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Quick overview
- Keen value
- Raised driving position
- Stylish looks
- Comfortable on bumpy roads
- Not the most practical in class
- So-so handling
- Practicality
- Four-star Euro NCAP rating
Vauxhall has found its form with its recent SUV offerings and none more so than the Mokka. It uses the ‘vizor’ front grille treatment and accentuates the SUV aspects of its design to great effect, even if there’s not four-wheel drive model on offer. What you do get is a choice between petrol or electric power as the Mokka is offered as a full battery electric vehicle rather than a hybrid like several of its key rivals. This makes the Mokka appealing to city dwellers and company car drivers who have a keen eye on zero emissions.
On the road, the Vauxhall Mokka is not as sharp to drive as its looks might suggest and it prefers a laid back, comfortable approach to journeys. This is fine for most needs and trips, where the Mokka is capable of soaking up most of the jibes thrown at it by the road surface. It’s just a shame it doesn’t have that last bit of handling precision that would elevate it to sit alongside the Ford Puma. However, the Vauxhall is easy to pilot around town and the electric model provides a strong turn of acceleration when required. One point to note, though, is the Mokka only managed a four-star rating in Euro NCAP tests, so it trails the class best when it comes to its safety performance.
For the rest of its equipment count, the Mokka does well and all three trim levels on offer provide a good standard of kit. The Mokka Electric is only offered in the two upper trim levels, GS Line and Ultimate, so there is an added price premium for choosing these versions that can cover up to a claimed 209 miles on a single full charge. Real-word driving shows this to be more likely around the 160-mile mark depending on how and where you use the car.
Overall running costs for the Vauxhall Mokka are one of its key strengths, and you shouldn’t discount the petrol versions thanks to their lower list prices. What might put some off the Mokka is its cabin is not as practical or versatile as the class best, but at least the Electric model comes with a similar boot capacity as the petrols as the Mokka was designed for this power source from its inception.
Prices
Vauxhall begins the Mokka range with the Design trim, which comes with the 100hp 1.2-litre engine from £22,865. The 130hp engine in this trim comes in at £24,065, while adding the automatic transmission to this motor puts another £1410 on the price. The GS Line gets going with the 100hp Turbo at £25,240, while the 130hp model starts at £26,440 for the manual and the auto costs another £1640. The Ultimate only comes with the 130hp 1.2-litre Turbo engine, so it’s priced from £29,660 for the manual and £31,300 for the auto. If you’d rather have the Mokka Electric, the GS Line model costs from £32,685, while the Ultimate begins at £34,995. A bit of pre-purchase legwork on the internet and speaking to dealers should net you a saving of around £2000 on a brand-new Mokka whether you got for a petrol or electric model. A nearly new Mokka could be yours from £19,000, while a three-year old model with 30,000 miles will cost from around £13,500.
Infotainment, comfort and practicality
This Mokka may be marginally more compact on the outside than its predecessor, but that doesn’t translate into less room for the driver and front passenger. Quite the opposite, in fact, as there is ample space for legs, heads and shoulders, so the Mokka feels very airy and comfortable for those in the front. The driver is treated to a seat that sits higher than those in many of this car’s rivals, and you have height adjustment too in order to tailor it to suit. However, the seat does not come with any lumbar adjustment in any of the trims, which is an oversight on Vauxhall’s part when several of the Mokka’s rivals offer this as standard or an option. However, the Mokka’s steering wheel has a good range of angle and depth movement to accommodate drivers of all sizes.
The dash of the Vauxhall Mokka is one of this car’s biggest selling points as it’s just the right mix of high tech and easy to use. The main instrument display in the Design trim uses a 7.0-linch digital cluster, which is simple and clear to read but not as good as the 12.0-inch version found in the two higher trim levels. This larger display can be configured in a number of ways to suit your preferences using the steering wheel buttons, though some of the graphics are bit plain compared to those in a Volkswagen, Skoda or Audi with their Virtual Cockpit screen.
