Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer on sale now

Occupying the middle ground between estate car and SUV, the new Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer is available to order now, with prices starting at £25,635.

Based on the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer estate, the Country Tourer follows a similar concept to the Audi A4 Allroad and Volkswagen Passat Alltrack, while its price brings it into direct competition with the slightly smaller Skoda Octavia Scout and SEAT Leon X-Perience.

Compared to the regular estate, the Country Tourer has a 20mm lift in ride height and black plastic wheelarch, sill and lower bumper covers for a robust, bump-resistant look. The tough theme continues with a silver-finished rear skid plate and you can choose four-wheel drive to back up the all-terrain character. Vauxhall suggests the 4x4 Country Tourer suits those who wish to "leave the city and explore the countryside".

Compared to the last model to bear the Country Tourer name, the latest is somewhat lighter despite growing in length and height. When we drove the Insignia Grand Sport, we found rear legroom, interior quality and standard equipment truly impressive, while the Country Tourer's estate shape means more generous headroom than the hatchback.

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The Country Tourer's optional four-wheel-drive system is quite sophisticated and features 'torque vectoring'. This distributes power in favour of the outside rear wheel during fast cornering, which is said to improve grip and handling, while an adjustable suspension system provides extra help. Although this clever thinking is concealed, the optional LED 'matrix' lights are rather more boldly visible – they're claimed to offer great illumination without dazzling oncoming traffic.

Other features include a head-up display, adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance. Connectivity is comprehensive, too – Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Vauxhall’s OnStar concierge service are all at hand. This last item provides a wi-fi hotspot, automatic connection to the emergency services in the event of a collision and access to a Luton-based call centre for navigation and maintenance queries. As well as being a sophisticated telecommunications device, the Country Tourer should also be a capable load lugger: its 1,665-litre boot is roughly 10% larger than its predecessor’s, while the standard roof rails can carry up to 100kg.

At launch, the Country Tourer is offered with the 2.0-litre, 168bhp diesel engine, while a twin-turbocharged 207bhp version is expected to follow later this year. Manual and automatic gearboxes are available, the former being mandatory with the four-wheel-drive system. At a claimed 51.4mpg, the front-wheel-drive manual offers the best fuel economy of any Country Tourer, as well as the quickest acceleration, with a 0-62mph time of 8.6 seconds. Adding four-wheel drive takes economy down to 43.5mpg.

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The automatic, meanwhile, returns 47.1mpg and can reach 62mph from rest in 8.8 seconds. CO2 emissions range from 145g/km and a 31% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) rating on the front-wheel drive manual car, to 172g/km and 36% BiK for the four-wheel drive.

Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer: price & on-sale date

Positioned at the top of the Vauxhall Insignia range, the Country Tourer is priced from £25,635 and will reach showrooms in November. Order are being taken now.