Vauxhall Insignia Sport Tourer 1.5 Turbo 165 2017 first drive

Another unexplored corner of the Vauxhall Insignia model range. Vauxhall’s family-sized saloon and estate is available with a trio of petrol engines, the middle-sitting 1.5-litre turbocharged option developing 163bhp. We’ve already tested the new wagon in entry-level 138bhp petrol form, and in saloon guise as the 256bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol range-topper. Now is our first chance to find out if the middle-sitting option is the sweetest of all three.

In the enlarged estate version of the Insignia, that engine makes for claimed fuel economy of 46.3mpg combined, rated CO2 emissions of 139g/km and claimed 0-62mph acceleration in under eight-and-a-half seconds. An equivalent Ford Mondeo is not only more expensive but marginally slower-accelerating, though a natch more fuel-efficient; a like-for-like Skoda Octavia has the Vauxhall beaten across the board and by bigger margins.

But then neither the Ford nor the Skoda quite equal the Insignia on all-round value for money – the big Vauxhall combining a sub-£20k asking price with a near-600-litre boot, a very room cabin, competitive performance and economy claims, and a standard equipment list that includes touchscreen navigation, smartphone mirroring and an in-car wifi hotspot. 

Refined, flexible and fairly economical. This isn’t the first representative of the more affordable end of the Insignia range to impress us, mind you – and if you’re interested in this car for the reasons we expect you to be, it’ll be the more affordable models you’ll probably be interested in. But, just like the 108bhp 1.6-litre CDTI, this Insignia has the accessible torque to move what’s undoubtedly a large car’s mass quite easily, not to mention good cruising manners and creditable efficiency.

The engine settles to a distant hum at idle, staying smooth and quiet through typical operating revs right up until close to the redline. In cars priced as aggressively as the Insignia, mechanical refinement isn’t a quality you expect, but this one certainly has it – and enough of it even to clinch a marginal buying decision if such things are high among your priorities. Don’t expect premium-branded equivalents to necessarily be quieter.

The car’s controls are medium-weighted and all perfectly pleasant to use, with little notch or spring to the manual gearlever’s action and a well-tuned clutch. Getting the car moving is easy, therefore – and, though there’s less need than you might think to hop up and down that gearbox in order to preserve your momentum, when you need to change gear it’s never a chore.