Vauxhall Mokka

REPORT 3

£24,455 OTR/£25,085 as tested/£273pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

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

DRIVER

Esther Neve

LAST ISSUE’S COVER CAR WAS THE BEAUTIFUL, NEWLY REIMAGINED Lamborghini Countach. A potent reminder of an era from 30 years ago that featured everything from rolled-up suit jacket sleeves to New Romantic ruffs and epaulettes. Happy days.

The Eighties speak loudly to me – those were my young formative years. The fashion, the music, the cars... I remember the XR3is, the SRis, the 5 Turbos. They were the distillation of style.

Anyway, a recent phone call with Adam Waddell – who briefly looked after the Mokka before he took ownership of the Aston Martin DBX – highlighted that there’s something of the Eighties about the Mokka. Back in the day, if you had a fast Vauxhall, it absolutely had to be white and it absolutely had to look cool. Do you see where I’m going with this? It seems obvious to those of a thinking disposition that the Mokka is the natural successor to those much sought-after Eighties Vauxhall hatches... plus, it’s white and cool. Case closed.

However, for those of you who steadfastly refuse to admit that a modern Vauxhall can be described as cool, I entreat you to please take a closer look at this specimen. Surely the style of the Mokka is an incontrovertible fact? You’d have to be looking in the opposite direction not to agree that this is a great looking car. It makes a proper statement and follows through with those other desirable car traits of comfort, verve and practicality.

In other Mokka news, the lane keep assist is driving me to distraction – I have to keep switching it off to keep cyclists safe as with it on, the car keeps pulling back to the left as I overtake them. Frustrating for me; very scary for the cyclists.