Vauxhall Insignia

  • Vauxhall Insignia hatchback review Vauxhall Insignia hatchback

    "The latest Vauxhall Insignia is sharper to look at and drive, while offering lots of equipment for the price"

     

    The Vauxhall Insignia targets the very best family cars on sale and in many ways it betters them. This alone should make it a hit for Vauxhall but it still faces lots of competition – and not just from its own class.

    A facelift in early 2021 gave the Insignia a midlife refresh and saw the ‘Grand Sport’ part of the name dropped. The model line-up was simplified and a tweaked range of engines and upgraded technology was introduced in an attempt to keep the Insignia competitive with rivals like the Ford Mondeo, Peugeot 508 and Skoda Superb.

    Best family cars
    Cars like the Insignia and the Mondeo have fallen out of favour in recent years, with buyers instead opting for more upmarket models like the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. This has led sales of more mainstream large family cars to dwindle, with brands like Nissan, Renault and Citroen discontinuing their models in this segment altogether. Instead manufacturers have turned to crossovers and SUVs, with models like the Nissan Qashqai, Ford Kuga, SEAT Ateca and Skoda Karoq hoovering up customers.

    Despite these changing trends, the latest Insignia is an accomplished car. It’s lighter than its predecessor and costs far less to buy than some rivals. For such a practical car, it’s certainly keenly priced and Vauxhall offers it with a decent choice of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines. However, the lack of a hybrid powertrain in the Insignia line-up is noticeable, with rivals such as the Mondeo, Passat, 508 and Superb all boasting a hybrid or plug-in hybrid engine option. While Vauxhall has yet to officially confirm, it’s thought the petrol/electric powertrain from the Grandland X PHEV will make it into the Insignia in the future.

    You can also count a full roster of safety kit and handy Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity among the car's attributes.

    Diesel engines have traditionally been popular in cars of this size and the entry-level 120bhp 1.5-litre three-cylinder is very capable, officially managing over 60mpg when matched with a manual gearbox. Performance is also decent, with 0-62mph taking 10.7 seconds. The more powerful 172bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel is available from the SRi Nav trim level upwards, making it considerably more expensive to buy. It's also capable of over 60mpg, and offers better performance, taking 8.2 seconds to get from 0-62mph.

    Vauxhall’s 2.0-litre engine is best suited to drivers who don’t have high annual mileages. Both engines are fitted with a nine-speed automatic gearbox, and the 197bhp version is only available from the SRi VX-Line Nav trim upwards, making it a costly proposition at nearly £35,000. Above this is the 227bhp engine, which is exclusive to the flagship GSi model. It gets an advanced four-wheel drive system and a long equipment list but pushes the starting price to over £40,000. Both versions of the petrol Insignia manage 0-62mph in around seven seconds, with claimed fuel economy of 30-37mpg.

    Approaching the Insignia, it’s immediately apparent that this is a big car. It’s only 4cm shorter than the latest BMW 5 Series from the class above, and is a similar width as well. It’s also a very low car; Vauxhall has dropped the driving position by three centimetres compared to the outgoing Insignia.

    The low-slung design gives it a direct sense of connection with the road, which is matched by the overall driving experience. The steering is nicely weighted and communicates what’s going at the wheels, the suspension firmness is well-judged and you get a strong sense that the lessons learned from the latest, sharp-handling Vauxhall Astra have been passed on to the larger Insignia. Among front-wheel-drive rivals, though, the latest Skoda Superb feels a little sharper to drive, while the rear-drive BMW 3 Series remains the handling champ.

    The Insignia’s significant stature means interior space is excellent in general, with huge amounts of legroom – front and back – and a well-shaped boot. Rear headroom is a little tight thanks to that low profile, however, and while the Insignia may come close to matching the cavernous Skoda Superb for interior space, the Superb’s greater height means its back seats are more comfortable for taller adults.

    Vauxhall now offers five trim levels with the Insignia, but even entry-level SE Nav cars come with LED headlights and high-beam assist, all-round parking sensors, cruise control, a leather steering wheel and a seven-inch infotainment touchscreen, complete with sat nav, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and DAB radio. Moving up through the range adds extras like a larger touchscreen, a Bose premium stereo system, a rear spoiler, automatic wipers and upgraded interior trim details; top-spec Ultimate Nav and sporty GSi Nav cars come with Intellilux LED Pixel headlights and leather seats.

