Vauxhall’ s full of beans
As we enjoy a chocolate-infused easter weekend, Britain’s Vauxhall has just added a new coffee- sounding Mokka to its line-up. But unlike bamboozling coffee menus, there’s a simple choice of three easter bonnets: petrol, diesel or pure electric, with prices from £20,735. They all feature Vauxhall’s sharp new V-shaped ‘vizor’ face — and the aerodynamic design cuts drag at motorway speeds by 16 per cent.
This week I’ve been driving smartly appointed petrol and electric variants around urban Coventry and leafy warwickshire.
I first tried out the new Mokka sRi Nav Premium petrol version, costing £27,450 (£27,770 with extra white Jade paint).
Powered by a feisty turbo-charged 1.2- litre 3- cylinder 130 hp petrol engine linked to an agile eight-speed automatic gear-box, it feels taut and nippy around town and cruises nicely on motorways, accelerating from rest to 60 mph in 9.2 seconds up to a top speed of 124 mph.
For extra engagement, you can play up and down on the manual paddles. It has frugal fuel efficiency, with an average up to 47.9 mph and CO2 emissions of 137g/km.
There’s also a 100 hp version, and both are available with a six-speed manual.
But I got my real energising caffeine hit from the pure electric 136 hp Vauxhall e-Mokka in a bright, statement-making shade called Mamba Green, (above) complemented by a black roof. Powered by a 100 kw electric motor and a 50 kw lithium- ion battery, it flies along and feels very agile, accelerating to 60 mph in 8.7 seconds up to a top speed of 93 mph and with zero emissions.
You can choose between eco, Normal and sport driving modes — I was mainly in the most engaging sport. It has a claimed range of 201 miles. You’ll pay an electric premium with my car, in elite Nav Premium trim, costing £32,730 (including the £2,500 plug-in car grant), of which £650 was for metallic paint.
There are seven trim levels for the Mokka, starting at £20,735 and four for the electric e-Mokka, costing from £30,840.