In-depth reviews

Vauxhall Insignia owner reviews

Name: Vauxhall Insignia hatchback
Brand: Vauxhall

"The Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport is sharper to look at and drive, while offering lots of equipment for the money"

by Carbuyer team

19 Oct 2020

Carbuyer Rating

4.3 out of 5

Used car deals

Owners Rating

3.9 out of 5

44%of people would recommend this car to a friend.

Owner Rating

5reviews
2reviews
2reviews

Common Problems

Other (1 cases)
Electrics, Engine (1 cases)
Electrics, Other (1 cases)
Electrics, Gearbox / clutch (1 cases)

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

1.5 Turbo 165 bhp

Year of registration

2017

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

Great car!

Version

Elite Nav

Year of registration

2018

Average annual mileage

0 – 4,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

This is the third Insignia Elite Nav I have had. Has always been a lovely vehicle with every conceivable feature but many basic and previously included features are now excluded or have been turned into optional extras. Electrically folding wing mirrors are now an expensive extra, there's no rear wash wipe on the hatchback, no electrically adjustable drivers seat, which was standard on previous cars. No CD player only MP3 connectivity. I'm very disappointed indeed.

Version

2.0 CDTi eco

Year of registration

2012

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

1 - 2 years

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

I've owned this for a year, and bought it because they are quite cheap... and I am finding out why. After heavy rain I hear water sloshing about somewhere in the car, found out the doors fill up with water. There are plugs at the bottom of the door that block up over time and you have a water feature within the doors. I bang my head getting in the car nearly every time I get in and barely a day goes by without some sort of warning light appearing on the dash incorporating a host of useless information that gets annoying. I have the eco flex stop start making it cheap on tax £30, but always disable this feature that feels like the car keeps stalling. The paintwork is not particularly good, the whole front bumper and bonnet could do with a respray due to stone chips even though this car does not go anywhere near gravel roads and is cleaned regularly. I have also noticed a few rust scabs appearing on the roof. Its not all bad, Its quite comfy and roomy with the interior being quite plush, the drive is not too bad, also brakes are good plus the climate control works well. The worst thing about this car is the engine which is noisy and gutless for a 2.0 turbo diesel. Motorway driving is what its best at but going up hills feels like you need to get out and push. This car could do with a better engine. The 1.6 HDi Peugeot motor runs rings round this diesel engine, and a better quality paint job would not go a miss – and if you are over 6ft tall it would benefit from 'mind your head' signs.

Reliability

3 out of 5

I don't feel confident about the reliability of this car.

Performance

3 out of 5

Motorway driving is what this car was made, general performance fairly average.

Running Cost

3 out of 5

Driving in town will be costly, motorway driving is actually quite good.

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

2.0 170bhp cdti ecoflex s/s nav

Year of registration

2016

Average annual mileage

10,000 – 14,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

My daily driver has been used for long journeys, it's also great in towns and cities. I recommend rear and front parking sensors however, as visibility out the back isn't great when parking - luckily mine has them. I've covered 8,500 miles over 8 months and haven't had a single problem. It's very comfortable & reliable, with plenty of speed & power. It's top speed is 139mph, 0-60 in 8.7 sec and with plenty of tech onboard. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Reliability

5 out of 5

Good ... no problem

Performance

Very good plenty of power

Running Cost

Good, I haven't filled it to the top yet but i put €80 in and got almost 900mile little over 3/4 full tank. I drove for 6 hours with four people (big lads) in it on the motorway doing 75 -100km/h in parts and drove around towns and still had little under half tank after....full tank Vauxhall claim 1001mile to fill €100 or a little over

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

2.0 diesel

Year of registration

2013

Bought Car

New

Review

I bought a Vauxhall Insignia about six months ago, as I jumped ship from a Ford Focus. I have no major complaints. It's a big roomy car, nice to drive and comfortable.

Reliability

5 out of 5

no issues so far

Performance

average

Running Cost

4 out of 5

average

Version

2.0 D Tech Nav

Year of registration

2017

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

Used

Typical MPG

Review

First, to point out that some reviews here are of the previous version of the Insignia, the Grand Sport came out in 2017 so ignore anything prior to then. This is a different beast- bigger, better looking, well equipped and cheaper. I’m 6 feet 3 and really appreciate the extra internal space, with plenty of leg and headroom in the back even for someone my size. The lower,longer shape makes the previous version look dumpy by comparison, and I have received several appreciative comments (is that really a Vauxhall?). Lots of poke from the 170 bhp engine, and it grips the road well. It's so easy to drive that the motoring magazines call it no fun. Suits me perfectly for my daily commute where my priority is getting to and from work safely and comfortably with minimal stress. Reasonable economy, averaging 54 mpg. Very well kitted out too - decent sat nav, infotainment system includes Android Auto and hands free phone, crash detection and auto braking (not something I want to put to the test but it’s nice to know it’s there).

Reliability

5 out of 5

No issues apart from a recall to check rear safety belts

Performance

5 out of 5

Accelerates well, handles well

Running Cost

4 out of 5

Pretty good,although there are better cars out there

I would recommend this car to a friend

Version

2.0 Diesel EcoFlex SRi

Year of registration

2015

Average annual mileage

More than 20,000

Owned

1 - 2 years

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

I bought this as a Dad taxi and for commuting, and, when I have a client meeting, no-one looks at it twice, which is just fine for me. Pros are excellent room inside, comfortable to drive, huge boot and zero road tax. Until recently it was very economical (57 mpg average over 36k miles). Recently though this has dropped by about 7 mpg for no apparent reason. Cons are its a bit of an old man's car. Does everything very competently and nothing outstandingly well. Great for the motorway but don't try to hustle it on a B road - it doesn't do that well at all. Still, cheap to buy, cheap to run, no faults as yet and now completed over 42K in 16 months so ticks all the boxes it needs to.

Version

2.0 diesel vx-line

Year of registration

2017

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

would I recommend this car to anyone? No. My car has 34000 miles and only weeks of buying it went into limp mode on motorway, OnStar give me a list of faults but garage only found two and one was an accelerator pedal? It was an emissions software issue, I had TC, ABS light and had to wait 5 weeks for software update. I contacted customer services, but it was a waste of time. Oh and had alarm back up siren going off for no reason. The car has the ability to be great, but not yet. I have driven Vauxhalls for 20 years and this car when working is good but not great.

Version

2.0 turbo diesel manual

Year of registration

2017

Average annual mileage

5,000 – 9,999

Owned

Less than a year

Bought Car

New

Typical MPG

Review

After driving a Vauxhall Mokka for 3 years with no problems I decided to buy 1 year used Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport. Good looking, comfortable, economical, plenty of space. But for half the year it's been in the garage 3 times on repair. I had less problems with my 12 years old Saab for 2 years use. After one week of usage, I had to have the DPF sensor replaced. On 12,000 miles the clutch needed changing and while there completed a full car check. One week ago, the DPF sensor needs change again, experienced some strange noises when turning left, finally had some issues with electronics so I gave the car back to the dealer I got it from.

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