Vauxhall Mokka-e 50kWh Elite Nav Premium

Our electric Mokka has coped well with the challenges placed in its path and even exceeded expectations

- Neil Winn

CAN YOU RUN an electric vehicle (EV) like the Vauxhall Mokka-e as your only car when you don’t have the ability to charge at home and often have to travel fairly long distances to see family and friends? That was the question I posed at the start of my journey with the Mokka-e, and one I’m now confident to answer.

Despite living in an affluent London suburb where there has been a high uptake in EV ownership over the past couple of years, I found it surprisingly difficult to access on-street charging. You either have to hold a parking permit – which I don’t – so you can use the local lamp-post chargers, or you have to pay sky-high rates to providers such as Source London that charge by the minute, not the kilowatt hour.

It can also be challenging to find an on-street charger that’s accessible. The lamp-posts in my area are more often than not blocked by combustion-engined cars, and the Source London chargers are usually occupied by black cabs due to their favourable rates for taxis. When you do finally gain access to a charger, you have to download a glitchy smartphone app or use a QR code to upload your payment details. Fortunately, I was able to connect my Mokka-e to one of the charging points in our office car park at times, saving me a considerable amount in running costs.

On the whole, I’ve found topping up on longer trips much easier, due to an ever-improving motorway charging network. However, this also requires you to think ahead.