RE: Vauxhall Insignia VXR: Spotted

RE: Vauxhall Insignia VXR: Spotted

Tuesday 31st May 2016

Vauxhall Insignia VXR: Spotted

Space, pace and rarity? Yes, a Vauxhall may well fit the bill



The Vauxhall Insignia VXR has somewhat disappeared off the radar recently, despite still being available brand new should you be brave enough. A mainstream performance saloon was always going to be a niche choice, but the way the VXR has practically vanished from the performance car scene is odd. If ever you needed proof of how influential a badge can be...

Yep, it's big alright
Yep, it's big alright
Because while the Insignia VXR is not the greatest sports saloon to ever grace the earth, it’s very far from the worst either. It had some clever suspension technology, comfortably over 300hp, all-wheel drive and Brembo brakes. It was – and is – a bit heavier than you would really like, but all reports point to a pretty decent car. It’s a very rare one too, which makes it interesting.

Particularly if it’s an estate. The Insignia Sports Tourer VXR must have been sold in tiny numbers, yet because it’s a proper estate it’s arguably easier to make a case for over the German rivals. Because while outright dynamics are probably more of a concern for saloons, as estates that slips down the list of priorities in place of things like practicality. And, while the gap isn’t as large as you might expect, the Insignia does have a bigger boot than a 3 Series Touring and an A4 Avant.

Now instinct when looking for a big, fast estate is to head for Volvo, but the pickings are slimmer than you might expect. There are just 10 petrol V60s on PH (four being Polestars), four V70s and the V50 is probably too small. There is a Passat R36 (yes, really) also available on PH, but other than that rivals are hard to come by. Some might argue that’s because the demand isn’t there, but this has to be more interesting than a crossover.

Some comment about German interior plastics
Some comment about German interior plastics
What performance Vauxhalls nearly always do better than their rivals is depreciate, and that remains true. In just five years and 40,000 miles, this VXR has halved in value, meaning it’s now available for £14,995. It’s super subtle in black, there’s a full service history and it’s got the manual gearbox too. Yes, it will cost a lot to tax and fuel, but so will many similar cars. Plus an S4 with comparable mileage could cost £10K more – that buys a lot of fuel.

Vauxhalls always come in for a tough time on PH, so it will be interesting to see the response to this. Those with image issues will still dismiss it, but this Sports Tourer appears to offer an awful lot for very little money. There must be some tuning possibilities with that turbo V6 as well. If any of the small group of owners is on here, it would be great to hear how you’re getting on.


VAUXHALL INSIGNIA VXR SPORTS TOURER
Engine
: 2,792cc, V6 turbocharged
Transmission: six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 324@5,250rpm
Torque (lb ft): 321@5,250rpm
MPG: 25
CO2: 255g/km
First registered: 2011
Recorded mileage: 40,000
Price new: £33,365
Yours for: £14,995

See the original advert here

 

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

X5TUU

Original Poster:

11,910 posts

186 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I like ... I am biased having had Corsa and Astra VXRs previously though

Decent steer for £15k as well and is very much in sleeper-guise rather than in Arden Blue or Red or White like many Insignia VXRs seem to be

Dave Hedgehog

14,541 posts

203 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
coming to a council estate near you soon

JMF894

5,478 posts

154 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I seem to recall quite a few road testers saying it didn't seems as quick as the numbers suggest back in the day. That along with depreciation and the running costs no wonder it remains a rarity tbh

bigmuzzie

89 posts

101 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
yikes - that is fugly! Dash, front, side..... wheels are the best part, plus £15k for a 5 year old Insignia.

Next!

Baryonyx

17,990 posts

158 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I really like these. In Arden Blue saloon format, they are the most interesting looking sports saloon currently on sale, or against their contemporary competition. I gather they are an excellent drive. However, this black estate completely sucks any sex appeal out of the mix. I'm sure it's still a fine drive but it looks so dull. I'd sooner have the saloon.

djgritt

618 posts

163 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I want to like these, especially as they are the 'in house' progression from my previous Vectra VXR, but for some reason I just don't.

The 2.8 V6T engine isn't bad atall, albeit thirsty. Not rapid & punchy power delivery like some smaller may be, but it is broad and smooth. They do shift, well the Vectra did without the 4wd anyway.

The interior is a big step up from older Vauxhalls too, the chunky Recaros help too.

The styling however, not so good. I think this is what keeps me away. They look awful, like a big slug.

The facelift Insignia is a definite improvement IMO, but the VXR models haven't plummeted in price yet so aren't worth considering against some of their rivals, which may be a bit older...