Turning your gaze to the centre console, the Mokka sticks with traditional physical controls for its air conditioning. This system is based on the Peugeot 2008’s, which the Mokka shares most of its parts with, so it’s pleasing that Vauxhall has gone for these simple dials and buttons rather than forcing the driver to work the ventilation through the infotainment screen. As for the infotainment, it also comes with a few physical controls to offer quick and easy access to key menus. In the Design model, there’s a 7.0-inch colour touchscreen and it works with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay to pair with your phone. Move to the GS Line or Ultimate versions of the Mokka and you get a 10.0-inch infotainment monitor and an extra USB charging port of the Design’s single USB input.
When you head to the back seats of the Mokka, access through the wide-opening doors is excellent. There’s also a reasonable amount of room for two adults by the standards of this class, but it’s not the most comfortable place for anyone who is six feet tall or more. The centre cushion is slightly raised, so best reserved for kids, but it does come with a triple-point seat belt to match those of the outer seats that also have Isofix mounts. Children may find the rear of the Mokka quite gloomy as the high window line and dark fabric colours give it a slightly gloomy air in here.
The rear seats split 60-40 but that’s the extent of their cleverness. The rear bench doesn’t slide as it does in Vauxhall’s better equipped Crossland models, and with the seats in use there’s 350-litres of load capacity. That increases to 1105-litres with the seats folded, so the Mokka sits somewhere in the middle ground for cargo capacity in this sector. With the Mokka Electric, there’s a slight decrease in load volume to 310-litres with the seats up and 1060-litres when they are folded flat.
Which 2021 Vauxhall Mokka model should you buy?
For the Design trim, Vauxhall fits the Mokka with 16-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, and it also has lane departure warning with lane keep assist. Other safety kit includes traffic sign recognition, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, fatigue alert, and cruise control with speed limiter. On a more luxurious note, the Design has air conditioning, electrically adjusted door mirrors, flat-bottomed steering wheel trimmed in leather, and a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster. It also has a 7.0-inch colour infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto included. The GS Line gains 18-inch alloys, black-coloured outer trim details, and rear privacy glass. It also has rear parking sensors and panoramic reversing camera. As well as automatic headlights. Climate control takes care of the ventilation, and there are heated front seats and steering wheel, as well as keyless entry and starting.
A 12-inch digital cluster is used for the main instrument display and the infotainment comes with a 10.0-inch touchscreen with sat-nav. Move up to the Ultimate and you have Vauxhall’s IntelliLux Matrix adaptive headlights, front parking sensors, advanced parking assist, and adaptive cruise control. Other safety features include lane position assistant for Ultimate models with the automatic gearbox, and blind spot alert. Also for the Ultimate, there’s Alcantara suede upholstery, an adjustable height boot floor, and Vauxhall Connect that offers live traffic updates for the sat-nav and voice control.
Value for money: how much does a 2021 Vauxhall Mokka cost to buy and run?
Both the 100hp and 130hp versions of the Vauxhall Mokka fitted with the six-speed manual gearbox offer a best combined economy of 51.4mpg. The more powerful motor comes with carbon dioxide emissions of 123g/km compared to the 100hp’s 124g/km. Go for the 130hp engine with the eight-speed automatic gearbox and you get 47.9mpg and 133g/km. This puts the auto transmission model in the 32% company car Benefit in Kind band, while the other two engine options sit in the 30% bracket. Insurance for the petrol-powered Mokka ranges between groups 14 and 20 depending on trim and engine choice. For the Mokka Electric, it offers a maximum range of 209 miles on a full charge. With zero emissions, it sits in the lowest possible company car tax bracket, while insurance sees the GS Line in group 22 and the Ultimate in group 23.
Verdict: Should I buy a 2021 Vauxhall Mokka?
Comfort triumphs over outright dynamic ability in the Vauxhall Mokka, and that’s not a bad thing for many drivers choosing a small SUV. It means the Mokka is cushy around town and on the motorway, though handling sees the Vauxhall lean more than a Ford Puma through corners. The engines offer reasonable performance and economy, though the Electric model doesn’t feel as quick off the mark as some EV rivals.
Mokka drivers are treated to a comfy, roomy front cabin and the rear is fine for kids or a couple of adults. It’s a pity the boot isn’t bigger and the rear seats more versatile to vary load and passenger space. The Mokka also only has a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating, though there’s plenty of other equipment included in the keen prices.