Vauxhall Mokka Electric review

6

Stylish compact crossover offers appealing looks and interior tech. Does it have the drive to match?

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The Vauxhall Mokka Electric takes the traditional crossover recipe and tries to meld it into something truly desirable and appealing.

A funky, futuristic design and a stylish-looking interior made this car both modern and appealing to prospective buyers, and it still looks the part despite first going on sale back in 2019. 

Indeed, Vauxhall seems to have struck a chord with customers. Dealers have shifted nearly 100,000 examples of the second-generation Mokka, despite it finding itself in a fiercely contested market segment. 

The Hyundai Kona Electric, Volkswagen ID 3, Ford Puma Gen-E and Renault 4 all want a seat at the table too, but a series of technological and drivability enhancements promises to continue the Mokka's appeal and competitiveness. 

The standard version is now fitted with the same 54kWh battery as the old Long Range version, plus it has been given a comfort-focused damping retune, reworked steering and the same styling revisions inside and out as the ICE Mokka.

Read on, then, to find out if a minor update can continue this crossover's appeal against an ever-increasing, ever-more competitive pool of rivals.

The Vauxhall Mokka Electric range at a glance

There are three trim levels available: Design, GS and Ultimate.

Entry-level cars have pretty much all the kit you need, with a 10in infotainment touchscreen and digital instrumentation display, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, rear parking sensors, LED lights and 17in alloy wheels. 

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GS trim adds a rear-view camera, more adjustment for the driver's seat, 18in alloys and tinted glass.

Ultimate adds additional comfort-based trinkets, such as a heated steering wheel, heated front seats, lumbar support and massage seats.

Design starts at around £32,500, while GS costs about £2000 more and Ultimate just over £37,000.

As standard, you now get the bigger 54kWh battery pack from the old Long Range car. In combination with improved energy efficiency, that results in a claimed 20% range increase over the old 50kWh Mokka Electric, to 252 miles.

It has a good maximum charging speed of 100kW, meaning a top up from 20% to 80% takes 27 minutes. That's better than Renault 4 (80kW).

Its front-mounted electric motor produces 154bhp and 191lb ft of torque, which is good for a 0-62mph of 9.0sec and a top speed of 93mph.

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DESIGN & STYLING

Vauxhall Mokka Electric side

The Mokka Electric looks much the same as the ICE Mokka, which is no bad thing. Much of its styling was inspired by Vauxhall's GTX Experimental concept car of 2018, and since then it has received some redesigned headlights, new alloy designs and a fresh choice of paint colours to keep buyers interested. 

Overall, it's one of the more handsome cars to use this platform and it is one that will likely hold its own against the Renault 4.

The Mokka Electric has a prominent swage line running down the middle of its bonnet, which can serve as a directional guide if you're trying to thread it through a tight spot.
Jonathan Bryce
Social Media Executive

Measuring 4151mm long, 1791mm wide and 1534mm tall, it's slightly shorter, narrower and lower than the Puma Gen-E and Kia Niro EV. It feels as though it takes up less space on the road than those vehicles, which bodes well for town driving.

It uses Stellantis's familiar e-Common Modular Platform (or e-CMP) as its mechanical basis, with the 54kWh battery pack sitting under the floor and the electric motor on the front axle. 

All versions have strut-type front suspension, a torsion-beam rear axle and front-wheel drive.

INTERIOR

Vauxhall Mokka Electric interior dashboard

The Mokka's cockpit is clearly style-oriented, with swooping, textured surfaces, Vauxhall's large PurePanel display (now incorporating two 10in screens), a new steering wheel and new-look dials for the instrument panel. 

In spite of having two large screens, this is a pretty intuitive space to interact with. There are physical buttons for all secondary controls like the heating, air conditioning and ADAS menus, as well as a clear and reasonably responsive touchscreen (even if its menus don't have very much configurability) and controls that are reassuringly solid. You can tell money has been spent on ergonomics.

In heavy traffic, my test car's parking sensors kept beeping, presumably thinking I was going to hit a neighbouring vehicle when in fact I wasn't.
Jonathan Bryce
Social Media Executive

The driving position offers good visibility and the driver's seat is configurable enough for most people, however we would like to see more adjustment in the steering wheel.

The touchscreen has had a software update over the previous car to make the graphics sharper and more responsive. On the whole, it hits the mark, with logical menu structures and Bluetooth that sustains a reliable connection to your phone.

The way the interior looks won't be to everybody's tastes, however: there's a lot of glossy black plastic surrounding the screens, which can get covered in fingerprints quickly.

Sadly, practicality takes a bit of a hit with electric treatment. You get a notably smaller boot over the ICE Mokka, at 310 litres compared to 350 litres, and the higher floor line means there is no room for rear passengers to stretch their feet out under the seat in front of them. Leg room and head room are still generous, however.

We have a couple of other gripes. Perceived material quality is, considering the Mokka Electric's list price, not quite there. The scratchy, unattractive plastics in most places combine with indicator/wiper stalks that feel undamped and make the interior feel more suited to a price tag of about £25,000, not £32,000.

We also feel the designers could have used this facelift to make better use of colour, whether that be a splash of red on the air vent or even lurid pink stitching on the carpets – anything to punctuate the unremitting, pervading sea of grey.

