Vauxhall Insignia

With its rakish exterior and premium interior, the Insignia manages to banish all memories of the underachieving Vectra.

Auto Express Car Reviews

Rating:
Latest deal price: from £14,269 to £23,442
On the road price: £18,980 - £35,450
For : Sleek styling, quality cabin, decent driving dynamics
Against : Noisy diesel engines, rear seat accommodation

Styling/Image

With its flowing lines and eye-catching details, the Insignia is a huge styling step forward over the Vectra it replaces. Both the hatchback and saloon share the same low-slung roofline, while Sports Tourer adds a practical estate rear end. It lacks the on road presence of a Ford Mondeo, but there’s no denying the Luton model is much more desirable than its predecessor. Buyers can choose from Exclusiv, S, SE, SRi and Elite versions. Alloy wheels are standard on all cars apart from sales rep special S.

Interior/Practicality

Climb aboard the Insignia and it’s immediately clear that Vauxhall is targeting premium rivals. The fit and finish are excellent, as is the quality of the materials. Our only cause for complaint is that accommodation in the rear is slightly cramped, with taller passengers struggling for headroom. All versions get air-con, cruise control and automatic lights. Satellite navigation comes as standard on Nav variants of each trim level. Keen drivers can pick the SRi, which gets sports suspension, heavily bolstered seats and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Engine/Performance

Pick of the engine line-up is the torquey 2.0-litre diesel engine. Available with either 128 or 158bhp, the oil-burner is a little unrefined on start up but serves-up strong mid-range urge and should deliver nearly 50mpg. Petrol fans have a choice of three units. Entry-level cars get a 138bhp 1.8-litre petrol that struggles with the Insignia’s 1,428kg kerbweight. Buyers wanting more performance have the choice of two turbocharged powerplants – a 217bhp 2.0-litre or automatic only 256bhp 2.8-litre V6. Both are available with a grippy four-wheel drive transmission, which helps the bigger motor slingshot from standstill to 62mph in just 6.7 seconds.

Driving experience

Few cars in the class are as refined as the Insignia. On the move, wind, road and engine noise are kept to a minimum, making the car an excellent long distance cruiser. But that’s not to say that driving fans will be disappointed. While it lacks the ultimate dynamic poise and polish of the Ford Mondeo, the Vauxhall displays reassuring composure in corners. SRi, SE and Elite versions are available with FlexRide adaptive damping as an extra cost option.

Costs

Take a look at the price lists and you’ll see that the Vauxhall actually undercuts many of its rivals, particularly if you plump for the sat-nav equipped models. The Insignia even manages to outperform mainstream competition when it comes to residuals, retaining around 35 percent of its value after three years. Cost conscious buyers should stick to the oil-burners, which will return up to 50mpg at the pumps and emit 154g/km of CO2.

Environment/Safety

The Insignia has already been tested by EuroNCAP and emerged with a solid five star rating. All models get six airbags and electronic stability control. Dig a little deeper in your pockets and you can specify adaptive headlamps, lane departure warning and an innovative speed limit recognition system. Eco-friendly motorists should avoid the thirsty 2.8-litre V6 models, which manages only 25mpg and churns out 272g/km.

Our Choice: Insignia Exclusiv 2.0 CDTi

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5 Comments

daze

Quite right about the 1.8 engine even the sri has not got the umph to drag a heavy car.This is the only down side ive had a lovely drive and the electronic hand brake is a dream.

By daze1969 on 15 October, 2010, 11:25pm

MMM

WELL,its a vauxhall so its good soo good on the bhp only devleping over 200 may not be as good as a ferrri but good for an family esate

By jayguy090 on 11 November, 2010, 6:05pm

The Insignia does come with a host of issues though:
1. Leaking doors 2. Faulty Fuel Filter causing car to stall (mine was swapped out due to a serious incident this caused) 3. Front bumper comes away from driver side of car 4. Information display fails 5. 2 amp drain on battery when car not being used, requiring new dash wiring loom and 2 months off the raod due to short supply of parts.
I would seriously recommend you consider another car...Sorry

By jonesp on 16 November, 2010, 1:36pm

Issues/Faults/Headaches with the Insignia

Apologies for the typo's above, I really shouldn't try to multi task:

The Insignia inside and out looks good on the eye and it has a number of toys which make it more appealing than some other more expensive brands. However don't be fooled from my experiences with 2 separate Insignia models the issues with this model far out way the looks and toys.

1. Leaking back doors - happened on both cars
2. Faulty Fuel Filter causing car to stall whilst in motion. This happened to mine on the motorway causing a serious incident whilst my wife was driving and my 2 sons 6mths and 3 yrs old where in the car.Mine was swapped out by Vauxhall Motors directors office due to this.
3. Front bumper comes away from driver side of car - happened on both cars
4. Information display fails - happened on both cars
5. 2 amp drain on battery when car not being used, requiring new dash wiring loom and fuse box. Due to this and parts in short supply the car is off the road now for 2 months!
I would seriously recommend you consider another car...Sorry

By jonesp on 16 November, 2010, 2:00pm

Best Family car in class

Drove a brand new 2.0 CDTI SRI saloon model with optional 20 inch wheels. Drove beautifully and was very fast and comfortable, and even with monstrous wheels it was fine around town. The Insignia works best in Saloon form when you see how the Beemer 5series should look, but obviously the practicality of the hatch would be best for the market its targeted at. I wanted one, but still quite expensive 2nd hand, I run a Jag now which is far classier but I had my sights set on the above spec Insignia for a long time. I just wanted a Jag instead.

By Kingbob12 on 1 March, 2011, 11:03pm

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Vauxhall Insignia