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Driven: facelifted Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.

Driven: facelifted Vauxhall Insignia
Unwanted rep-mobile image aside, the revised Vauxhall Insignia is a proficient machine.

   



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| Test drive | Vauxhall Insignia |

Overall rating: 4 4 4 4 4

Good points: appealing looks, improved interior, range, strong dynamics.
Not so good: secondary ride occasionally unsettled, engine a little bit dated in diesel terms.

Key Facts

Model tested: Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 CDTi SRi 140 Nav EcoFlex
Pricing: £21,649 standard, £22,674 as tested; Insignia range starts from £16,479
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: five-door hatchback
Rivals: Ford Mondeo, Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat
CO2 emissions: 99g/km
Combined economy: 76.3mpg
Top speed: 127mph
0-62mph: 10.5 seconds
Power: 140hp at 4,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm at 1,750rpm

Our view:

Before you dismiss a grey Vauxhall diesel as 15-foot of metallic anonymity, we think the Insignia has always been a handsome hatch and the recent facelift has improved the design. Although we'd suggest that in a quick 'old versus new' spot test on the GM executive responsible for D-segment cars, identifying the upgraded front end would represent a serious challenge. It's a series of minor revisions that don't jump out, such as a wider, repositioned grille, revised chrome bar and lower chrome inserts. However, the back is easier to register, with its elegant wide light clusters and revised boot-lip spoiler.

The interior is vastly improved and this SRi Nav model was fitted with the Intellilink navigation system (the clue is in the badging) and touchscreen, which is easy to use. A slightly odd thing - the navigation uses a tiny rendering of an Insignia to show your position, but it looks like a pre-facelift 'small rear lights' model; come on, Vauxhall, keep up. However, the rest of the cabin is fine, if not hugely inspiring, though the optional TFT display in the main instrument cluster is excellent. What a shame, then, that Vauxhall chose to persist with the starkly revealing juxtaposition of old-school analogue gauges, which look like they're out of a Carlton CDX, alongside it. If we may paraphrase, go all TFT or go home. Oh, and the small touchpad controller that you can 'write' on behind the gear lever - don't bother, it's too fiddly.

To people of a certain age, SRi used to mean a warm performance model in the pre-VXR days. Now, it's next-to-entry-level and you need to step up to VX-Line (around £2,000 more) to get a body kit that'll beef up the Insignia. However, the SRi does get revised suspension and the chassis upgrades make for a surprisingly capable handler that sits somewhat at odds with its plain-Jane exterior.

It has steering that is more communicative than set-ups in cars supposedly far more focused on driving enjoyment than this is, with lovely weight to it. It also doesn't roll or present the feeling of movement from its relatively high-sidewall tyres, on the standard 17-inch rims, which means placing it accurately on any given road is a cinch. It is a very well-sorted motor.

Some examples: on the tight, sweeping right-hander that leads off the M1 southbound onto the M25 anti-clockwise, it held a nerveless 70mph and didn't feel like it wanted to understeer off into central Watford. All right, so motorway slip-roads aren't the most testing arena. But bouncy country lanes are, and the Insignia swallowed one particularly feisty stretch with ease, remaining planted at all times. The gear lever is tactile and controls a sweet change action, while the brakes are solid; it's all very accomplished.

Not so good are the engine and the secondary ride. The revised CDTi diesel engine is fine enough with loads of low-down muscle and reasonably quiet manners, but it's more obviously a diesel than leading comparable units from other manufacturers, such as the superior Volkswagen Group lump. And the gear ratios are longer than ideal, which means that, in the endless 50mph zones that blight modern motorways, you can be shuffling between fifth and sixth as the engine labours in the latter if you drop below 50mph. The ride is generally placid but occasionally, at speed, it can get restive over corrugated surfaces; the '1940s airstrip' section of the A46 just north of Leicester upset it more than strictly necessary for instance. For all its shocking mundaneness, the Mk1 Vectra soaked up minor imperfections better.

Still, for covering long distances, the Insignia hits its straps. So onto economy. We picked this model because it's the one advertised as being capable of a theoretical 1,175 miles on its 15.4-gallon tank. This is if it could run at its quoted 76.3mpg combined figure all of the time. Which it can't. It can, in the real world, achieve the high 50s without holding up motorway traffic, which is commendable. Clearly, though, the Insignia itself doesn't know how far it can go because the trip computer's range varied wildly. It arrived showing just over 600 miles to empty on a full tank, drove 150 miles using a quarter of its diesel in the process and the range had increased by the end of the drive. I pootled a few miles round town over two days and slashed 130 miles from its reading in the process, then went 150 miles more and it reckoned it could do another 450 miles off the remaining half a tank. So, somewhere in the vicinity of 750 miles in total wouldn't be out of the question. For a massive, attractive hatchback that costs nothing to tax thanks to its paltry emissions and drives in such a civil manner for the vast majority of the time, we're impressed.

As a man who has owned two Mondeos and who has always leaned toward Essex products over those from Bedfordshire, I didn't think a fairly boggo Insignia designed for long M1 schleps would appeal quite as much as it did. It's a capable all-round package and if you were given one as a company car, you'd be more than happy. It bodes well for our next Insignia assignment; a week with the model at the opposite end of the range, the VXR Supersport. Can't wait.

Alternatives:

Ford Mondeo: good as the MkIV is, it's dated now and a new one is on the way. The Insignia has the edge in most respects.

Skoda Superb: big Czech offers conspicuous value for money and high levels of customer satisfaction; drive is comparable to that offered by Insignia.

Volkswagen Passat: without resorting to a Google search, try and think what the seventh-gen car looks like... precisely. Boringly competent in many respects, though.


Matt Robinson - 1 May 2014



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2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.



2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 

2014 Vauxhall Insignia. Image by Matt Robinson.
 






 

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