Road Test: Vauxhall Mokka 1.6 CDTi Exclusiv 5dr 4WD

A couple of months back, we drove the Vauxhall Mokka. It was not very good. In the review, we lamented the Mokka's "appalling, crashy ride", describing it as "noisy, unrefined and average to drive".

Vauxhall read it. Vauxhall called us. Vauxhall said... "You're right. The Mokkas you drove - early Euro-spec Opel cars - were not good enough, so, for the UK market, we have rectified its vague steering and crashy road manners."

So we tried the upgraded Mokka, which is rather better. It's now less wobbly over bad tarmac, absorbing bumps with more composure and less wallowy rebound. That's due to new dampers all round, while hardware and software improvements have sharpened the steering. No, the Mokka's still not best in class, but it's passable now. And quieter: the dreadful wind noise on the original test cars was caused by a missing piece of insulation around the front windows, a fault since rectified.

We also tried, for the first time, the entry 1.6-petrol, available solely in FWD. Though unsophisticated, it's inoffensive and perhaps the best way to sample the Mokka, especially with prices from £15,995. The Mokka isn't a great SUV, but these revisions make it a fair one.