Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer (2017 – 2020) Review

The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer is the big estate spin-off of the regular Insignia, designed to compete with big rivals like the Ford Mondeo, Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat. It’s large inside, comfortable and as is generally the way with Vauxhalls, pretty good value for money too. It’s not the best to drive in the class, nor does it have the best interior, but there’s not a great deal wrong with it either, so if you can get a good deal it makes sense as a good value load carrier.

If you’re looking for load space, the Vauxhall Insignia is easily one of the best family estate cars around. Plus it’s relaxed and comfortable to drive with enough space for adults in the back. The engine range isn’t all that impressive and the interior could use better materials – but there’s still a lot to like.

The boot is obviously the most important bit of any estate and, on that front, the Insignia is great. The load capacity may trail behind estate versions of the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat, but at 560 litres it is larger than a Ford Mondeo Estate and a significant step up over the outgoing model.

Getting awkward items like pushchairs in and out is easy since the load deck is low, wide and long, plus there is no load lip. If you need a little more space, one touch buttons flip the rear seats down almost completely flat, freeing up a huge 1665 litres of capacity. Garden centre trips and flat packs won’t be a problem.

As is typical for Vauxhall, the engine range is very broad. There are petrol engines with 140PS, 165PS or 260PS, along with diesels producing 110PS, 136PS, and 170PS. Since most Insignias end up as company cars, the 110PS and 136PS diesels will make the most sense because they have the lowest emissions.

The drive isn’t particularly fun, but it is quiet and relaxed. Not much wind or engine noise gets into the cabin even at motorway speeds and bumps are ironed out well. Yet through corners the Insignia Sports Tourer is reassuringly capable and has plenty of grip. And, if you need even more traction, you can get a 4x4 version.

Equipment levels are reasonable across the almost bewildering array of trim levels. All versions come with a touchscreen, air conditioning and cruise control, while navigation is standard on most trim levels. There are lots of safety gizmos on offer too including adaptive cruise control and lane assistance.

The Skoda Superb is more spacious, better to drive and has a much better interior finish. But for outright space the new Insignia Sports Tourer is excellent – and when you consider its extremely competitive pricing it starts to look like very good value for money, despite a few small flaws.

The comfortable driving position, supportive seats, easy-to-use infotainment system and quiet, easy driving dynamics make long journeys relaxing and painless.

This is the case even if you opt for the lower-powered 1.6 CDTi which, in top gear, cruises along without making a racket and has just enough torque in reserve to get by slow-moving trucks. It’s all very civilised – but if you spend a lot of time driving twisting roads then there are better options.

It’s not that the Insignia is bad on a country lane. In fact, it’s fine – with lots of predictable grip and little in the way of body roll. But the Ford Mondeo is actually quite fun to drive through bends, while the Skoda Superb and Volkswagen Passat are more accomplished overall.

The engine range is broad, with a 1.5 Turbo petrol - available with 140PS or 165PS. A good choice if you're not going to be covering big mileages. There's also a 2.0 Turbo with 260PS but it seems pretty pointless in the Insignia Sports Tourer as it's thirsty.

The 1.6 CDTi is by far the most popular and two versions are available - one with 110PS or a 136PS model. A 2.0 CDTi with 170PS tops out the diesel line-up.

The majority of Insignias end up as company cars, so the 110PS and 136PS diesels are the most popular thanks to low emissions. They’re capable but uninspiring, with just enough performance to get the job done and nothing more. If you need extra punch then the 2.0 CDTi diesel provides it, but might be too pricey for some. In a car that’s predominantly aimed at company drivers it’s good to see petrol options.

The Insignia was tested by Euro NCAP in 2017 and awarded it a five star rating. It was given 93 per cent for adult protection, 85 per cent for child protection, with pedestrian mitigation also strong at 83 per cent. Safety assist was the lowest score at 69 per cent.

All versions of the Insignia are fitted with ESC as standard, as well as a comprehensive suite of additional driver safety systems including an active bonnet, automatic emergency braking for city and inter-urban speeds with pedestrian detection, speed assistance and lane assist.

The Sports Tourer is better equipped than most cars for towing as long as you choose the right spec. Skip the 1.6 diesel auto and most models offer 1405kg braked and between 730kg and 750kg unbraked.

The 2.0-litre diesel offers 1,950kg braked, while the 2.0-litre turbo petrol 4x4 GSi model goes up to a hefty 2200kg braked, although the fuel bill will climb too.

