FAMILY QUESTIONS OF SPORT (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_insigniasportstourer_2018

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 82

In second generation form, the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer, sold between 2017 and 2020, gained a much more up-market demeanour, with greater class, refinement and sophistication. Handling was more agile too, thanks in large part to the considerable weight reductions this MK2 model could offer, savings made all the more impressive bearing in mind how much bigger this car became than its predecessor. Add in extremely competitive pricing and there are all the ingredients for an attractive used car market family pick.

Modelsword count: 17

Models Covered: (5-door Estate) 1.5, 1.6 petrol / 2.0 CDTi diesel [Design, SRi, Elite, GSi, Country Tourer])

Historyword count: 300

Even if you'd written the estate car off as an out-moded product, it might still be worth giving the modern take on the genre another chance. If so, there are few better places to start than Vauxhall's second generation Insignia Sports Tourer, sold between 2017 and 2020. There's a strong engine range, smart styling and even the promise of an SUV-inspired fashionable 4WD 'Country Tourer' variant at the top of the line-up. Many predicted that MPVs and SUVs would be the death of the estate car. There's no doubt that they dragged it into an alleyway and roughed it up a bit, but they failed to finish the job and the classic station wagon was still fighting its corner as the 21st century's second decade came to a close. With a smaller section of the market to compete over, the top estate products got their acts together in the 2017-2020 period. They became more keenly differentiated from the saloons and hatchbacks that spawned them, with sleeker styling and more innovative and practical load areas. As was the case here. An enormous investment was poured into making this second generation Insignia Sports Tourer almost unrecognisably better than its predecessor. Think of virtually any feature you might want in a premium model from this period and the chances are that this Vauxhall offers it with classy packaging at a vast list price saving. Plus a longer wheelbase in this MK2 model meant a substantially greater seats-down carriage capacity and a significant amount more space for rear seat occupants than this car's predecessor could offer. And this car claimed class-leading levels of media connectivity. It wasn't enough to save it though. When the time came for the second generation Insignia to be updated in 2020, this estate variant was dropped from the range.

What You Getword count: 330

You might not previously have perceived the idea of running a mid-sized Vauxhall estate car as being in any way aspirational. Perhaps you need to think again. This MK2 estate Insignia might have campaigned in much the same market segment as its predecessor, but it moved up a class in almost any way you care to name, most particularly in style and size. But this is an estate car and you're going to want to know just how practical it's going to be for your family needs. The tailgate rises to reveal 560-litres of carriage space. If you want to carry longer items but still need to take rear seat passengers, then the provided 40:20:40 split-rear bench will be a boon, allowing you to easily push through lengthier things like skis. Dropping the rear bench can be done easily using switches on either side of the cargo area side wall, a process that frees up 1,665-litres of fresh air. Up front, there's an enormous improvement over what was served up by the previous Insignia. Fit and finish is almost a match for the premium brands from this period and in the instrument binnacle, there's a smart and configurable centre colour screen that's either 4.2-inches or 8-inches in size, depending on trim. Anything that can't tell you will almost certainly be found on the centre-dash Intellilink infotainment monitor, On an Insignia model that features Navigation, this monitor is 8-inches in size and as you'd expect, is compatible with the 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' 'phone connectivity systems, activated via a 'Projection' screen option. More familiar infotainment inclusions run to the usual Bluetooth, DAB stereo and informational features. Once inside at the rear, you really notice the benefits of this second generation model's extra 92mm of wheelbase. As you'd expect from a car that's now nearly 5-metres in length (so nearly as long as an enormous Audi Q7 SUV), there's plenty of room for one really tall adult to sit behind another.

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