Used Vauxhall Insignia VXR 2009-2017 review

With headline outputs of 321bhp and 321lb ft of torque, both peaking at 5250rpm, the Vauxhall Insignia VXR is more powerful than all of its chosen rivals apart from the 349bhp Audi S4, but this isn’t reflected in its performance on the road. 

The turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 is a large, lazily boosted engine that gives a smooth build-up of power, virtually free from the sudden, non-linear turbo surge that afflicts the Astra VXR. But while the engine spins freely and quickly, initial acceleration is surprisingly leisurely (first and second gears are torque-limited). At lower revs you either have to be patient or work the gear lever hard to achieve the level of acceleration or speed required. 

The performance from the standard Brembo brakes is excellent

Nic Cackett

Road tester

Things pick up as the turbo kicks in and you climb higher up the rev range. Performance here is strong, if not as outright quick as Vauxhall might like. In the Sport Tourer version, we recorded a two-way average 0-60mph figure of 6.7sec – completed with two occupants – lags well behind the claimed figure of 5.9sec and leaves the VXR trailing its closest rivals in a straight line. The five-door and four-door variants both claim a 5.6sec dash to 62mph.

On track, or during overtaking on the road, you soon learn to keep the car in the upper reaches of its rev range as much as possible in order to stay within its strongest performance band. It’s no particular chore, thanks to the slick gearshift (which could be shorter but still offers a rewarding level of resistance and precision) and the vocal Remus exhaust, which will thrill the majority of enthusiasts but could irritate those sitting in the back.

There are three performance modes to choose from: Normal, Sport and VXR. The latter is the most sporting and stiffens the dampers, weights up the steering and sharpens throttle response, but even in this setting the amount of throttle pedal travel and revs needed for a smooth downchange makes heel-and-toeing difficult – a fact that frustrates on the track.

Brake pedal travel suffered after extensive testing, but otherwise the performance from the standard Brembo brakes was always excellent, with 70-0mph achieved in just 45.3 metres, or 52.0 metres in the wet.