Diesel Opel Grandland X out of puff, new Mokka X more likely

With a mass diesel rollout soon to conclude with the Vivaro van its Zafira Life MPV offshoot in the third quarter, Opel South Africa’s local importer and distributor, Unitrans Motors, has confirmed that the promised oil-burning Grandland X will no longer be happening.

In spite of confirming the introduction of a turbodiesel model at the model’s official launch two years ago, Unitrans has now indicated that it “is not considering bringing the Grandland X TD to South Africa at present”.

On the Old Continent, a choice of two PSA sourced engines are offered; a 1.5 producing 96kW/300Nm and a 2.0-litre outputting 130kW/400Nm. Like the existing 1.6 PureTech turbo-petrol, both diesels are front-wheel-drive with the 1.5 having the option of a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional eight-speed automatic, with the latter being the sole option on the 2.0-litre.

At the same time, Unitrans also announced that it is in talks with Opel’s parent company in Germany on formulating a “business plan supporting the introduction of the new Mokka X” that is slated to make its world debut later this year.

Already seen on a number of online platforms undergoing pre-production testing, the Mokka X will switch from the current General Motors Gamma II architecture to PSA’s EMP1 not only used by the new Corsa, but also the Peugeot 208. An all-electric model will also be offered from 2021, but unlike the internal combustion derivatives, not on local soil.

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