2025 Moke review: Quick drive

Australia loves the Moke.

Robin Kennedy, chief commercial officer of Moke International, the British-based company responsible for this electric-powered take on a quirky British classic, says at least 20 per cent of the customer enquiries about the car come from Australia. “That’s more than we get from the United States,” he says. 

Of course, Australia and the Moke go back a long way. BMC began assembling the minimalist, Mini-based utility vehicle at its Zetland plant in Sydney in 1966. And in 1968, after the British taxman decided British-built Mokes should be taxed as passenger vehicles rather than sold tax-free as farm equipment, Zetland became the Moke’s main production site.

The Moke started life in 1959 as a concept devised by Mini designer Alec Issigonis for a small, lightweight military vehicle that could be air-dropped into combat zones. Codenamed Buckboard, it comprised a square-edged open body made from simple steel pressings, to which were bolted the front and rear subframes from the Mini, the front cradling the Mini’s innovative transverse-mounted drivetrain. 

The Buckboard was an ingenious idea. But there was one big problem. It had no ground clearance. Running on the same 10-inch steel wheels as the regular Mini, there was precious little clearance between the ground and the expensively finned aluminium sump that also housed the integrated four-speed manual transmission. 

The front-wheel drive Buckboard would have trouble negotiating the average English farm track, let alone the churned-up roads and rough open ground of a war zone. BMC helpfully pointed out the Buckboard was light enough to be carried by four soldiers if it got stuck. The British Army politely said no thanks.

BMC later returned with a prototype that had bigger wheels and more ground clearance, but its 848cc engine, which mustered barely 28kW, and front-wheel drive just couldn’t cut it in thick mud, deep snow, or rocky terrain. This was followed by a prototype that had more power and four-wheel drive, with drive to the rear wheels coming courtesy of a second Mini powertrain at the rear of the car. 

Two engines, two gearlevers, linked clutches: The ‘twini’ Moke’s complexity was the stuff of nightmares for army logistics officers. The “no thanks” was delivered a little more firmly this time around.

As BMC had spent a lot of money on engineering and tooling the Buckboard, it decided to create a civilian version of the car, aimed at farmers who needed a cheap, road-legal workhorse. Launched in January 1964, it was called the Mini Moke, the Moke name being an archaic name for a mule.

The Moke was a bare-bones machine, sold with a single seat and a single windscreen wiper, plus an open-sided canvas top, and it was available only in a single color, Spruce Green. It took 22 seconds to accelerate to 100km/h from a standstill and had a top speed of just 105km/h. But as it was initially classed as a commercial vehicle, the Moke was not subject to sales tax, and was at the time the cheapest four-wheeled vehicle Brits could buy.

The Moke could, however, also be ordered with extra seats, an extra wiper, and see-through sidescreens that could be zipped to the hood.

Thus equipped, the British farm workhorse found a second life as a beach car and resort taxi throughout the Caribbean and other countries with warm climates, such as Australia. Exports to such markets soon accounted for 90 per cent of Moke production.

The Moke was built in Australia until 1981, where among other things it gained 13-inch wheels and brighter paintwork, and from where a version was exported to the US for several years with a new model name, Moke Californian. It was also manufactured in Portugal between 1980 and 1994. 

It’s been 20 years since the last original Mini Moke rolled off the production line, but it’s never really gone away, with endlessly repaired and refurbished versions of the car used as tourist rentals throughout the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Jaguar Land Rover, which owned the rights to the Moke, signed a deal with China’s Chery Automotive in 2012 to produce a re-engineered version of the car in China through a subsidiary company called Moke International. As part of the deal the Moke was re-imagined by British-born and Hong Kong-based industrial designer Michael Young in 2013. 

Though it kept the original car’s basic form, the entire structure was new, the most notable differences being a longer and wider bonnet, a taller windscreen, and a new dash. Underneath was a new powertrain and new chassis hardware, all developed by Chery.

In 2018, Young oversaw the design of an electric-powered version of the Moke. The Moke you see here is an evolution of that car, upgraded and improved by Moke International.

How much does the Moke cost?

Given the level of interest from Australians, Moke International hopes to make the Moke available here by the end of 2025, even though Robin Kennedy admits the Australian Design Rules governing low-volume imports are particularly tough. 

Moke International has been given approval to sell 1500 Mokes in the EU under that market’s ultra-low volume vehicle regulations and has won approval from authorities to sell 325 cars in the US this year. The company hopes it can make a similar case for ultra-low volume imports to Australia. “It’s got to be done,” Kennedy says.

In the UK, the Moke is priced at the equivalent of about $69,500, including taxes, delivery and first registration fees. 

That’s not cheap, but Moke International says a significant proportion of its customers will be high-end resorts and spa hotels that want to offer customers Mokes for complimentary use or as short-term rentals, or use them as shuttle vehicles.

The company also expects wealthy private customers will buy the Moke as a third or fourth car, leaving the Bentley or Range Rover on the driveway of their beach homes or inner-city pads while they use it as a runabout.

