Vauxhall Insignia Hatchback (2009 - 2017) 2.0 CDTi SRi Nav (160bhp) 5d (2012/12) Owner Review

What does this car say about you?

People think I'm a sales rep? Excellent car, much prefer it to a BMW 3 series or Audi A4, both of which we have owned in diesel guise.....

What do your friends / family / neighbours think of the car?

They like it.

Would you buy this car again and why?

Yes, I would have the same model (Sri for the seats, as I have a lower spine condition). Particularly like the whole package although I wouldn't have the larger wheel option again, I wouldn't pay for electric rear windows (wind up, in this day and age???) and unsure about the sat nav, as TomTom is better.

What are you likely to buy next?

Vauxhall insignia cdti Sri (might go for the 130 or 140bhp cdti), or perhaps a 4x4 (Skoda Yeti, Kia, or Hyundai) for ease of access and seating arrangement for he children) Also considering a Mazda 6.

Type of dealer you bought from?

Franchised

Did you buy this car new?

Yes

What price did you pay?

£0

When did you buy the car?

March 2012

Did you get a good deal and why?

Obtained via Motability, shocked to find they get £10,000 off the list price, making it a £14,000 car.

Is there any special reason why you bought this car?

Obtained via Motability scheme.

What was the dealer like?

Excellent, Motability rep was well versed in the schem and knew everything about the car.

What's it like to drive?

Excellent to drive, responsive, good brakes and steering.

What's it like to park?

Poor 3/4 visibility to be honest, and the rear window is made smaller by the surrounding trim. Thankfully my vehicle has front & rear parking sensors (a must) and the new model apparently has a reversing camera or automated parking as options, which I'd consider).

Have you had any problems with the car?

Yes. Offside headlight did a 'Marth Feldman' and kept wandering off, dealer 'repaired' this but the fault is back again. Also on 3 separate occasions had glow plug failure, so dealer has replaced 3 glow plugs, one on each occasion. The symptom, for any prospective buyers is a miss-fire / loss of power and the car drops to 3 cylinders. Not good.... Also the main dealer broke the large plastic engine cover when changing the glow plugs but didn't mention it and denied all knowledge....

What's most practical about your car?

Great boot space, interior plenty big enough, although not as big as a Mondeo. Children using booster seats find their feet digging into the backs of the front seats.

Favourite gadget, option or accessory?

Bluetooth for mobile phone (with excellent steering wheel controls and voice activation), and sat-nav. Parkers suggests is isn't as intuitive as other systems, but I disagree as it's very easy to use, although it doesn't always pick up addresses (indeed, a TomTom is better and never fails on an address....).