Vauxhall Mokka GSE

FIRST DRIVE Track-honed ver feels like a car nobody asked fo

- Alastair Crooks

EVEN Vauxhall has admitted to us that the GSE brand has been something of a false dawn so far, with the fairly tepid plugin hybrid Astra and previous-generation Grandland failing to inspire. The Mokka GSE is the sub-brand's first EV, and promises to better fulfil the 'electric' part of the 'Grand Sport Electric' moniker.

Vauxhall doesn't claim the GSE is the new GTE, GSi or VXR, although it does occupy similar territory to the sporty range-toppers of the past in the brand's lineup. More GSEs will follow, with a Corsa all-electric hot hatch due next year.

Our focus right now is on the Mokka, however, and Vauxhall has brought us just north of Madrid to try the GSE on the roads and at the historic Jarama circuit, once home to the Spanish Grand Prix.

A Mokka on an F1 circuit might sound like a fish out of water, but run through the technical details and things start to make a bit more sense. First off, the platform is the same as you'll find under the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and Abarth 600e. That means the eCMP architecture has been Essentially, the regular Mokka’s 54kWh battery sends electricity to a much more powerful motor on the front axle, with 276bhp and 345Nm of torque. The 0-62mph sprint takes half a second less than the old petrol-powered Corsa VXR, at 5.9 seconds, and it'll top out at 124mph. As with the Alfa, there’s no 240bhp option — something that is offered on the Abarth.