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Should I get a Vauxhall Insignia or Volkswagen Passat as a company car?

I have had a Mondeo Zetec Estate 2.0 for three years. It's done 90,000 miles and is never any trouble. The lease is up soon and my employer/lease firm has stopped us having Fords - shame. We have the choice of Passat or Insignia. I read about the dreadful reliability issues around the Passat, but also that the Vauxhall engine is based on an old lump from an Alfa Romeo that wasn't brilliant either. It's a 140 Bluemotion Highline saloon or a 160 SE Sports Tourer. One side of me says there is no choice here but to go Vauxhall - what do you think?

Asked on 13 July 2010 by RD777

Answered by Dan Harrison
How soon will you be buying? If you can hold off for a while longer, there's a new Passat on the way, which should mark an improvement over the old one. It'll be unveiled in a couple of months' time and should be on sale in the first quarter of next year, by which time the Insignia will be two years into its model cycle. If you can't hold on, then the Insignia may be the way to go, but make sure you get a decent test drive.

You may also want to read one of our recent tests: www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/new-models/2010-06/first...4

Also bear in mind that both models have significant waiting times: 12 weeks for the Insignia and eight weeks for the Passat. That said, there are still big savings to be had from the car supermarkets.

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