SUVs are hot property at the moment, with each manufacturer clamouring to get one to market. This is Vauxhall’s – the Mokka X. With a wide range of petrol and diesel engines to choose from at a competitive price, the Mokka X is good choice for families. But how can it match more premium rivals? Let’s find out.
EXTERIOR VO
The Mokka X has the chunky styling favoured by many cars in this segment. Our test car sits on 18-inch alloy wheels which, though an optional extra, do give the Mokka X a little more presence on the road. The black plastic cladding gives it a funkier look, too.
INTERIOR
On the face of it, the Mokka X’s interior isn’t that bad. However, pry a little closer and you’ll find that many surfaces have been finished with cheaper materials. This gloss plastic bin, for instance, doesn’t feel up to the standard of rivals while these air-conditioning controls feels cluttered and tricky to use.
All Mokka Xs get a seven-inch touchscreen as standard, housing satellite navigation and media functions. It’s not such a tricky system to use either, and the screen has a good amount of responsiveness. Higher-spec models get a larger, 8.0-inch display, too.
BOOT SPACE
With a reasonably big car, you expect a reasonably big boot. The Mokka X’s, however, isn’t much to write home about. With the rear seats in place, it offers 356 litres of space – which is less than you’ll find in rivals like the Seat Ateca. That said, the luggage area is nicely square and there’s no boot lip, so loading heavier items into it is easy.
DRIVING PTC
Now, the Mokka X is available with a range of engines, going from a 1.4-litre turbo petrol to a 1.6-litre diesel. We’re in the little 1.4, and, in truth, it isn’t such a bad engine. It’s quiet, relatively refined and has a enough power to get you out of most situations. However, both the clutch and brake are incomprehensibly grabby, which make it a less than relaxing car to drive in crawling traffic. That said, the car’s ride isn’t too bad, and does a decent enough job of ironing out the bumps in the road. There’s a fair amount of body roll, however.
This six-speed manual gearbox has a relatively nice action to it, though you can of course specify an automatic gearbox if you fancy. Vauxhall claims that the Mokka will return 47.1mpg combined too, which is about on-par with rivals.
The Vauxhall Mokka X certainly makes sense as a family car. It’s well specced, efficient and – on our eyes – doesn’t look too bad either. However, its interior quality does let it down and this is a key area where rivals – such as the Nissan Qashqai – do things better.
