Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer estate (2008-2017)
“The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer is a well built and comfortable family estate car, though the compromised boot space and poor used values hinder its appeal.”
Pros
- Smart styling
- Solid build quality
- Good ride comfort
Cons
- Poor used values
- Noisy diesel engines
- Astra Sports Tourer is almost as practical
As a more cost-effective alternative to cars like the Audi A4 Avant and Peugeot 508 SW, the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer initially makes a good impression.
It has the fit-and-finish inside and out to compete with its more upmarket rivals, overall running costs are on par with the more efficient cars in this class and there are plenty of trim packages to choose from.
The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer also works very well as a long-distance cruiser, thanks to its comfortable ride, good noise insulation and extremely supportive seats. However, the noisy diesel engines do spoil the ambiance somewhat, and – despite the Sports part of its name – the Vauxhall Insignia estate isn’t much better to drive than a Skoda Octavia Estate or Hyundai i40 Tourer.
Our recommendation is the punchy 168bhp 'Whisper' diesel engine, as it's quicker and quieter than most engines in the range and delivers a strong economy figure of around 60mpg. We consider it to be the best all-rounder in the engine range.
What really lets the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer down, however, is its poor boot space. Although it’s not the least practical car in this class, its limited boot size does lag behind what you get in more spacious rivals.
There are even some cars in the class below with similar storage space to the Insignia estate. For example, with the rear seats in place, its boot is only 40 litres larger than the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer’s.
