Vauxhall Mokka

HELLO

£24,455 OTR/£27,775 as tested/£TBC pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

The old Mokka was appalling, can the new version impress us more?

DRIVER

Esther Neve

I’M NOT A FAN OF MILKY DRINKS – HAVING A DAIRY ALLERGY DOES that to you. So this is my first experience of a Mokka, and I have to say I find it to be quite delightful. No cheesy odour, no froth, no liberally sprinkled cocoa... just a refreshingly good baby crossover. Enjoyable to drive, very attractive to look at inside and out, plenty of space (though in the interests of full disclosure not as much bootspace as I enjoyed in the Puma, but you can’t have everything) and highly acceptable fuel economy. And soooooo much better than its predecessor with the same name but none of this car’s style, verve or personality.

The Vauxhall Mokka we have here is an SRi Nav Premium 1.2 (130PS) Turbo auto costing £24,455 OTR, but with our carefully chosen extra of Brilliant Paint, this particular car comes in at £27,775. That’s in the same ballpark price-wise as my previous lifer – and widely acknowledged king of the baby crossover sector – the Ford Puma. An ideal comparison, then?

Let’s be clear from the outset... the Mokka is a very different proposition from the Puma. Driving dynamics will always be of greatest importance in a Ford, so the Puma is without doubt the better choice for a keen helmsman. But for those keen to dial back the ‘enthusiastic’ driving and instead encourage a more relaxing style of travel (no bad thing in a family car), I can recommend the Mokka as very attractive alternative. I drove the Puma and Mokka over the same roads on the same day and found the Vauxhall to be a smoother, less bobbly drive. Not as engaging, but High Wycombe is hardly the place to whang around roads like a lunatic.

So far, so good, then. A weekend trip to the Cotswolds is looming, which will highlight the dynamic ability (or not) of the Mokka – expect an update on that next time.