► Crossover in ICE or BEV
► Mokka-e details arrive first
► New face of Vauxhall
Order books have opened for a new Long Range version of the Mokka Electric. Featuring a new 54kWh battery capable of up to 4.1miles per kWh, it’s boosted WLTP range 20% over the previous 50kWh battery to a more competitive 252 miles.
What’s new?
In addition, to the new larger 54KwH capacity, the new Mokka Electric Long Range packs in 100kW rapid charging, taking just 27 minutes to move from 20% to 80& charge when connected to a compatible source.
Performance-wise, Vauxhall has upgraded the electric motor, too: quieter and more efficient, it now produces 154bhp and 192ft lbs of torque.
Deliveries for the new Long Range Mokka will start in March, when the 54kWh model won’t replace the 50kWh variant but be sold alongside it.
The new Mokka starts at £36610, with the new Long Range variant adding an extra £1000 across each trim level. That kicks off with £399 a month on finance.
Everything else you need to know
‘New Mokka is the start of a new direction for the Vauxhall Brand. A bold new design with elements like Vauxhall Vizor and Pure Panel that will become part of signature look for future models,’ said Stephen Norman, managing director at Vauxhall Motors. ‘It also encompasses everything that Vauxhall will define in the future. Fully electric from launch and packed with innovative technologies bringing the best of automotive mobility to all.’
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So, what do we know?
New Mokka: design
The Mokka Mk2 shares its architecture with the new Peugeot 2008, which means strictly front-wheel drive, and should mean a choice of three-cylinder petrol and four-cylinder diesel engines, as well as an all-electric variant.
It also features more than a passing resemblance to the GT X Experimental concept, a small crossover Opel-Vauxhall unveiled in August 2018, a year after the company had been taken over by PSA Groupe.
Like the concept the Mokka is pretty aggressive looking for a small SUV, and features Vauxhall’s new ‘Vizor’ face. The second-gen crossover has a wheelbase 2mm longer than its predecessor, but minimal overhangs mean it’s actually 12.5mm shorter than before and 10mm wider. The model pictured also features 18-inch wheels for more road presence.
On a more practical note, the crossover retains a 350-litre loading space and room for five.
New Mokka: interior
The cockpit is a much more digitised place than in current Vauxhalls. The clean dashboard nicknamed ‘Pure Panel’ is designed to minimise the amount of information displayed to the driver. Vauxhall uses the word ‘detoxed’ for its UI, and that means a straightforward, clear design which it hopes is more intuitive than more flowery designs.
In the Mokka, the Pure Panel ethos translates to widescreen displays; a 12-inch one in front of the driver, and another in the centre console. There’s also less buttons too, with key functions assigned to buttons rather than hidden in sub-menus. So far, so promising.
‘With the new Mokka, we bring the Vauxhall Pure Panel to our customers for the first time,’ said design VP Mark Adams. ‘Large displays, seamlessly integrated into one horizontal information format, a minimal number of physical controls and clear detoxed digital information, all together create an optimised customer experience.’
Alongside the simplified UI, expect the usual tech such as adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane-keeping and a reversing camera with a 180-degree field of view. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay is also present. Finally, the Mokka’s 14-element main beams are also glare-free.
New Mokka: a choice of powertrains
The new Mokka is based on the Common Modular Platform or CMP, the same as the Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 208, DS 3 and Citroen C4. Although now on stilts, that means the Mokka will be able to take an ICE or full-electric powertrain. The CMP is 120kg than the previous-gen, and also 30% stiffer in BEV-form – although that’s mainly due to the battery structure.
So far, Vauxhall has only revealed details of the BEV version.