Also, this may have been specific to our test car, but there was a constant rattling from a piece of trim somewhere and a whistling noise at 70mph. Not what you expect from something at this price point.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

Vauxhall Mokka Electric front three quarter

For the market at which the Mokka Electric is aimed, the amount of performance that it delivers is more than enough 

A 0-62mph time of 9.0sec and a top speed of 93mph might sound underwhelming compared with some EVs, but it's delivered with a measure of linearity and smoothness that makes it seem as though there's more punch than that.

In Eco mode especially, the Mokka Electric's motor delivers its performance gradually so that you or your passengers don't get car sick in start-stop situations.
Jonathan Bryce
Social Media Executive

Vauxhall claims the motor has been reconfigured for quieter running while delivering more power, with 154bhp and 192lb ft. Perhaps more relevant is the way it delivers this performance: the torque is evenly metered out and you're never left wanting for a greater turn of speed. 

The smooth, assured delivery of power makes it a more natural fit for town/city driving than the ICE Mokka. It helps too that the traction control system is more than sophisticated enough to handle the powertrain - something that can't be said for some of its Chinese rivals (think BYD and Skywell). Even on a wet surface, the wheels rarely scrabble under acceleration.

Something to further aid your confidence when driving is the fact that the brakes are strong when you need them to be and they successfully blend themselves with the regen system without feeling unnatural. That being said, the pedal itself is mounted a bit too high and lacks any sort of feel through the first few inches of travel.

There are three driving modes available via a toggle on the centre console: Eco, Normal, and Sport, plus a ‘B’ mode that ramps up the regen system to maximum attack.

It's a shame you can't configure the amount of regen you get, because some might find 'B' mode to be too strong. Sport is best left alone simply because it adds nothing relevant to the driving experience. 

RIDE & HANDLING

Vauxhall Mokka Electric rear three quarter

Vauxhall claims it has retuned the suspension and steering for this facelifted Mokka Electric. The former has been set up to better isolate you from lumpy British roads and the latter has been recalibrated for greater precision. 

Unfortunately, the suspension tune doesn't stop it from lolloping and jolting around on uneven surfaces. This is a complaint familiar to us from the previous car, with firmer-than-average spring rates making you feel almost every imperfection through the seat base, no matter which drive mode you've selected. 

The way the Mokka Electric rides doesn't feel in tune with British roads, almost as though it was developed for another country and then brought here without any adjustments.
Jonathan Bryce
Social Media Executive

Because of this, you get the sense that Vauxhall has set the car up to be at least a little bit fun to drive. The problem with this is that it doesn't deliver on that brief, and because of the firmer suspension rates, nor does it deliver on comfort. The Citroën ë-C4 (which uses very similar underpinnings) is significantly more comfortable and supple.

It helps that the ride on roads with long-wave undulations (such as a motorway or A-road) is reasonably settled, almost as though the dampers write checks the springs can’t cash. This, combined with the powertrain’s agreeable urban manners would make it a natural choice for city drivers, but the overall ride quality lets it down. 

The steering is typically light, which makes it easy to thread around town and negotiate tight parking spaces, especially because the turning circle is quite tight, but light steering isn't exactly synonymous with driver involvement. 

Sport mode adds weight to the rack but it still feels numb, almost leaving you to guess the levels of grip and therefore how much lock you need for a given corner. The fact its outright response to your inputs is only adequate, not immediate, quickly becomes apparent.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

Vauxhall Mokka Electric front three quarter tracking

The Mokka Electric claims to deliver efficiency of 4.0mpkWh on the WLTP cycle, which is below average for the class, with the ID 3 Pro S achieving 4.2mpkWh, the Kona Electric 4.8mpkWh and the Puma Gen-E 4.7mpkWh. 

At least it shouldn't be too difficult to achieve the claimed figure: during our time with it, we averaged 3.9mpkWh, which equates to a real-world range of 210 miles.

Like most of its rivals, the Mokka Electric's heat pump is an optional extra. But it's a reasonably priced optional extra that's well worth having.
Jonathan Bryce
Social Media Executive

A starting price of around £32,500 is a few thousand more than each of those cars and the similarly conceived ë-C4. One of the few cars it achieves price parity with is the Peugeot e-2008.

Vauxhall provides a battery warranty for eight-years or 100,000 miles as standard.

VERDICT

Vauxhall Mokka Electric front three quarter static

It's a credit to the Mokka Electric that it only needs a subtle technical and facial revision to continue looking modern and interesting among a sea of rivals. 

Its eye-catching design is exactly what some customers will be looking for in this market segment, and it achieves these looks without compromising practicality too much.

It has been given a healthy dose of power, too, without being intimidating to drive. Its powertrain is smooth, quiet and touts efficiency figures that shouldn't be too difficult to match in the real world, even if said efficiency figures aren't competitive.

It's also far from the most comfortable-riding or engaging car in its class, despite Vauxhall's claimed suspension and steering recalibrations to achieve such traits, and its interior wants for material quality and some visual attractiveness, to say nothing of the reduction in boot space over the ICE Mokka. 

That being said, we applaud Vauxhall's decision to stick with physical controls for key functions and hope that it will continue.

But if you need a practical, efficient electric car that looks interesting and will be as good in town as it is on the open road, we would recommend trying out the Kona Electric or ë-C4 first.

Jonathan Bryce

Jonathan Bryce
Title: Social Media Executive

Jonathan is Autocar's social media executive. He has held this position since December 2024, having previously studied at the University of Glasgow before moving to London to become an editorial apprentice and pursue a career in motoring journalism. 

His role at work involves running all of Autocar's social media channels, including X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn and WhatsApp.