Vauxhall Mokka review - Engines, performance and drive
The Mokka impresses around town, but doesn’t offer much in the way of driver involvement
The previous-generation Mokka X was not a good car to drive, so the switch to CMP underpinnings that have served Peugeot and Citroen models so well, can only be seen as an improvement
That’s the theory. In practice, the second-generation Mokka still doesn’t offer up much excitement or driver involvement, with the Ford Puma being a more fun proposition and delivering superior refinement and ride comfort to boot.
The Mokka rides best around town, where its CMP chassis is more able to deal with the rigours of driving on scarred UK tarmac. The suspension set-up can struggle to remain composed at higher speeds but, overall, the balance will be fine for most drivers.
We found the top-spec 128bhp Mokka perfectly adequate for most urban journeys, with the eight-speed automatic transmission particularly impressive at lower speeds and easily a match for the dual-clutch set-up of its Volkswagen Group rivals such as the Skoda Kamiq or SEAT Arona.
If you do start to flex the right foot and push on, you’ll notice the unmistakable growl of the three-cylinder layout, although don’t be fooled into thinking any extra noise will yield an equal increase in performance - the Mokka is not a particularly quick car. Vauxhall has tried its best to accentuate the positive by offering a Sport driving mode, but it doesn’t really improve things and just brings more of an unwelcome din into the cabin.
Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed
Vauxhall continues to offer a diesel engine option for the Mokka. The 1.5-litre oil-burner delivers 109bhp and, although you’ll be able to cover almost the length of the country without needing to fill up, you won’t set any land speed records as it’s the slowest car in the range. The 0-62mph benchmark is covered in 10.8 seconds, with a rather irrelevant 118mph maximum.
Switching to petrol power means a choice between the 1.2-litre 99bhp and 128bhp variants. The former offers pace similar to its diesel sibling, while the latter car’s performance is a noticeable improvement with a 0-62mph sprint time of 9.1 seconds in six-speed manual form.
The Mokka-e has an electric motor producing 134bhp and 260Nm of torque, which is 10Nm up on the diesel version. It’s the fastest car in the range with 0-62mph dispatched in 8.7 seconds, although Sport mode must be engaged, as it's the only drive setting that unlocks the electric motor's entire 134bhp and 260Nm of torque.
