Vauxhall Mokka review

What’s clever about the Mokka’s interior – and yes, both the petrol and electric versions share pretty much every fixture and fitting inside – is how it offers a very simple, common-sense alternative to Peugeot’s wacky angular dashboards, expressive switchgear and the infamous tiny steering wheel.

If you’ve been in a 2008 and liked the drive but didn’t get along with the displays, the driving position, or having to delve into a touchscreen to adjust the heating, the Mokka is basically the same but with the difficulty level turned down to ‘Beginner’. You even get knobs and buttons for making it hot or cool. 

Hurrah! Maybe that’ll catch on…

Wishful thinking. The steering wheel too is regular sized, with the digital dials that lurk behind clear, easy to read, and less self-consciously stylish. Though, is it just us or is the ‘two oblong screens in a sea of glossy black plastic’ a bad idea copied from the equally cheap-looking VW Golf Mk8’s interior? 

Some of the plastics are a bit naff in appearance, but it’s all solidly put together and easy to operate. Even the touchscreen is notably snappier than Peugeot and Citroen’s. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and the rubberised wireless charging mat hangs onto your device out of sight.

Plenty of common sense in here, yet it’s somehow cheerier and more interesting than a Ford Puma, Skoda Kamiq or VW T-Roc’s innards. Want more colour than this? Try a Nissan Juke.

The centre console is probably the least successful piece of design – not only is it swathed in yet more wannabe piano wood, but the advantages of using a switch for the handbrake and a small, expensive-feeling gear selector have been squandered by marooning them smack bang in the middle. Why not shift them off to the side, and expand the mean-sized cupholders? Or, carve out a cubby for the bulbous key?

Will my family fit?

It should take care of a young family’s 2.2 children, but narrow rear door access and pinched kneeroom means your lankier teenager will be even moodier in the back. Though we did manage to fit four grown adults, a dog and all their luggage in for a weekend away. Just about.

Speaking of luggage, the combustion-engined Mokka gets a 350-litre boot, with the electric Mokka losing 40 litres on account of the battery beneath the floor. Though both versions do get a split-level floor, handy for any charging cables, less so when you’ve got shopping back there and can’t get to them.

Even less ideal is the position of the external boot release button, which is just above the rear numberplate where it quickly gathers road grime, and in turn your fingers. Whose brilliant idea was that?

Fold the 60/40 split folding middle row down and you get 1,105 litres and 1,060 litres respectively. Though the rear backrests don’t fold quite flat, which could make any dump runs more awkward than they should be.