D7PNY

375 posts

162 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Liked the idea of one of these as a sensible family hack (as need 4wd) but was left hugely disappointed after a test drive.

Dave

Barchettaman

6,283 posts

131 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
This has some fairly rapid depreciation still to come, particularly as a new Insignia is just around the corner....

pimpchez

897 posts

182 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I must say i do like the insignia after driving a SRI derv .It accomodated me well and i was impressed by the interior fit/finish and quality for a vaux.So being PH i decided to read on the VXR , then you see horror stories of dodgy paint,chocolate rods and turbos with just a simple remap.

Worst still as you arent forced to remap is the problematic haldex rear diff , plenty of horror stories of warranty companies and vaux not paying out.They seem nice but in my eyes the running costs (not talking fuel) outweigh the moderate performance. That said , i was in fleetwood last week and walking out of the pub one in arden blue decided to do a big overtake on the main road and it made a nice but muted roar .Kind of like 75% GTR

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I've only ever seen one Insignia VXR and it was covered in tasteless modifications and being driven in a very twuntish manner around a McDonalds car park by a rat faced chav. Vauxhall really ought to start featuring these people in their adverts, for the sake of honesty. 18 stone pasty white looking women shrieking at their kids for the Zafira advert, clueless MLM merrily blocking lane 3 at 55mph for the Corsa and of course the rat faced chav spunking all of his disposable into some sort of VXR for the "performance" range.

Shame that the Insignia gets tarred with the Vauxhall brush really, I've had a couple of hire cars and 1.8 petrol aside they have been fine.

Drummond Baize

200 posts

94 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
bigmuzzie said:
yikes - that is fugly! Dash, front, side..... wheels are the best part, plus £15k for a 5 year old Insignia.

Next!
It's certainly not a looker.

C.A.R.

3,967 posts

187 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
It is a fugly thing. The front bumper on the VXR Insignia has never looked quite 'right' to me either, it's those silver bits. Just don't look like they're in the right orientation, or like they belong at all...

MDMA .

8,849 posts

100 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Baryonyx said:
I really like these. In Arden Blue saloon format, they are the most interesting looking sports saloon currently on sale, or against their contemporary competition. I gather they are an excellent drive. However, this black estate completely sucks any sex appeal out of the mix. I'm sure it's still a fine drive but it looks so dull. I'd sooner have the saloon.
see one most morning. has huge recaros up front. the only one I have seen on the road. pretty rare round this way.

dollyboy

122 posts

173 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
For some reason I quite like these, even though I generally dislike Vauxhalls, especially Insignias, rather odd....

It must be the engine, I had a 250hp version in a Saab 9-3 Aero and I thought it was an excellent engine even in that mild state of tune, much nicer than all the 2 litre turbos. I wanted to get it remapped to 320hp but sold it before I got round to it, all the interior rattles spoilt an otherwise nice car.

However there's no way I'd pay £15k for this, I only paid £6k for the 2006 9-3 in 2010 with similar mileage. I'd rather go for one of the later 275hp 9-3 Aero's with xwd for much less than the Insignia.

andy118run

866 posts

205 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Can't recall ever seeing an Insignia VXR on the road.

Always liked the look of the Vectra VXR and this has similar appeal, but not at 15 grand.

dollyboy

122 posts

173 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Also I remember looking around car brokers a few years ago for anything a bit interesting with good discounts, if I recall correctly you could buy these with huge discounts, about 21-22k brand new.

Axionknight

8,505 posts

134 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
Can't fault the engine one bit, but Insignias are awful cars - pass.

wst

3,494 posts

160 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
C.A.R. said:
It is a fugly thing. The front bumper on the VXR Insignia has never looked quite 'right' to me either, it's those silver bits. Just don't look like they're in the right orientation, or like they belong at all...
Even if they were in body colour those "fangs" would just look wrong. They're too pointy and triangular for the face.

CS400

145 posts

110 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
If I recall rightly it is the same engine as the Saab 9-3 TurboX (which I have had) I test drove both and the Saab was noticeably quicker and sounded better and at the time depreciated even faster!
But I had no end of timing chain hassle with the Saab and it is no different with the VXR, although probably cheaper to sort and that was on a unmodified engine.
I keep thinking I will give the VXR a try but there are so many horror stories about the timing chain losing tension and constant problems with coil packs, which were the big problems with the Saab, I take fright at the last second!

zedx19

2,704 posts

139 months

Tuesday 31st May 2016
quotequote all
I considered one of these but then saw a photo of the interior and instantly stopped considering. Bought a 2012 Mondeo Estate instead with a 240PS Turbo Petrol engine instead. Probably not quite as rare but much nicer inside and out, just not as much pooweeerrr.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...