Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice

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Thu 17 May 2018 00:38
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - hoppyposh

Hi all. I need to get a bigger car to replace my Hyundai i20 (14 plate) due to a growing family. Practicality is key, so a big boot is essential. Budget 5-7k ideally.
I like the insignias but there are a lot of high mileage ones, 100k plus and not sure if those are too risky to buy?
Any advice welcome.

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Thu 17 May 2018 00:45
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - Avant

You'd find a Ford Mondeo or Skoda Superb better to drive than an Insignia. The sloghtly smaller Skoda Octavia is also very spacious.

In each case go for the estate: more practical than the hatch but little if any onger.

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Thu 17 May 2018 00:51
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - hoppyposh

Thanks. We only do 10k a year mileage as well so I'm presuming diesels aren't recommended?

Are the superb and Octavia previous model a good car still? Hoping tax wouldn't be too high on the petrol. Mondeos are quite high.

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Thu 17 May 2018 14:29
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - SLO76
“Are the superb and Octavia previous model a good car still? Hoping tax wouldn't be too high on the petrol. Mondeos are quite high.”

They’re a bit hit and miss. The early chain driven TSi petrols are bad for timing chain failure but the later post 2013 cars will probably be too much money. The 1.6 diesels are bad for EGR and DPF problems until 2014 too. A good car but for you I’d say no unless you can get a newer one.

As for the tax issue, well you’re better paying an extra £100 or so a year on a reliable car than one that’s gonna sting you for £1k bills every few years. Thus the reason why petrol is usually best despite the higher tax.
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Thu 17 May 2018 07:46
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - SLO76
The Insignia uses a Fiat Diesel engine in the bulk of models 1.6 and 2.0 both of which (the 2.0 in particular) are prone to loads of problems as the miles rack up. Ask anyone who’s tried to taxi one and you’ll hear loads of expensive woe. The petrol engines are generally robust (though the 1.8 VVT can suffer VVT pulley problems) but they’re fairly rare especially in the Estate. It’s not a car I’d recommend to you.

For your modest budget and relatively low annual mileage I’d stick with petrol and try to find something with a Japanese engine. The following list are all worthy of a look.

Ford Focus Estate 1.6 petrol
Toyota Avensis 1.8/2.0 petrol (watch for electronic parking brake issues though)
Mazda 6 1.8/2.0 petrol
Mazda 5 1.8/2.0 petrol
Toyota Verso 1.6/1.8petrol
Honda Accord 2.0 petrol (the 2.2 diesel is ok but can suffer DPF problems with low mileage use)
Honda Civic 1.8 petrol (the estate is out of budget but the hatch has loads of room inside)
Volvo V50 1.6/1.8 petrol (basically a Ford Focus but with a bit more class)
Kia Cee’d 1.6 petrol

Diesels are far more complex and prone to expensive problems at the money and mileage you’re talking about so I’d avoid in 99% of cases. It’s a complete false economy.

Edited by SLO76 on 17/05/2018 at 07:48

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Thu 17 May 2018 09:54
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - hoppyposh

Many thanks, a big help and I think the Insignia is now a non runner. The problem looking at all those is that there are very few petrols available. They all seem to be diesels!

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Thu 17 May 2018 11:25
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - skidpan

Are the superb and Octavia previous model a good car still? Hoping tax wouldn't be too high on the petrol. Mondeos are quite high.

The 1.4 TSi Skoda are magic cars especially the 140 and 150 PS versions. Our 2017 Superb 150 PS 1.4 TSi is £30 a year tax and averages about 44 mpg, way more on a long trip.

We have tried 4 Octavias over the years and have been disapointed with refinement on the Estates. Road roar/boom can be deafening. 2 were 1.4 TSi's and 1 a 2.0 diesel. But we did try a 1.4 TSI hatch and that seemed fine. Even that hatch has a huge boot so still worth a look and you would get a newer hatch than estate for your money.

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Thu 17 May 2018 11:59
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - barney100

My Daughter has an Insignia estate and it's been fine. I have a Volvo V70 2.4 with 100k and it's a great workhorse and not bad to drive, swallows sofas, dogs and grandfather clocks. Merceds D estates and Volvos will just run up to starship mileages.

