As a proud owner of a (very old) Vauxhall Corsa, it was exciting taking the new, all-electric Vauxhall Mokka-E for a test drive. As I drove it for the better half of a week on local journeys but also on a round trip from Yorkshire to Liverpool, I formed a pretty good idea about what I loved not just about the car, but electric cars as a whole.
Mokke E at Sunset 
Electric Charging 
First Impressions
The Mokka-E certainly has a luxury look and feel to it with the sleek lines and colours running across the car. The large body and height combined with the tinted windows create quite an imposing image and certainly command attention. The interior features of the Mokka E are also comparable to high end cars. Unlike the chunky keys I’m more accustomed to, the Mokka-E has a keyless start, again, so smooth and silent. It certainly felt odd going back to a louder engine.
One feature of my 2008 Vauxhall that I particularly appreciate is the large boot size and Vauxhall haven’t compromised on this in the Mokka-E. It is deep, spacious and will comfortably hold multiple bags and luggage you may have.
Driving Experience
The Vauxhall Mokka-E has 3 driving modes: Sport, Eco & Sports Mode. The eco mode driving was efficient on local drives and there was something satisfying of seeing the ‘available miles’ increase as I drove rather than decrease. Typical to electric cars, the drive was silent and even on motorways at 70/80mph, it was incredibly quiet and calm. Despite the Mokka-E not being a ‘sports’ car, the Sports mode didn’t let me down. It was fun to drive and that physical shift from Normal mode with the smoother drive was incredibly exhilarating. Although understandably, this mode of driving used up the miles a lot quicker.
The heated seats and steering-wheel functions were ideal on the cold mornings and their one-click use meant that even whilst driving, I was able to switch them on and off easily. Another function on the steering wheel that we had great pleasure in utilising was the lane-assist feature although it did feel odd watching the steering wheel ‘come alive’ and rotate on its own! It certainly added to the concept of easy and sleek driving.
Like other electric cars, the Mokka-E is extremely cost-effective particularly for local drives. A full charge at approximately 200miles averages between £10-13 for the Mokka-E and depending on what charging port you use, it can get up to an 80% charge in 30 minutes, making it time-effective too. In our local area, it was a pleasant surprise to discover that many shopping complexes have EC ports available to use so whilst we did our weekly shop, we left the car to charge and returned to a full battery.
With the EC however, a frequent problem encountered was the Charge on the Go as we drove to Liverpool: unlike fuel pumps, charging at electric pods isn’t as straight-forward. It requires downloading an app to locate the nearest chargers, and then downloading more apps as different pods are maintained by different companies. Majority also charge a ‘holding fee’ which can add to the cost. As of yet, pay-as-you-go pods are difficult to come by and with electric cars eating up double and sometimes triple the miles on long, motorway drives, it is a certainty that you will have to stop to charge.
If you were to purchase an electric car, an easy way around this would be to install a home electric charger which would help with the efficiency and cost of maintaining the car. It helps that the government are currently offering grants to cover the cost of them too. The £0 road tax and £0 congestion charges on electric cars is an added bonus to your wallet.
Sleek Interiors 
Easy Navigation 
Large Boot Space
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed driving the Mokka-E around and it was a brilliant first, electric car to test out. The familiarity of Vauxhall and the smooth drive, luxury feel, cost-efficiency and of course environmental benefits have made me seriously consider going electric in the future. Perhaps I would start with a hybrid model before completely reverting though, to ease that transition.
Book yourself a free test-drive your nearest Vauxhall retailer here – I highly recommend it!
Thank you Vauxhall for loaning me the car to test drive. As always, all opinions are my own.
