The Mokka’s cockpit is clearly style-oriented, with swooping, textured surfaces, Vauxhall’s large PurePanel display (now incorporating two 10in screens), a new steering wheel and new-look dials for the instrument panel.
In spite of having two large screens, this is a pretty intuitive space to interact with. There are physical buttons for all secondary controls like the heating, air conditioning and ADAS menus, as well as a clear and reasonably responsive touchscreen (even if its menus don’t have very much configurability) and controls that are reassuringly solid. You can tell money has been spent on ergonomics.
The driving position offers good visibility and the driver’s seat is configurable enough for most people, however we would like to see more adjustment in the steering wheel.
The touchscreen has had a software update over the previous car to make the graphics sharper and more responsive. On the whole, it hits the mark, with logical menu structures and Bluetooth that sustains a reliable connection to your phone.
The way the interior looks won’t be to everybody’s tastes, however: there’s a lot of glossy black plastic surrounding the screens, which can get covered in fingerprints quickly.
Sadly, practicality takes a bit of a hit with electric treatment. You get a notably smaller boot over the ICE Mokka, at 310 litres compared to 350 litres, and the higher floor line means there is no room for rear passengers to stretch their feet out under the seat in front of them. Leg room and head room are still generous, however.
We have a couple of other gripes. Perceived material quality is, considering the Mokka Electric’s list price, not quite there. The scratchy, unattractive plastics in most places combine with indicator/wiper stalks that feel undamped and make the interior feel more suited to a price tag of about £25,000, not £32,000.
We also feel the designers could have used this facelift to make better use of colour, whether that be a splash of red on the air vent or even lurid pink stitching on the carpets – anything to punctuate the unremitting, pervading sea of grey.
Also, this may have been specific to our test car, but there was a constant rattling from a piece of trim somewhere and a whistling noise at 70mph. Not what you expect from something at this price point.
