Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer (2017-2022) Review

The good looking and practical estate version of the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer is full of surprise and delight

Strengths & weaknesses

  • Well equipped as standard
  • Comfortable and spacious interior
  • Good value
  • Lacks feel-good interior design of rivals
  • Not especially satisfying to drive
  • Loses value quickly when new

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer prices from £9,999  Finance from £188.75 per month

The Vauxhall Insignia follows in the tyre tracks of old Vauxhall staples like the Cavalier and Vectra, but that's not to say it will follow in the footsteps of what were rather drab and dreary boxes bereft of personality.

The Insignia Sports Tourer estate is actually rather good looking and feels every inch a much higher quality product that has far exceeded its predecessors. So much so, the Insignia has been voted the most dependable mid-size car for four years in a row in the influential J.D. Power consumer reliability survey.

Up against the likes of the Mazda 6 Tourer or Volkswagen Passat Estate, the Insignia Sports Tourer holds its own, however, the it will always have the gargantuan task of trying to compete with German heavyweights like the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series Touring and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate, all of which offer superior performance and quality but at a much higher price.

It went on sale in June, 2017, and earned plenty of praise for its styling. Like most car makers Vauxhall understood that buyers of estate cars find them more appealing when they are sleek and streamlined rather than big and boxy and, to this day, the Insignia Sports Tourer still attracts admiring glances.

But, crucially, that streamlined look doesn’t come at the expense of practicality. With seats up, the boot will carry 560 litres’ worth of luggage, but make use of the 40/20/40 back seats split and you'll free up 1,665 litres. It puts it ahead of a good number of rivals, with only the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat estates serving up more cargo space.

Other useful features include buttons in the boot to lower the rear seats, keyless entry and an optional motion sensor beneath the back bumper which allows people to open the boot by swinging their leg – handy when your carrying bags of shopping.

There's plenty of space for adults in the back seats, legroom is good and there are larger back doors than the previous generation Insignia Sports Tourer, which makes getting in or out easier – especially if you're helping children in or out of childseats.

In the front, it's appealing enough to have you weighing up whether you’d really want to pay a substantial sum of extra money to sit in an Audi, BMW or Mercedes. It’s not as stylish as those three, or the latest Volvos, but you’re not exactly hard done by for comfort or quality. The driving position and seats are comfortable and there’s a general feeling that undertaking long journeys in this car will be a breeze.

The simplicity of the controls is another striking feature. For example, the climate control switchgear is uncomplicated and easy to use, and the analogue instrument dials are easier to read at a glance than digital versions.

Vauxhall has taken steps including stripping 200kg from the Insignia Sports Tourer to try and improve its ride and handling. In some respects, the engineers have succeeded, as the suspension does a fair job of smothering poor surfaces and potholes, but on the motorway you’re always conscious of what’s going on below you, so there’s still room for improvement.

There is a good selection of engines to choose from too. Three petrol engines and four diesel units, with a choice of a manual or automatic gearbox depending on exact models. There’s no hybrid or plug-in hybrid version, though, and no fully electric model, either.

We would avoid the powerful bi-turbo diesel, as it costs a small fortune to tax, and instead look towards the 2.0-litre diesel with 170hp, or the 1.5-litre petrol with 165hp. These do the best job of providing responsive performance and frugal fuel economy.

 

Key facts

Warranty 3 years
Width 2093mm
Length 4986mm
Height 1514mm
Tax £145 to £855

Best Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer for...

Best for Economy – Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 1.6 110hp Turbo D ecoTEC BlueInjection

The entry-level diesel engine is the most frugal, at 55.4mpg, and has the lowest CO2 emissions, on paper at least. Of the petrol motors, the 1.5-litre 140hp returns up to 42.8mpg.

Best for Families – Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 170hp Turbo D BlueInjection

When the car’s full with people, luggage and has bikes or a roof box loaded too, you’ll need an engine that won’t be overwhelmed and, equally, won’t guzzle fuel. The 2.0-litre, 170hp diesel would be our pick.

Best for Performance – Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 210hp BiTurbo D BlueInjection AWD

Two turbochargers mean this diesel can make brisk progress when required, taking 7.5 seconds to zip from a standstill to 62mph.

History

June 2017 UK deliveries of new Insignia Sports Tourer estate begin with prices starting from £18,685.

August 2018 New 1.6-litre, 200hp petrol engine added to the range.

Understanding Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer names

Engine 2.0

The figure ‘2.0’ is the size of the diesel engine in litres (there’s a 1.6 diesel engine and a 1.5 and 2.0 petrol, too) and ‘Turbo D’ refers to it being turbocharged and running on diesel fuel. The figure ‘170’ is the engine’s power rating in horsepower, which can also be written as PS. ‘BlueInjection’ is a treatment system used to minimise harmful emissions.

Trim GSi

Vauxhall’s main trim levels for the Insignia Sports Tourer are Design, SRi, Tech Line, Elite and GSi. Some versions can be upgraded to ‘Nav’ meaning they feature a navigation system.

