The Vauxhall Mokka Electric pleasantly surprised us with its sharp styling when it launched as an electric car back in 2020, but quickly became an example of form over function. Vauxhall, normally a champion of sensibleness, entered the red-hot small SUV market with a car that looked great but came at the expense of boot and rear space, two crucial selling points in the segment.

Add in expensive costs for the electric model and poor real-world driving range and it never stood a chance, there were better electric cars for less money.

But the Mokka has been updated for 2025. As updates go, visually the updates are butter chicken levels of mild, but why upset the applecart? The Mokka still looks fresh five years after its introduction with only minor tweaks. There are some more meaningful changes to the interior and infotainment, as well as a streamlined lineup and new name. It’s gone from the Vauxhall Mokka-e to the Vauxhall Mokka Electric.

Competition for small electric SUVs has never been so fierce, and the premium pricing of the Mokka Electric plants it firmly against the likes of the Smart #1 and Volvo EX30, as well as the excellent Kia EV3.

There’s another issue Vauxhall will face. As part of the Stellantis Group, it shares its EV underpinnings and parts with the likes of the Fiat 600e and Citroen e-C4, both of which significantly undercut the Mokka Electric on price.

So, has evolution and not revolution helped slingshot the Mokka Electric up to the upper ranks of the small electric SUV class? Read on to see what we make of the new Mokka Electric, and read how we test cars to learn how we reached our conclusion.

What’s it like inside?

There are a couple of tweaks to the interior, led a new, squared-off steering wheel and an updated infotainment system also found in the Astra. The lumpen old unit is out, replaced by a bigger, better one. All Mokkas now get a 10.0-inch touchscreen, up three inches, and it’s so much slicker to use now.

The screen is the right size, shape and perfectly positioned for a driver. The screen is there, easily readable and glanceable, without ever being distracting. The menu structure could be flatter in our opinion, but the voice recognition – which now uses ChatGPT – is moderately intelligent.

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The downside to this new infotainment is that is has absorbed even more of the physical buttons. There’s now a lot of useless space on the centre console where buttons used to sit. Fans of being able to adjust the temperature without screen bashing can at least rejoice, there are still physical knobs for the temperature controls.

We’ve previously criticised the rear seats for being a poor effort for a supposed family car and there’s no change here. Only the smallest of children will be properly comfortable in the back, and even then, there’ll be the problem of installing car seats. The rear doors don’t open very wide, which hampers access. The small windows and dark fabrics also contribute to an overall gloomy feeling. Rear foot space is good on account of the flat floor, and two adults can just about squeeze in, but leg- and headroom aren’t great. Three adults can try, but there will be a lot of shoulder-rubbing.   

Comfort

This is where the Mokka Electric performs best, it’s a nicely comfortable car, if you’re in the front anyway. The front seats are nicely supportive and it’s easy to get comfortable behind the wheel. There’s plenty of adjustment for both the front seats and the steering wheel too, which means finding the perfect driving position is easy.

There’s heated and even massaging front seats on offer for higher trims but we’re yet to try either.

Vauxhall Mokka Electric boot space and practicality

Boot size and rear space were the Achilles heel of this generation of Mokka, and there’s no sign of improvement. The 310 litres of boot space is unchanged and thoroughly underwhelming for this segment. That figure isn’t even on nodding terms with the class-leading Ford Puma Gen-E and its massive 574 litres of storage space.  

The rear seats fold in a 60:40 split and fold completely flat, which is useful and maximises available space. The total 1,060 litres of space with the rear seats down again is about average for this size of car.

Interior storage is a mixed bag. We touched upon the wasted space of the interior above, and that extends to the stowage space in the cabin. The door pockets are fine for water bottles and there’s central cupholders and a neat storage tray for a mobile phone but there’s so much missed potential for extra cabin storage. The glovebox is notably paltry, it’s only half as big as the cover would lead you to believe and pretty useless.

Safety

When the Vauxhall Mokka was tested by Euro NCAP back in 2021 it scored a solid, if not class-leading four out of five stars. Although, it should be noted that it was a petrol Mokka that was tested, not an electric one which uses a slightly different platform.  

The electric Jeep Avenger, a car that uses the same platform (e-CMP) as the Mokka Electric, received only three stars when tested in 2024. Still, the Mokka Electric includes a bunch of safety features as standard. All examples get traffic sign recognition, speed limiter, lane keep assist and driver attention alert. Higher spec cars also offer adaptive cruise control and blind spot monitoring.

What’s it like to drive?

There are three driving modes to pick from: Eco, Normal and Sport. There isn’t much difference between them – Sport mode sharpens responses, and Eco dull them – so, we recommend leaving it in Normal.

The Mokka Electric is only available with one electric motor now; a 115 kW (156hp) motor partnered to a 54 kWh battery. Acceleration doesn’t feel spritely off the line; it’s certainly not as rapid as a Volvo EX30. Mid-range acceleration is better but still not on the pace of the fastest EVs in class. It will at least ensure a short slip road or occasional overtake can be undertaken without developing a cold sweat.

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The Vauxhall Mokka Electric isn’t one for keen drivers, but it’s fundamentally fine as electric small SUVs go. Counting in its favour is the ride and refinement, it’s clearly been developed to suit Britain’s crumbling roads and does a great job absorbing imperfections and rough surfaces. Road noise is low too, even when travelling at 70 mph on the motorway.

The brakes have a noticeable switchover from regeneration to braking which can make slowing down rather jarring, the Mokka Electric responds far better to a gentle approach to braking.

The steering isn’t very pleasant, it’s overly light which is fine at low speeds when palming around a car park, but it doesn’t firm up enough at speed. It remains disconcertingly light and offers little feedback. This means you can never build much confidence driving the Mokka Electric, especially on a challenging country road.

Range and charging

The official range from the 54 kWh battery in the Vauxhall Mokka Electric is 250 miles on the WLTP test cycle, but we think 190-200 miles is a more accurate figure. The old Mokka offered an official 252 miles of rang, but we found 180 miles of range to be more realistic. That’s a far bit off rivals like the Kia EV3, and the battery size is increasingly modest in this class.

More annoyingly, the estimated range proved to be wildly inaccurate – a 60-mile trip in 18 degree weather sliced 90 miles off the displayed battery range, and that was with sensible driving.

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The payoff of that smaller battery is that charging times aren’t as long as some rivals. Plug into a 7kW home wallbox, and you can replenish the battery in just over seven hours, so an overnight charge is feasible. But the Mokka Electric is capable of charging at a rate of up to 100kW and if you find a public point powerful enough, you can go from 10 to 80% capacity in around half an hour.

What models and trims are available?

Vauxhall has condensed the lineup for the new Mokka Electric down to four models – Griffin, Design, GS and Ultimate. The Griffin is a special edition entry-level model and is reasonably equipped. It includes Vauxhall’s nifty Intelli-LED headlights, keyless start, heated front seats, rear parking sensor and the 10-inch touchscreen.

Design adds remote central locking but loses the heated seats, while GS also gains a reversing camera and larger wheels. Ultimate spec cars regain heated seats in the front with a massage function, blind spot alert and adaptive cruise control.

The only optional extra is now an optional heat pump to help with efficiency. Other than that, it’s paint colours only.