New Vauxhall Insignia: prices, specs, release date

The new Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport will cost from around £1,500 less than the outgoing model, and has been officially unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.

Vauxhall claims the new Insignia Grand Sport, which starts at £17,115 on the road, will cost up to £5,691 less over its lifetime to run than comparable versions of the Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mondeo.

There’s good news for company-car drivers, too, as the Insignia Grand Sport can cost up to £1,983 less in tax over four years than comparable Passat and Skoda Superb models.

As with the outgoing Vauxhall Insignia, the new Insignia Grand Sport has a bewildering range of trim levels. Here, they include Design, Design Nav, SRi, SRi Nav, SRi VX-Line Nav, Tech Line Nav and Elite Nav.

The Insignia Grand Sport is the first Vauxhall to feature the firm’s new 138bhp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, but the running-costs champion is likely to be the 1.6-litre diesel, available in 109 and 134bhp guises. The former records CO2 emissions of 105g/km.

The new Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport is on sale now – read our review here.

Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport design

Vauxhall says the new Insignia Grand Sport will be up to 175kg lighter than the current Insignia. This – together with turbocharged engines and impressive aerodynamic slipperiness – should make it significantly more economical, too.

The Insignia Grand Sport is lower and more angular than the Insignia. The distance between the wheels is one centimetre wider than before, and over nine centimetres longer. That should mean the Grand Sport will build on the already plentiful space inside the current car. Even so, Vauxhall says the Insignia Grand Sport’s length is “largely unchanged”, thanks to shorter front and rear wings that should mean it’s no harder to park.

The Insignia Grand Sport’s lights are also noteworthy. The rear lights are LEDs, designed to emphasis the car’s width, while at the front the company’s latest ‘IntelliLux’ matrix headlights will be offered. These comprise 32 individual LED beams that can be illuminated individually and in groups – effectively providing the visibility offered by full-beam headlights without dazzling oncoming drivers.

The outgoing Insignia has always had a reputation for being an extremely competent car and a highly capable motorway cruiser. However, it’s rarely described as exciting. That could change here, though: the driver sits three centimetres lower than before, something designed to promote feelings of sportiness and connection with the road.

Four-wheel drive will also be available with torque vectoring – a sophisticated system that provides the outside rear wheel with more power when cornering to improve grip. The effectiveness of this can be selected through Tour and Sport modes.

Vauxhall’s FlexRide system will be another option. This adjusts the suspension, accelerator and steering responses depending on whether standard, sport or tour mode is selected.

Engines

Most Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport buyers will choose one of the diesels. There are two versions of the same 1.6-litre available, one producing 109bhp and the other 134bhp. The former, available only with a manual gearbox, is the fuel-economy champion of the range, with CO2 emissions of 105g/km. A 168bhp 2.0-litre diesel will also be offered, with a choice of manual or automatic gearboxes.

Two petrol engines will be available, including an all-new 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, which replaces both the 1.4 and 1.8-litre engines in the old car and is available in 138 and 163bhp power outputs. That engine is available with a six-speed manual gearbox. The other petrol choice is a new 258bhp 2.0-litre turbo paired with an automatic gearbox. With four-wheel drive, it’s likely to be capable of a 0-62mph dash in the low seven-second range.

The Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport will feature an advanced four-wheel-drive system with torque vectoring on some models.

Torque vectoring allows a car to send torque – twisting force – to individual wheels when cornering. In order to reduce weight and complexity, four-wheel-drive versions of the Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport will have a rear-drive module that sends additional torque to the outside rear wheel to make the car more stable and steerable.

Interior & comfort

Vauxhall has made great improvements in interior design recently, as evidenced in the latest Astra, and the Insignia Grand Sport looks set to follow that trend. It may not be revolutionary inside, but it’s resolutely sleek and minimalist.

Piano-black plastics dominate the centre console, looking both smart and on-trend, while the frameless infotainment screen – which features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard – is neatly integrated into the upper dashboard. It’s good to see the heating and ventilation functions get their own dedicated physical knobs, rather than being integrated into the touchscreen.

Keyless entry and go will be standard on all trim levels, as is Vauxhall’s OnStar concierge service. This contacts the emergency services for you automatically in the event of a serious collision, while call handlers in a Luton service centre are on hand to help with maintenance requests, technical questions and route mapping inquires. See below for a full list of equipment highlights.

