When Vauxhall let the British press loose on their new compact SUV thingy, the Mokka, it got absolutely slated for its ride and handling and consequently scored very badly in their reviews. The name didn't help either, with lots of coffee jokes to go with the coffee-coloured car in the picture.
The mistake they had made was to give the journalists some early, European-specced cars designed for European roads - and with bits of sound-proofing missing.
Anyway, they seem to have sorted things out by letting the British press loose on much-improved versions specifically aimed at British roads. The press were impressed enough - for example Top Gear reported thus.
A report in AutoGuide today, could reverse things, though. It refers to a recall on the American-badged version of this car, the Buick Encore - the one in their picture is also coffee-coloured but that's probably coincidence. The problem with the Encore is that the steering wheel might come off!
This could be amusing if you are Lauel & Hardy or useful if you are a racing driver and have a wheel like the one here on the right. But, if you are taking the kids to school, it may be a tiny bit dangerous. (Incidentally, if you take a closer look at this particular racing wheel, it isn't quite what it seems)There is no mention of whether or not the Mokka has the same issue as its American cousin but if it does, it'll be wheely bad. No coffee jokes here.