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Thu 17 May 2018 14:31
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - SLO76
“My Daughter has an Insignia estate and it's been fine. I have a Volvo V70 2.4 with 100k and it's a great workhorse and not bad to drive, swallows sofas, dogs and grandfather clocks. Merceds D estates and Volvos will just run up to starship mileages.”

She’s been lucky and yes the Volvo’s can run and run if looked after if you avoid the rather notorious 1.6 PSA diesels.
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Thu 17 May 2018 19:06
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - barney100

What are the pitfalls with the Insignias? I haven't had a Vauxhall since my old Victor and that succombed to the tin worm rather than mechanical faults. Just had a Mercedes E class 220 take us to Stansted, this car had 335k on the clock and was in great condition.

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Thu 17 May 2018 20:07
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - SLO76
“What are the pitfalls with the Insignias?“

Mostly engine problems with the Fiat diesels. Honestly, you really don’t want one. I know it looks good and it feels solid but mechanically these are not robust cars. Three words you need to have ringing in your ears when shopping on a limited budget... keep it simple.

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Thu 17 May 2018 21:32
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - hoppyposh

I've seen this Octavia which looks quite promising. What do you think?

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/20180318469...6

The 1.4 petrol gets decent reviews and it's a top spec for the time.

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Thu 17 May 2018 22:28
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - bazza

Pretty sure that will have the older chain driven TSi, which has a number of reliability issues such as timing chain/tensioner weaknesses, oil consumption etc. You need to be looking at the MK 3 Octavia with the belt-driven Tsi, current engine, which is so far at least proving more robust. I would avoid the earlier one.

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Thu 17 May 2018 22:41
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - Alby Back
May or may not be useful, but the sales reps at my workplace all have estates. A selection of Mondeos, Insignias and Passats.

The cars work hard for a living all doing more than 40,000 miles a year.

The only ones we never seem to have any problems with are the Fords. They seem to take the miles much better than the others. ( 2.0 diesels and a mixture of autos and manuals )

Might be happenstance but it's a pretty much recurring theme over a good number of years.
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Thu 17 May 2018 23:14
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - SLO76
“I've seen this Octavia which looks quite promising. What do you think?”

No touchy... tis chain driven TSi with timing chain seemingly made from cheese. Problems are rife with these and I’m surprised a main dealer would retail it. Again the Octavia is best avoided unless you’re prepared/able to spend a lot more money. A 1.8 Honda Civic would be a far far more reliable car with nearly the same space. It’ll do 45mpg on a run driven in moderation and there’s no real worries with one of these.

Here’s a recent thread regarding a failure of the larger 2.0 TSi motor in a Golf GTI which is worth reading... www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/123824/vw-glf-gti-...f

Edited by SLO76 on 17/05/2018 at 23:33

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Fri 18 May 2018 07:37
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - daveyK_UK
Toyota avensis
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Fri 18 May 2018 11:28
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - lordwoody

"The 1.4 TSi Skoda are magic cars"

Bit carried away with the hyperbole there I think.

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Fri 18 May 2018 12:02
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - MGspannerman
After some research I bought a petrol Toyota Avensis estate. Mine happens to be the CVT auto version. Just read the reviews from owners on this and other sites. These are about as bombproof as they get and are capable of 150/200k problem free miles over many years of service, the saloon has a good sized boot and the estate as much room as anyone can reasonably require. My local Toyota dealer is excellent and good value.

For your money you might even get one from a main dealer with the benefit of a (genuine) one year warranty. They are not at the leading edge of any one aspect of automotive design, but overall make a very good well rounded package. At your mileage avoid diesel, and expect 35-40mpg from a petrol. If you can get an automatic/CVT then do so, the CVT boxes are amongst the most reliable. If you are not knowledgeable with regard to cars then buying a Toyota from a reputable dealer is probably the lowest risk approach, even if you pay a few pounds more to get a well prepared and presented vehicle.
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Fri 18 May 2018 12:14
Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer - Family car with big boot advice - John F

Having had good experience with many years of three reliable Audis I would probably go for one of the many A6 Avants available in your budget range. If you only do 10k a year you can take a risk with a high miler. If it's done a well cared for 100,000m without problems, there's a good chance it'll do another 50k/5yrs for you, if not more.

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