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The Insignia Grand Sport should also be very comfortable. Vauxhall is known for making supportive seats and it has tied up with AGR (Aktion Gesunder Rücken, or ‘action for healthy backs’ in German) to offer orthopedically approved seats. These will be available as an option and will also offer heating, ventilation and massage functions.

One slightly retrograde step: the Insignia Grand Sport’s 490-litre hatchback boot is about 10% smaller than the outgoing Insignia’s and less spacious than the boots of key rivals the Skoda Superb, Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat.

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Technology & safety

The Insignia Grand Sport doesn’t feature any revolutionary new safety systems, but its complement of protective technologies is comprehensive and bang up-to-date. Depending on the trim you choose, you'll find:

A head-up display will be offered. This beams pertinent information (including the speed limit) onto the windscreen, saving you from taking your eyes off the road

Lane-keeping assistance will take corrective action if it senses you straying out of a lane without indicating

Adaptive cruise control will match the speed of the car in front, braking and accelerating automatically according to parameters you set

A remote controlled stationary heater allowing the driver to heat the car's interior before leaving the house

A heated windscreen will make frosty mornings clearer – and consequently safer - and reduces the risk of fogging in humid conditions

An active bonnet will rise up in the event of a collision, protecting pedestrians from the hard, unforgiving surfaces of the engine

Rear cross-traffic alert will scan behind the car when reversing, alerting you to obstacles

Electric and heated front seats, with the driver's seat adjustable in 18 ways and featuring a massage function; a heated steering wheel is also available

Price & standard equipment specification

The Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport is priced from £17,115, which represents a saving of £1,500 over the old car. Prices climb to £26,755 in the Grand Sport range. The Insignia Sports Tourer estate is priced from £18,615 to £28,255.

Design - 17-inch bi-colour structure wheels- Automatic lighting control- Electric front and rear windows- Keyless entry and start- Power-adjustable and heated door mirrors- Air conditioning- Cruise control with speed limiter- Leather-covered steering wheel- Steering-wheel audio, phone and cruise controls- Steering column adjustable for reach and rake- IntelliLink audio system (including seven-inch colour touchscreen, digital radio, Bluetooth audio streaming and mobile phone portal, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and USB audio connection)- Seven speakers- Vauxhall OnStar- Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)- Front camera system- Six airbags- ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on all three rear seats- Tyre-pressure monitoring system- Security alarm system

Design Nav - Navi 900 IntelliLink system (European sat-nav system and eight-inch colour touchscreen)

SRi Features over Design:- 17-inch five twin-spoke alloy wheels- Front foglights- Dark-tinted rear windows- Rear spoiler- Rain-sensitive windscreen wipers

SRi Nav - Navi 900 IntelliLink system (European sat-nav system and eight-inch colour touchscreen)- Sports front seats, driver’s AGR- Sports pedals- Dual-zone climate control- Ambient LED lighting in front doors- Twin rear USB sockets- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror

SRi VX-Line Nav Features over SRi:- 18-inch five-spoke alloy wheels (17-inch five twin-spoke alloy wheels for 1.6-litre diesel models)- VXR Styling Pack- Heated, flat-bottomed, leather-covered steering wheel- Dark fabric headlining- 4.2-inch colour information display- Navi 900 IntelliLink system (European sat-nav system and eight-in colour touchscreen)

Tech Line Nav Features over Design:- 17-inch five twin-spoke alloy wheels- Rain-sensitive windscreen wipers- Chrome-effect inserts in door handles- Front and rear parking sensors- Dual-zone climate control- Twin rear USB sockets- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror- 4.2-inch colour information display- Driver’s seat tilt and lumbar adjustment- Front passenger’s seat height adjustment- Navi 900 IntelliLink system (European sat nav system and 8-in colour touchscreen)

Elite Nav Features over Tech Line Nav:- 17-inch five twin-spoke alloy wheels (1.6-litre diesel models)- 18-inch bi-colour alloy wheels (excluding 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre turbo 4x4 models)- 20-inch five twin-spoke alloy wheels (2.0-litre turbo 4x4 models)- LED matrix headlights- Front foglights- Dark-tinted rear windows- Torque vectoring system (4x4 models)- Leather seat facings- Heated front and outer rear seats- Eight-inch colour information display- Bose premium sound system (2.0 turbo 4x4 models)