehensive roadside assistance, including emergency charging assistance. In addition to extended roadside support, Electric All In includes £500 credit which can be used towards either an Ohme home wallbox installation, Tesco charging credit or Octopus Electroverse charging credit. Customers can also take advantage of 10,000 miles' worth of free home charging when switching to the Intelligent Octopus GO home energy tariff.

Summary

It doesn't sound a particularly promising recipe this does it? Take what is possibly the market's most conservative small SUV, the Vauxhall Mokka. And borrow some basic fundamentals from what could be the market's least remarkable small electric SUV, the Vauxhall Mokka Electric. And from this confection somehow create a car that properly re-launches a significant performance sub-brand for one of Britain's most important car makers. Against all the odds though, we're impressed with what the Griffin brand has come up with here. Though there is a price to be paid for it, not only up-front but in drive range. Still, this is a much better interpretation of what a modern GSE-badged Vauxhall should be. It's natural habitat might still be the gym car park. But there's a potential for a proper work-out here.