Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer (2017) review (Month 1)

Vauxhall dealers started selling the new Insignia Sports Tourer in July with high expectations for the revitalised workhorse beloved by company car user-choosers and retail buyers in need of serious load-lugging capacity. The fact that the new styling is attractive and the load capacity has been significantly increased makes this
a car to be reckoned with.

The second generation model clearly benefits from Vauxhall’s clean sheet approach as it is based on a new platform, which has allowed the designers to address some of its predecessor’s shortcomings in terms of looks, practicality and, crucially, desirability.

The styling should certainly broaden the car’s appeal beyond the brand’s traditional estate customer base with a sleek look that belies its overall size. It’s a trick learnt long ago by the premium German brands.

Our test car certainly looks the part with significantly expanded useable interior space achieved by only growing the overall length slightly to 4,986mm. The 1,665 litre boot is 135 litres bigger than before and the length of the boot has grown from 1,997mm to a cavernous 2,005mm, while the front overhang has been reduced by 30mm and the roofline by 29mm. These new dimensions combine to make the car look more elegant and dynamic than before and will boost its showroom appeal.

The first serious outing for our car was a 320 mile round trip to Donington Park for the opening of the new Aston Barclay auction site. This mostly motorway drive proved to be the perfect test for the 1.6-litre 136PS turbo diesel engine. This mid-sized unit replaces the old 2.0-litre engine with significant improvements in fuel economy and lower emissions. As a member of the brand’s Whisper Diesel units it’s also remarkably quiet, although it does have a distinctive whistle.

The engine’s claimed combined fuel consumption is 62.8mpg, a figure we came close to matching on the journey with 61.1mpg. Altogether our average over the first month is running at a respectable 58mpg. To put this into perspective we ran a similarly sized Kia Optima PHEV for six months and only averaged 51mpg when actively trying to get the best possible economy out of it. The knives may be out for diesel in some quarters, but this engine makes a compelling argument for its future.

As befitting its top-end Elite trim, our car is bristling with creature comforts and technology ranging from Vauxhall’s Onstar system (offering a multitude of functions from a mobile WiFi hotspot for several devices to a live link to emergency services should the airbags deploy) an dual zone climate control to Lane Keep Assist and Apple CarPlay.

We discovered early in our test that the Apple CarPlay function has a gremlin, which means it does not recognise an iPhone for more than a few minutes. We’re having it rectified so will report on how it was resolved next month.

Until then it’s the only negative in what has been an excellent opening month for the car in terms of performance, economy and practicality. We’ve even noticed a couple of curious looks from fellow drivers in car parks, which could be an indication that Vauxhall has finally ticked the desirability box with this car.

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