The low, flat and wide load deck is perfect for family life – getting things like golf bags, pushchairs and heavy shopping in and out is extremely easy plus there’s enough room to pack plenty of stuff in.

The little things are well thought out too. The load cover, for example, is easy to remove or refit without it getting stuck – and the rear seat backs can be folded down with one touch of the levers in the load area. Load capacity is 560 litres with the seats up or 1665 litres with them down – bigger than the Ford Mondeo but smaller than the Skoda Superb.

There’s more than a metre of width between the wheel arches and two metres of load length with the rear seats folded down. In simple terms, that means those occasional trips to buy furniture or empty the attic into a skip aren’t too much of a headache, because the load area is low, wide and long.

Elsewhere, the Insignia Sports Tourer is just like the saloon. That means comfortable seats and sturdy build, but the plastics don’t feel as plush those in, for example, a Volkswagen Passat. There are lots of little details that feel cheap, too, like fake chrome trim on the electric parking brake switch.

It’s a shame, because there are other bits that are great. The seats are really comfortable and have loads of adjustment, the touchscreen system – standard on all versions - is responsive and easy to use and the optional head-up display feels really high tech. It’s like Vauxhall almost cracked it, but fell at the last hurdle by leaving a few cheap details behind.

As standard, Insignia Sport Tourer models are fitted with a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, featuring DAB radio, Bluetooth for phone operation and audio streaming, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Design Nav, SRi Nav, Tech Line Nav and Elite Nav upgrade this system to an 8-inch screen and also add sat nav with European mapping as standard, while Elite Nav also includes a BOSE premium audio system and a digital instrument display.

To use, the touchscreen system is not always as intuitive as you might hope. The basic 7-inch screen is reasonably sized but the colour scheme is quite pale, so you need to fiddle with the settings to generate much in the way of contrast within the image.

The Insignia Sports Tourer was only on sale for three years, having been introduced in 2017 but taken off again in 2020 because of slow sales. You may still be able to find late 2020 examples that were pre-registered and so are virtually new.

A quick search of the classifieds turned up plenty of good spec SRi Nav and SRi VX-Line models with anything from 50 miles to 2,000 miles on the clock at knockdown prices.

You may be able to get a good finance deal from a Vauxhall dealer, but it will be down to the individual dealership as the car is no longer officially sold as new. We found several nearly-new examples for a little over £20,000, for a car that was at least £23,000 from new for the base model.

As for the older cars, they’re still quite young - most will have just had or be approaching their first MOT but still with relatively low mileages.

We found a 2017 2.0-litre diesel in SRi Nav trim with 30,000 miles for just £13,000, a saving of over £10,000 compared to a brand-new car. Be prepared to shop around as there are plenty of examples and you’ll even find some crossover in prices with the previous generation model, so be sure you’re looking at the later model.

The 1.5-litre petrols claim an official combined maximum of 42.8mpg, so real world high 30s is a reasonable expectation.

The 200PS petrol claims 39.2mpg, so low 30s is a more realistic prospect, while the 260PS GSi will be flat-out pricey. The 110PS 1.6-litre is the most frugal diesel, but the 136PS version is not far behind so it’s worth it if you need the extra punch.

As for insurance groups, the Insignia Sports Tourer manages to get itself down into quite low groupings. The 1.5-litre 140PS petrol in basic Design trim is in group 14, while the most powerful diesel only gets as high as group 20. Higher trim levels such as SRi and Elite move tend to move up a group for the same engines, while the most powerful GSi Nav model is up in groups 27 and 28.

When it comes to reliability, Vauxhall’s record is a little bit mixed, so expect the Insignia Sports Tourer to be pretty middling in terms of longevity. It does feel quite well built inside, even if the material quality isn’t brilliant.

Even the basic Design trim has a strong standard specification, with 17-inch wheels, auto lights, electric windows, keyless entry and start, air conditioning, cruise control, speed limiter, leather covered steering wheel with audio and phone controls, Intellilink touchscreen with Bluetooth, DAB, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, OnStar, front collision alert, lane assist and lane departure warning all included.

It’s a popular model on the used market too, so you’re not missing out on any crucial kit by going for this option.

If you want a bit more luxury and a higher specification, we’d suggest going for SRi Nav models or above, as these add dual-zone climate control, more supportive sports front seats and twin USB ports in the rear. As the name suggests it also adds in European navigation.