    The pre-facelift version of the Insignia achieved the full five stars in Euro NCAP’s independent safety assessments, helped by the standard fitment of lane-keeping assistance and an autonomous emergency braking system that works at urban speeds.

    Vauxhall Insignia hatchback - MPG, running costs & CO2

    Strong fuel economy, reasonable company-car rates and a vast dealer network make the Vauxhall Insignia cheap to run and easy to live with

    Cars are products that – in general terms – are hugely improved with every update. The Vauxhall Insignia is an excellent example of this upward trend. It’s lighter than the previous generation and its engines are more efficient, which means it’ll be cheap to run. It’s also, somehow, far less expensive to buy than the old Insignia, and undercuts rivals like the Passat and Superb by a considerable margin.

    Vauxhall Insignia MPG & CO2
    Company-car tax is likely to be the make-or-break point for the Insignia, as the vast majority of sales will go to fleet buyers; the news here is excellent.

    Because tax obligations for company users are determined by the car’s price combined with its CO2 emissions, the Insignia’s low list price works in its favour. The Insignia engine with the lowest CO2 emissions – the 120bhp three-cylinder turbocharged 1.5-litre diesel - is capable of 61.4mpg while emitting 122-144g/km, making it a decent choice for company-car drivers thanks to a mid-range BiK rating. Every facelifted diesel Insignia is now RDE2 compliant, meaning they are exempt from the additional 4% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) surcharge.

    The Volkswagen Passat and Skoda Superb are available with standard petrol and diesel engines that occupy similar BiK brackets, with their respective plug-in hybrid models sitting in lower BiK bandings. However, both of these rivals' list prices are significantly higher than the Insignia’s, with the PHEV versions costing a third or more to buy at least.

    Insignia buyers get a choice of two petrol engines and both are equipped with a nine-speed automatic gearbox. The 197bhp 2.0-litre petrol officially returns 33.1-37.7mpg, while the 227bhp version, which is reserved for the range-topping four-wheel drive GSi model, is almost as efficient, managing between 30.3mpg up to 35.3mpg. Emissions for the petrol engines range from 167g/km to 200g/km, placing them in the upper BiK bandings for company-car drivers.

    An entry-level 143bhp 1.4-litre petrol is expected to join the line-up later this year and be capable of around 45mpg. A hybrid model is also expected to arrive, which is likely to borrow the 1.6-litre petrol engine and electric motor used in the Grandland X PHEV.

    The diesel engine pairing offers far greater efficiency, with the entry-level 1.5-litre three-cylinder capable of 61.4mpg when equipped with a manual gearbox. Go for the automatic box, and economy falls to 56.5mpg. Emissions range from 121-145g/km for the manual, rising to 130-150g/km for the auto depending on the wheels and specification chosen.

    According to Vauxhall, opting for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine delivers identical fuel economy, with the manual capable of 61.4mpg, which falls to 56.5mpg when you opt for an auto. Emissions range from 121g/km for the most basic version with a manual gearbox, rising to 149g/km for a higher trim model with an automatic.

    One word of warning: if the facelifted Insignia is like its predecessor, expect secondhand values to be somewhat unimpressive – although this won’t be of concern to company-car customers.

    Every version of the Insignia will cost £150 a year in road tax, but if you go for the top of the range sporty GSi model, you’ll find yourself over the £40,000 barrier and liable for an additional £325 a year in VED.

    Insurance group
    The 1.5-litre entry-level diesel Insignia with 120bhp starts in group 17, while the 2.0-litre 172bhp version sits six places higher in group 23. The 197bhp petrol, meanwhile, starts from group 27, with the range-topping 227bhp GSi model placed in group 30.

    Warranty
    Vauxhall’s three-year/60,000-mile warranty is average and nowhere near as generous as the five-year guarantees offered by Hyundai and Toyota, nor the seven-year policy provided by Kia.

    Servicing
    The Insignia requires servicing every 20,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first, and Vauxhall’s fixed-price servicing packages and maintenance jobs should make taking care of the Insignia an easy and reasonably affordable process. Vauxhall Care costs around £20 per month, including three services, three years of roadside assistance and the first MOT.

    Source: carbuyer.co.uk

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