Mokka must-have

The Vauxhall Mokka is “this year’s must have SUV” according to the Mail on Sunday’s James Martin. “Looks-wise, I’d compare it to my mate’s baby, who has a fat head, fat body and fat feet but still looks cute. It’s tall and rides high, with big wheels on a small wheelbase, so there’s a Tonka toy charm complemented by oversized headlamps and rugged plastic bits. “There’s an awful lot of leg room and a surprisingly big boot with a flat load lip, plus loads of storage holes up front.” You get “a hell of a lot” of kit for the price of the Tech Line model, including a sat-nav, cruise control and a digital radio. “There’s other stuff, but I was more interested in the re-worked suspension.” Because of its “high centre of gravity”, the Mokka’s suspension proves firm. “To be honest, it makes the car handle pretty well. Threading it through twisty roads was decent fun – there are better handling cars, but not in this little corner of the market. “Surprisingly for an £18,000 car, mine had allwheel-drive, which can send half the torque to the rear if the front loses grip.” That doesn’t quite mean it can compete at a farmer’s market alongside a Range Rover, but Martin concedes: “Without a doubt this is the better car: it starts, it’s comfortable and it’s got sat-nav. “The Rangie will probably spend most of its life in a layby waiting for the AA, but at least it’ll be off-road – and that’s a place I doubt the Mokka will ever go.”