Gearbox 8 speed auto

Depending on the engine, there is a choice of a six-speed manual gearbox, or a six-speed or eight-speed automatic.

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer Engines

Diesel: 1.6 110hp, 1.6 136hp, 2.0 170hp, 2.0 210hp
Petrol: 1.5 140hp, 1.5 165hp, 1.6 200hp

We’ve already mentioned that for our money, a family that’s going to press an Insignia Sports Tourer into service would be best off with the 2.0-litre diesel unit in 170hp specification. It has enough muscle to never break a sweat when hauling everyone and their stuff around, and offers the potential to achieve up to 49mpg. Road tax is £210 in the first year.

If economy must come at all costs, give the 110hp 1.6-litre diesel a go, but be warned: it’s no ball of fire. It manages up to 55mpg and road tax is £170 for the first year, dropping to £145 for the following years. A better bet is the 136hp version of the 1.6 motor, which sacrifices little in the way of efficiency but won’t feel out of breath all the time.

The most powerful BiTurbo is undoubtedly quick, and comes with four-wheel drive, but the cost is prohibitive and we don’t think many family car drivers particularly desire a high-performance diesel. And it’s worth adding that the 2.0-litre 170hp model can be ordered with four-wheel drive.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine is a good all-round performer, while the 2.0-litre is surprisingly swift. For our money, though, the 1.5 petrol with 165hp is just as frugal as the lower powered version and has more muscle where it’s needed.

All diesel engines in the Insignia Sports Tourer range use BlueInjection technology to clean up exhaust emissions. It means that, at around 4500 miles (varying according to driving style) a special AdBlue solution has to be topped up. It’s something that’s easy to do at most petrol stations, or a Vauxhall dealer can do this on your behalf, though you’ll have to pay extra to fill this up.

 

Engine

Fuel

Economy

Power

Acceleration (0-62mph)

Top speed

1.5 140hp

Petrol

40.9-42.8mpg

140hp

9.6 secs

129mph

1.5 165hp

Petrol

37.7-42.8mpg

165hp

8.6 secs

135mph

2.0 200hp

Petrol

36.2 – 39.2mpg

200hp

7.4 secs

144mph

1.6 110hp ecoTEC BlueInjection

Diesel

53.3 – 55.4mpg

110hp

11.1 secs

125mph

1.6 136hp  BlueInjection

Diesel

46.3 – 52.3mpg

136hp

10.1 secs

132mph

2.0 170hp BlueInjection

Diesel

42.2 – 49.6mpg

170hp

8.4 secs

141mph

2.0 210hp BiTurbo BlueInjection

Diesel

36.7 – 37.2mpg

210hp

7.5 secs

145mph

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer Trims

Design, SRi, SRi VX-Line, Tech Line, Elite, GSi

Vauxhall has, naturally, done its best to ensure that the level of standard equipment, even with the most affordable version of the Insignia Sports Tourer, is on the generous side.

So every model from Design upwards features air conditioning, automatic lights, electric heated door mirrors, cruise control, a seven-inch touchscreen for the media system, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Upgrade to a ‘Nav’ version and a navigation system is integrated with the touchscreen. SRi adds active seats and sports pedals, dual zone climate control, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, roof rails and front and rear parking sensors. It’s a popular trim level.

Next up is the SRi VX-Line Nav, which comes with larger alloy wheels and a body kit, plus a heated sports steering wheel. There are also Tech Line Nav and Elite Nav models, the former being one up from Design, the latter coming packed with all mod cons.

For those who want to blow the budget, the GSi NAV brings with it a Bose audio system, eight-inch touchscreen, sat-nav, heated front and rear seats and steering wheel, a ‘FlexOrganiser’ for arranging the boot, sports chassis and sports body styling.

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer Reliability and warranty

Once upon a time Vauxhall offered a lifetime warranty but it has since backtracked to a three-year/60,000-mile warranty.

Hyundai offers five years of protection, with its rival model the i40 and Peugeot has no mileage limit with its three-year warranty on the 508.

The Insignia has been voted the most dependable mid-size car for four years in a row, in the influential J.D. Power consumer survey, which asks car owners to rate or slam their motor, according to their first-hand experience.

Used Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer

There are rich pickings for used car buyers where the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer is concerned. It has only been on the market for a couple of years but secondhand examples are already for sale at less than half their original price when new.

There are currently 18 Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourers available on BuyaCar, with prices ranging from £9,999 to £24,995 for nearly-new models. Monthly finance payments start from £188.75 per month.

Needless to say, it represents quite a lot of car for the money. And with so much choice, those who shop around and haggle hard, playing dealers off against one another, could end up with a bit of a bargain.

Other Editions

Insignia (2008 – 2017)

A big car for not a lot of money, the Vauxhall Insignia makes even more sense as a used car

Insignia Grand Sport (2017 – 2022)

The Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport confronts SUVs head-on with a compelling blend of space, style, driving pleasure and value for money