Just like the Astra that it shares a platform with, the Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport is practical, good to drive and quiet on the move - so it’s a top choice if you’re after a large family car.
However, the market for these cars is shrinking, as more and more people flock to SUVs and premium cars such as the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 that leaves the Insignia with few direct rivals. One is the Skoda Superb, which is a tough competitor and one of our favourite family cars - and while the Vauxhall is close, it still falls behind the Skoda for interior quality and practicality - two key areas for a family.
Buy at a good price and the Insignia Grand Sport is still a top choice if you are looking for a huge family car - it doesn’t have the trendy looks of an SUV, but it beats those heavy, high-riding cars on ride comfort, handling and refinement.
The new Vauxhall Insignia is quite different from what came before, with a large, flat grille on the front, stylised daytime running lights and sculpted doors at the sides. The long bonnet features a crease right in the middle, and the boot lid has a subtle spoiler.
It’s an understated look, but more elegant than the previous Insignia and undeniably more eye-catching than most of its rivals. The only thing that can really spoil the look is the ugly rear wiper, which sticks out of the bootlid like something from the 1970s.
The interior design will be familiar to anyone who has driven a current-generation Vauxhall Astra, and while it’s technically a new design, many elements are very similar, including the steering wheel, media controls and other instruments.
Material quality is good, and the fit and finish is even a match for the excellent Skoda Superb – but the hard plastics and dull design mean the Insignia Grand Sport will never beat the A4 or 3 Series for perceived quality.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
Vauxhall’s headline feature is OnStar, which brings a concierge service via a telephone connection. The connection means there’s also Wi-Fi included in the price, which is excellent for a car in this price range. The Intellilink infotainment system also features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as sat-nav and wireless sharing tech.
There’s a Bose sound system available, though it’s not as high-end as the systems in BMWs and Audis. Still, the Vauxhall is very well equipped when it comes to infotainment, and though the screen could look classier in terms of user interface, it certainly has a lot of functionality.
Vauxhall has worked hard on the new Insignia to help its ride and handling, and it really has paid off. It’s smooth at low speed, and while you’ll notice bigger bumps when moving a bit faster, the compliant suspension set-up keeps things impressively composed overall.
Even on the motorway, road and wind noise isn’t intrusive, and the 1.5-litre petrol in particular remains very quiet. It’s great at long distance travel, in fact, and will suit company car buyers who do a lot of miles, very well.
Plus, the Grand Sport is good fun on a twisty road, with tidy and enjoyable handling. The steering is well weighted and there’s enough feel to place the car on the road in confidence. There’s a bit of body roll, but weight savings over the previous model mean it’s more agile than you’d expect for a car of its size.
While it’s more fun than a Mondeo or Passat, the BMW 3 Series is still the best car of this size to drive - and a Skoda Superb is better in other ways, including the slicker manual gear change and more comfortable driving position.
Engines
The smallest 1.5-litre petrol engine that powers the cheaper Insignia models is a decent unit, and although it feels a bit underpowered in 138bhp form, there’s always the very slightly more expensive 163bhp version to go for instead. It’s quiet and punchy enough for motorway overtakes without too much effort.
The top 2.0-litre petrol engine is brisk, but doesn’t feel as potent the top-spec petrol Skoda Superb, which has a 278bhp engine under the bonnet.
Vauxhall’s ’Turbo D’ badged diesels come in 1.6-litre (108bhp and 134bhp) and 2.0-litre (168bhp) forms. Strong torque figures mean they all feel at least decently punchy, are economical and remain quiet on the move as well.
Vauxhall finished 23rd overall in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey in 2017, which was pretty poor and a shame for the British brand. With 10.6 per cent of owners reporting a fault in their ownership, Vauxhalls are about as reliable as rival brands Renault and Skoda, which has similar fault rates in our poll. Vauxhall fell behind in the poll as it failed to score well in any specific category, though it didn’t score badly in any area either.
In 2017 the Insignia scored five stars for crash safety from Euro NCAP, with strong scores in every category. 93 per cent for adult protection is excellent, and 78 per cent for pedestrian safety is nearly twice as good as the previous-generation car’s score.
Warranty
Vauxhall offers the industry-standard three-year warranty with the Grand Sport, limited to 60,000 miles in the last year of cover. You also get six years of rust coverage for the bodywork.
Servicing
Vauxhall offers fixed-price service plans that you can pay for monthly alongside your PCP deal, if you choose to buy the car that way. There’s even a free service club you can join that gets you money off the services if you don’t have the fixed-price plan.
The Insignia Grand Sport has grown, and is available as both a saloon-like hatchback and an estate called the Sport Tourer. There’s decent visibility from the large window area, though the high sides do make tight parking spaces a pain. There’s plenty of cabin storage front and rear, as the Vauxhall is spacious enough to allow extra room for water bottles and snacks.
Size
The Insignia Grand Sport is 4,897mm long, 1,863mm wide and 1,455mm high, which makes it slightly bigger than the 4,861mm by 1,864mm by 1,468mm Skoda Superb - though it is a little lower.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
That doesn’t mean there’s not enough headroom, though as even in the rear there’s more than enough space for passengers to get comfortable. Similarly there’s plenty of legroom even behind taller drivers. It’s on a par with the notoriously spacious Skoda Superb for interior space.
Boot
While the 490-litre boot isn’t as massive as the 625-litre load area in the Skoda Superb, the Vauxhall’s total load area, with the rear seats folded, is 1,450 litres. That’s also behind the Skoda, but it’s still plentiful. The boot opens nice and wide, so getting larger items in and out is easy enough.
If you want a petrol-powered Insignia Grand Sport, you can choose from two versions of the 1.5-litre engine or the high-power 2.0-litre model. The lower-powered 1.5 will return 47.9mpg on the combined test cycle, with emissions of 133g/km of CO2. Move up to the slightly more powerful 163bhp version and those figures drop to 47.1mpg and 136g/km of CO2, but it’s such a small difference that it still feels like the best engine to go for if you’re keen on petrol power.
The 2.0-litre turbo petrol is thirsty, returning 32.8mpg and emitting 197g/km of CO2. That’s partly thanks to the heavy 4x4 system it comes with.
Go for a diesel if you’d like to save some money on running costs. The 108bhp version emits 105g/km of CO2 and returns 70.6mpg, which is excellent. The 134bhp 1.6-litre diesel returns 55.4mpg and emits 134g/km of CO2 in automatic form, but go for a manual and it’l manage 65.7mpg and 114g/km of CO2.
Depreciation
According to our data on residual values, the Insignia Grand Sport won’t hold its value as well as the premium cars it apes. With a predicted residual value of around 37 per cent across the range, most versions will lose over £7,000 after three years and 30,000 miles. With German rivals from BMW and Audi holding on to more than 40 per cent of their value over the same period, the Vauxhall doesn’t look like a depreciation winner.
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