New Vauxhall Mokka Review

The next generation Vauxhall Mokka now starts at £699 (down from £999), or £1199 if you want an automatic. It’s now a minimum of £1849 if you want the all electric Mokka-e, down from £2149 last month (section updated April 2021).

Vauxhall Mokka Motability Advance Payment Offers Vauxhall Mokka-e Motability Advance Payment Offers

Welcome to the fresh new face of Vauxhall, showcased here by the trendy so-called 'Vauxhall Visor' look of this second generation Mokka SUV. You might remember the Mokka, one of the earlier small crossovers, first introduced in 2012, then updated and relaunched as the Mokka X in 2016, which then petered out in 2019 as its place in the range became squeezed between the (smaller) Crossland and the (larger) Grandland X.

Like those two cars - but unlike the original Mokka - this MK2 design is based on the engineering of Vauxhall's French PSA parent group. That means it's basically the same underneath as a MK2 Peugeot 2008 or a DS 3 Crossback. Which in turn means that there's also a full-electric version, the Mokka-e.

No surprises beneath the bonnet. Not if, mindful of this car's PSA-sourced engineering, you're expecting a carry-over from the Peugeot 2008 anyway. If you're looking for a combustion engine, there are three choices - two petrol and a single diesel. The least powerful unit is a 1.2-litre turbo petrol powerplant with 100PS which is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The same Puretech-sourced three cylinder unit can also be had with 130PS, in which guise you can optionally specify an 8-speed auto gearbox. If you're one of the few customers in this segment that still want a diesel, there's a 1.5-litre black pump-fuelled unit with 110PS that uses a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Like the Peugeot 2008 and the DS 3 Crossback, this Mokka sits on the PSA Group's latest CMP platform - which, incidentally, can't support a plug-in hybrid powertrain, so there'll be no competitor here to Renault's Captur PHEV. You can though, have a full-electric variant, the Mokka-e, which, like the Corsa-e and the Peugeot e-208, uses a 50kWh battery pack and a front-mounted electric motor which puts out 135PS and 260Nm of torque. Vauxhall claims the Mokka-e will be able to cover a WLTP-rated range of 201 miles on a single charge.

This is what the Vauxhall of the future will look like - according at least to the brand's design boss Mark Adams. He is primarily referring to this MK2 Mokka's assertive front end treatment, previewed back in 2018 by the Opel GT X Experimental concept car which first showed us the so-called 'Vauxhall Visor' look made up of bold nose treatment featuring ultra-slim LED daytime running lights and more prominent badgework. The idea here is that this second generation design should feel more compact than its predecessor; it actually is 125mm shorter and has smaller front and rear overhangs. But the wheelbase is fractionally longer, so there's just as much space inside.

Which you should feel when you take a seat in the cabin. Behind the wheel, this Gallic-influenced design is of course nothing like the previous Korean-sourced car. There are no conventional gauges: just a 12-inch digital instrument display, which works in conjunction with a central infotainment monitor that's either 7 or 10-inches in size depending on trim and is angled towards the driver. The layout uses what is called 'Pure Panel' design to make the two screens look like one long display. Predictably, materials quality is of a much higher grade than the old model. But space in the back isn't much different - though it's much better of course, than you get in a Corsa. The 350-litre boot is much the same size as that of the previous model too.

There are the usual Vauxhall trim levels, including 'Sri Nav', 'SRi Nav Premium', 'Elite Nav', 'Elite Nav Premium' and 'Ultimate Nav'.

Standard features include a colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay / Android Auto, alloy wheels, cruise control with speed limiter, lane departure warning with lane assist and speed sign recognition. The SRi trim also gets a few neat extras like upgraded alloy wheels, a 2-tone paint scheme, heated seats and adaptive cruise control.

Upper-spec models include features like adaptive LED matrix headlamps and a 180-degree rear view camera. Luxury interior features that you can specify include leather upholstery and a heated driver's seat that can also include a massage function.

Let's get to the WLTP-rated fuel and CO2 stats - which unsurprisingly, are pretty much identical to those you'd get from Peugeot 2008 or a DS 3 Crossback. The entry-level 100PS petrol unit offers a combined cycle reading of up to 51.4mpg and an emissions figure of up to 124g/km of CO2. If you'd rather go for the perkier 130PS petrol unit, the reading is between 50.4-51.4mpg, with CO2 up to 126g/km. The single diesel variant can return up to 64.2mpg and emits 114g/km of CO2.

This second generation Mokka represents a new kind of assertive identity for Vauxhall as it seeks to carve out a more distinctive volume brand niche within the PSA Group portfolio of brands. It certainly makes more of a driveway statement than its predecessor - as you'd hope it would given that it's pitched at a slightly higher Motability Advance Payment price point. And the engineering is at a different level to anything previously seen in a Vauxhall SUV.

It would probably be too much to hope here that this second generation Mokka would bring anything completely new to it segment - it doesn't. But customers of small crossovers aren't really looking for engineering ingenuity. Usually, they want to make a pavement statement - and this car does that with a lot more brio than quite a few of its class rivals. Will that be enough to convince Motability drivers here in the UK? It'll be interesting to see.

People with a disability and carers who choose a new Vauxhall Mokka through Motability will receive a brand new car, delivered by a Motability Specialist at a local Vauxhall dealership, complete with insurance, servicing and maintenance, full breakdown assistance, replacement tyre cover, windscreen repair or replacement cover plus a mileage allowance of 60,000 miles over three years.