Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer: Test Drive Review

With the revised Vauxhall Insignia range comes this new addition of a Country Tourer model. 

Sitting 20mm higher than a regular Insignia estate, and with four-wheel drive and plastic cladding designed to protect it from scrapes, the Country Tourer will take around 5% of Insignia sales, and comes with a choice of 163hp or 195hp diesels, the latter coming only with an automatic gearbox while the former gets manual or auto options.

Vauxhall says the car will appeal to people attracted to the idea of a four-wheel drive SUV, but are still keen on the driving characteristics and cargo capacity of a regular estate.

Pricing is pitched at the top end of Vauxhall’s Mokka small SUV range and in the middle of its Antara off-roader line-up, so is significantly below VW Passat Alltrack and Audi A4 Allroad rivals.

The 4×4 system sends almost all the power to the front wheels in Normal or Touring modes, the latter being set up for motorway cruising, but can move 95% to the rear if traction is lost.

In Sport, the power goes to 70/30 front to rear, and the car automatically senses if it will be better sending up to 60% to the rear wheels if engaged in more sprightly driving on twisty roads.

To drive, the Country Tourer is like the regular car, with the higher ground clearance not having a significant impact on handling, and the extra weight of the all-wheel drive system not having a detrimental impact.

It does, though, impact on whole-life costs, as the admittedly better-equipped Country Tourer costs nearly £2000 more than a regular 163hp Tech Line trim Insignia Sport Tourer. 

And that’s before you compare the 119g/km of the standard car with the 147g/km of the Country Tourer, thanks to its all-wheel drive system. That is, though, slightly lower than its faux-off-roader rivals.

There’s no point picking the Vauxhall if you have no need for the extra ground clearance and all-wheel drive, but if you do, it’s a more cost-effective and well-equipped alternative to the VW or Audi, although there is also a Skoda Octavia with all-wheel drive that is cheaper still and worth considering.