New Vauxhall Mokka looks pukka
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 12:08 PM
The new Vauxhall Mokka targets families with its friendly face, inner space and bike-stashing place
Mokka - it's not a coffee-chocolate combination designed for a dual hit of caffeine and sugar - it's actually the newest Vauxhall and it will be revealed in the metal at March's Geneva Motor Show. It's the latest addition to the increasingly crowded sub-compact SUV B-segment - it's just 4,28m long but Vauxhall is promising a lot of car - and cargo space - in a relatively tight body. It seats five and offers a Flex-Fix bicycle carrier that can hold up to three bikes at once. We like it - drive to the park and then ride the bikes there instead of amongst the maniacs on the road.
As well as being a bike-friendly vehicle, there's the choice of front- or all-wheel-drive, a six-speed manual gearbox, a six-speed automatic gearbox, two petrol engines, one diesel - and all with a stop-start function to help save fuel and cut the nasty emissions in traffic. There's a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with 113bhp or a 138bhp 1.4-litre turbo with 148lb-ft of torque. The diesel is a 1.7-litre turbo with 128bhp and 221lb-ft of torque.
The early pictures indicate this one isn't bad-looking either with high ground clearance, sweeping angles and 18-inch alloy wheels. There's 1,372 litres of luggage space and a rather astounding 19 storage locations.
Given that this one will probably be popular with families (and their bicycles), there are plenty of reassuring safety features as standard such as electronic stability control, traction control, hill start assist (we've often wondered, is it cheating if you use that in your driving test? Answers on a postcard please...) and hill descent control. The road ahead will be lit up with a bi-xenon lighting system with a high beam assist function. There's also a front camera system as an option which gives the driver lane departure warnings, alerts if there's an imminent collision ahead and reads traffic signs, too.
No UK prices have been announced but it will be available in the UK towards the end of 2012.
www.vauxhall.co.uk
By Georgia Lewis
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