Vauxhall Mokka review - high on kit, low on thrills - Prices, specs and rivals
Vauxhall Mokka sells well but key rivals are better
Prices, Specs and Rivals
We'll cover the refreshed Mokka X range here, which will become available from October 2016. That starts in Design Nav trim, with the naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre engine, and a manual gearbox. The damage is £17,590 on the road, which is higher than several rivals but not too bad considering the levels of kit on offer: 18-inch alloy wheels, LED DRLs, and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system.
If you're feeling flush then you can spend up to £26,765 on a Mokka before adding any options, which gets you a top-end diesel with all-wheel drive in Elite Nav trim, but unless you're leasing or getting the car through your company then we can't imagine spending so much on a Mokka – there are more stylish, more entertaining rivals available for less money, and if you break free from crossovers then £26k will get you any number of cracking hot hatchbacks, which will do the family thing equally well...
Of those rival crossovers, it's hard to know where to start. Skoda’s Yeti has long been one of the best, and while its styling was homogenised a year or two back it still handles well, remains completely unpretentious and fits a family and clobber with room to spare.
The Mazda CX-3 is one of our favourite compact crossovers, with neat handling and great looks inside and out. The Renault Captur and Nissan Juke are similar under the skin; Renault's offering is perhaps the more funky, Nissan's the more entertaining (particularly in Nismo RS form). And we'd genuinely suggest MG's latest offering, the GS, too. It lacks a diesel option for ultimate economy, but it looks decent, handles well and offers plenty of space.
