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The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer didn’t last very long at all in its most recent iteration, disappearing in 2019 despite having only been launched in 2017. That means there aren’t a huge number on the market, but it could still be worth a look if you’re after a large family estate.
Handsome styling clothes a large interior that very few cars in the class can out-do for space either front or rear, and despite a sloping roofline, there’s a decent boot too. Vauxhall even offered a pseudo off-road Country Tourer version.
Big, non-premium estates are a disappearing breed but still relatively easy to find on the used market, so some Sports Tourer alternatives include the Skoda Superb Estate, Volkswagen Passat Estate, Ford Mondeo Estate, Peugeot 508 SW, and Volvo V90.
If you want a large estate car capable of carrying both people and luggage, but don’t want to deal with the expense of a premium-badged model, then the Insignia Sports Tourer should be on your shortlist. Don’t let the fact it was on sale for only a few years put you off, as Vauxhall got a lot right with its last big estate.
A handful of rivals can offer bigger boots, but the Sports Tourer’s 560-litre space is far from shabby, and it’s among the best in class for rear seat headroom and legroom, making it a car that can genuinely seat four adults, and even the tallest teenagers shouldn’t have much to complain about. A low loading lip to the boot is useful, but the Insignia’s space means it’s quite a big car, at nearly five metres long, so bear that in mind depending on where you park.
The rest of the interior is standard Vauxhall, which is to say sensibly laid out, comfortable, and pretty well built, but not particularly interesting to look at or interact with. All Sports Tourers get an infotainment screen though and equipment levels were fairly generous even in base models.
The large wheels offered on a lot of trim levels give the ride comfort a firm edge, and the FlexRide adaptive dampers on some don’t fix that entirely. Stick to smaller wheels if you want the best ride. It’s no sports car either way, though it’s still capable enough in turns. You can read our advice on engine choice a little further down.
One of few rivals that out-does the Sports Tourer for space is the Skoda Superb Estate, so that’s one to consider if the Vauxhall doesn’t quite meet your needs. The Volkswagen Passat Estate, Ford Mondeo Estate, and Peugeot 508 SW are all strong options too, with varying levels of driver appeal and interior space.
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Of the petrol models we’d go for the 1.5-litre turbo with 165PS, which has a good mix of performance and economy and avoids the thirst of the much more powerful 2-litre turbo 4x4 versions, and either the 136PS or 170PS diesels will suit most buyers with more miles to cover.
You’re spoiled for choice with trim levels, but there’s a lot to be said for the basic Design trim, which actually isn’t that basic. You may want to find an SRi for its parking sensors though. Anything badged ‘Nav’ gets a larger 8-inch touchscreen, but as the built-in navigation may be getting out of date by now, we’d not make finding one a priority.
The variety of Insignia Sports Tourer trim lines looks like something out of a Vauxhall Cavalier brochure from the 1990s, especially when combined with the breadth of engine and transmissions on offer. The list below summarises the main equipment differences but is by no means comprehensive, especially given various colours and options were also available when new.
The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer’s dimensions are:
The Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer’s boot size is:
Look out for the GSi Nav versions, as some of these crept over the £40,000 mark when brand new, and that’s the point at which cars attract a VED surcharge, lifting your annual tax bill to £570 per year from years two to six of registration. All other models get a slightly less eye-widening £180 annual bill.
At the bottom of the range, a 1.4-litre Turbo in Design trim starts in insurance group 14. The 2-litre diesels go up to group 20 and the lowest insurance group on a 4x4 variant is 25 - while the GSi is group 27 for the petrol and group 28 for the diesel. This compares with the groups 14-31 of a Skoda Superb Estate of equivalent age, so it’s in the same ballpark.
Read our full Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer review