Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer long-term test review
With four-wheel drive and a powerful yet frugal diesel engine, the spacious Vauxhall Insignia estate could be all the car you need. We've added one to our long-term fleet to see if it delivers...
- The car: Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 BiTurbo D Elite Nav 4x4 auto
- Run by: Mitch McCabe, head of video
- Why it’s here: To see if Vauxhall’s flagship offers an unbeatable combination of practicality, value and executive comfort in estate form?
- Needs to: Be economical over a large mileage, accommodate lots of luggage and provide enough creature comforts to outshine rivals
Price £28,695 Price as tested £29,495 Miles 9108 Official economy 40.0mpg Test economy 34.2mpg Options fitted Driver Assist Pack 4 (£650), two-coat metallic paint (£565), Winter Pack 2 (£400), FlexOrganiser (£120)
7 August 2018 – Adding Adblue
It all seemed a little dramatic. ‘Action Required’ the dashboard warning light glared, ‘Engine Restart Prevented in so and so miles’.
The centre section of the dials, ordinarily a digital display for range, MPG and sat-nav directions, was completely blocked from use.
You see, as I was passing roughly the 9000-mile mark, the Insignia Sports Tourer needed a top up of AdBlue, the ammonia-based fluid that keeps diesel emissions down.
Clearly, to protect the engine from running with the wrong mix of liquids and therefore increasing emissions, Vauxhall has engineered the Insignia to not run without an acceptable level of AdBlue, and there are plenty of cars that will do the same. So, to avoid a long walk to source AdBlue and rid myself of the annoying warning message, I stopped at a service station to top up.
It’s not obvious how big the AdBlue tank on the Sports Tourer is, however. So I bought and inserted five litres. Not enough, apparently. Another 10 litres glugged down by the Vauxhall were enough to arrest the dashboard hissy fit – at least for now.
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