Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer (2017) review (Month 2)

Two months into our long term test and Vauxhall’s latest generation Insignia Sports Tourer is shaping up nicely with over 4,000 miles on
the clock and not too many fuel stops along the way.

The 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine continues to punch above its weight. It’s a an impressive unit which makes sense of the wider trend of equipping large cars with smaller, cleaner and more powerful engines.

Indeed, this is precisely the sort of engine that should be giving diesel a good name. With a power output of 136PS motorway acceleration and cruising are both effortless while its low-end torque makes for a surprisingly nimble ride around town.

But that’s only half the story as it is delivering a real world fuel economy average of 55.3mpg. This is particularly impressive as much of its working week is spent in unforgiving stop/start urban traffic. It’s best performance to date was a 320 mile motorway journey which delivered 61.1mpg.

The unit is part of Vauxhall’s Whisper family of engines – the brand’s shorthand for less noise, vibration and harshness. It is certainly very refined although the turbo does have a distinctive – but not unpleasant – whistle which is noticeable around town. Completing the package are C02 emission ratings of just 119g/km which equates to VED charges of £160 in the first year and £140 thereafter.

Our test car has spent a week away from us. As mentioned in the first report the Apple CarPlay system, which helpfully mimics an iPhone’s Apps on the main screen, was not recognising my mobile for more than a few minutes; which proved particularly frustrating on long journeys. A visit to a dealer revealed there is a known problem with the USB port so Vauxhall suggested taking it back to Luton for its technical department to have a look.

Sure enough the diagnosis was correct, the USB hub has been replaced and the system now works perfectly. It’s probably worth dealers spending a few minutes checking this issue before handovers to avoid disappointing customers.

Customers will certainly not be let down by the automated winter features which have just started to reveal themselves as the temperatures drops. It took a couple of frosty mornings to realise that the heated seats and rear demister actually do have a mind of their own and come on when it’s particularly chilly. It’s the sort of cosseting feature you would expect in a premium car from one of the German brands and shows how Vauxhall has put some serious thought into delivering a more luxurious Insignia than before.

Other upmarket standard features on the Elite Nav trim include a heating steering wheel, heated rear seats and a WiFi hotspot courtesy of the brand’s excellent Onstar telematics feature.

Ultimately anyone in the market for a Insiginia Sports Tourer will be attracted by its load lugging capacity; they will not be disappointed. The boot capacity is a sizeable 560 litres, which has proved to be more than enough for most of our requirements but this expands to 1,665 litres with the rear seats down, creating a deep, wide and flat cargo bay which should happily swallow up most bulky domestic requirements.

Click here to see Month 1 report.