What is the Moke like on the inside?

The Moke doesn’t really have an inside. You sit on the Moke rather than in it. With no doors – and no bodysides, for that matter – and seat cushion above the boxy side sills, and body-coloured metal everywhere, the Moke’s passenger area is an exhilaratingly liminal space. There’s pretty much nothing but fresh air all around you.

The tombstone front seats and rear bench are a far cry from the vestigial buckets of the original Moke, but the driving position hasn’t changed. That means an upright, non-adjustable steering wheel between splayed legs and a flat plane of glass separating you from incoming bugs.

The instrumentation is rudimentary and there’s a handful of clunky switches for things like lights, and to switch drive modes from Eco to Beach or Normal. Gear selection is by way of buttons in a vestigial centre console. A roll cage provides anchor points for the seatbelts and acts as a frame upon which the standard Bimini roof – little more than sunshade – can be draped. Rubber mats nestle in the footwells.

There is a lockable boot behind the rear seats, storage compartments in the boxy side sections, and even cupholders front and rear. There’s even an audio system with a Bluetooth-connectable waterproof DAB+ digital radio head unit and two waterproof speakers mounted in the steel dash.

What’s under the bonnet?

What’s under the bonnet? Lift it and you’ll find the compartment that in the Chery-engineered Moke of 2013 housed a four-cylinder internal combustion engine is filled instead with a 10.8kWh lithium-ion battery back and the associated hardware for the 84V electrical system.

The battery powers an e-motor mounted on the back axle, driving the rear wheels. This motor produces 33kW of power and 130Nm of torque, enough to scoot the 741kg Moke to 50km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds and to a top speed of 80km/h.

The Moke has a WLTP certified range of 87km, but the company says it will cover up to 130km if driven gently.

How does the Moke drive?

It’s not about to scare a supercar, but the Moke is quick enough to run with traffic mooching through the fashionable resorts, beach towns and small communities that are its target market. Its light weight and the instant-on torque from the e-motor means the Moke responds briskly when you squeeze the accelerator.

The non-assisted steering is heavy at low speeds but lightens up once you get the Moke rolling, and at 2.75 turns lock-to-lock quickly gets the nose of the car pointed in the direction you want. 

The brakes, discs at the front wheels and drums at the rear, are unassisted, too. But the pedal feel is good, which is helpful as there’s no ABS. The generously sidewalled tyres – 165/55 on 13-inch rims – add a syrupy veneer of compliance over what is otherwise a relatively firmly setup coil-spring suspension to deliver a decent ride.

The Moke might be slow and basic, but it’s a proper car, endearingly analogue in character. What’s more, the quick steering and punchy powertrain, combined with the fact you’re out in the elements even when you’re behind the wheel, make it feel surprisingly sporty to drive, almost like a grown-up go-kart.

What do you get?

In the context of the original Moke, a bare-bones basic machine, the Moke International electric Moke looks the height of luxury. By modern car standards, though, it’s… bare-bones basic.

Moke equipment highlights include:

• Choice of three colours
• Bimini roof
• Lockable rear boot
• Front and rear cupholders
• Rubber floor mats
• Rear passenger grab handles
• Heated windscreen
• Waterproof DAB+ digital radio
• Steering lock
• Steel wheels

Options are minimal:

• Canopy roof with sidescreens
• Alloy wheels

Longer term, Moke International plans to offer a host of customisation options, including paint-to-sample colours.

Is the Moke safe?

In terms of safety equipment, the Moke is like your grandad’s Kingswood – a car from another era. 

Forget airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control, lane keeping, tyre pressure monitoring and the dozens of other active and passive safety systems that are now standard in most cars. The Moke has none of these things.

In fact, the list of safety features is bracingly short:

• LED headlights
• Seatbelts
• Roll cage

How much does the Moke cost to run?

The Moke’s WLTP range of 87km suggests a consumption rate of about just 8kWh/100km. Assuming an average electricity charge of 35 cents per kWh, that suggests an energy cost of about $2.80 per 100km.

The Moke’s lithium-ion battery takes four hours to charge using a regular household socket and a 200V power source.

CarExpert’s Take on the Moke

The original Moke was a basic machine with a breezy charm that captivated celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Paul McCartney, and the Beach Boys, who in 1966 drove a squadron of candy-striped Mokes around Los Angeles. The 2024 Moke is also basic and breezy. 

In purely rational terms, the Moke makes no sense. There are plenty of EVs on Australian roads that cost way less, from Chinese electric hatches like the GWM Ora and BYD Dolphin to models from mainstream carmakers such as the Mini Cooper Electric and Hyundai Kona Electric. All are cars that will take you further, faster than this rework of a quirky British classic. 

But the Moke is not about A to B transportation. It’s a sunny-day runabout with a quirky, laid-back charisma that engenders more positive reactions from passersby than any Ferrari or Lamborghini.

It’s not meant to be taken seriously. It’s meant to be fun. And, surprisingly, that’s exactly what it is.

Click the images for the full gallery