70 Vauxhall Insignia cars for sale

Used Vauxhall Insignia for sale: everything you need to know

Cars like the Insignia used to ply Britain’s roads in huge numbers, and while they’ve long since fallen out of fashion, largely replaced by SUVs, there’s still a lot to be said for these big, comfortable, practical saloons, and for the 2017-on Insignia in particular.

The Insignia has passenger space, luggage space, refinement, ride quality, and comfort all on its side, plus healthy equipment levels and, thanks to being less fashionable than cars you might consider its rivals, looks like great value too. It makes a great buy if you’re prepared to overlook its mainstream badge - read on to discover what we like about the Insignia, and why you should consider one.

Should you buy a Vauxhall Insignia? 

If you’re not bothered about chasing a premium badge then the Vauxhall Insignia has a lot to offer. Its build quality feels every bit as good as some more expensive cars, and its interior has the kind of simple, common sense layout that used to be the preserve of the premium German brands before they began chasing flashiness.

Those qualities give the Insignia a sense of integrity and a no-nonsense feel, and combined with impressive refinement, it’s a very relaxing car in which to cover distances. That’s helped further by some frugal and punchy petrol and diesel engines - the 1.6-litre diesels in particular are surprisingly able and don’t feel out of their depth at motorway speeds. The handling’s neat enough too, provided you don’t go in expecting excitement.

Vauxhall loaded all Insignias with plenty of kit, which makes it look even better value as a used purchase. Some of the higher-spec models look quite smart too, and there are some high-tech toys like ‘IntelliLux’ pixel LED headlights which can bend their beam around oncoming traffic, avoiding dazzle but giving you plenty of light output.

All this makes the Insignia look like quite an underrated car. Many drivers will still be swayed by the allure of cars like the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, and all of those have a more dynamic feel to drive than the Vauxhall, but you’ll pay more for the privilege. The Insignia stacks up well against more mainstream big saloons like the VW Passat, Mazda 6 and Ford Mondeo too.

What’s the best used Vauxhall Insignia model to buy?

A 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine doesn’t quite sound sufficient for a car the size of the Insignia, but in 136PS form it’s our pick of the range, with good performance - just sneaking under the 10 second mark in the 0-62mph sprint - and excellent economy, just shy of 60mpg. Spec-wise, the SRi gets a useful level of equipment - front and rear parking sensors, rain-sensitive wipers and dual-zone climate control are all standard. Keep an eye out for models with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as they’ll be much more useful for longer than any of the cars with built-in satnav.

Used Vauxhall Insignia fuel economy and performance

• Vauxhall Insignia 1.6 Turbo D: The big benefit of the 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel is its 61.4mpg claimed economy figure, not bad at all for a relatively large and spacious car. With 110PS, it can get from 0-62mph in 10.9 seconds, while a 136PS variant drops that to 9.9 seconds and up to 57.7mpg.
• Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 Turbo D: A bump in capacity to two litres also means a power boost to 174PS, dropping the 0-62mph time down to 8.2 seconds. Combined economy is 54.3mpg.
• Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 Turbo 200: The turbocharged petrol model makes 200PS and gets an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard. 0-62mph is over in 7.2 seconds, while Vauxhall claims up to 37.7mpg on average.

What used Vauxhall Insignia trim levels are available?

• The Vauxhall Insignia Design gets a pretty decent level of equipment for an entry-level car, with climate control air-con, LED headlights, an 8-inch touchscreen, heated seats, a heated steering wheel and ambient interior lighting. Design Nav trim adds satellite navigation.
• The Vauxhall Insignia SRi gets 17-inch alloy wheels, front fog lights, rear privacy glass, and rain sensitive wipers, and once again there was a ‘Nav’ version which added navigation to the spec list.
• The Vauxhall Insignia SRi VX-Line Nav comes with navigation as standard, plus 18-inch alloy wheels on all but the 1.6 diesels. A VXR styling pack gets different front and rear bumpers, and inside there’s a flat-bottomed sports steering wheel, dark headliner, and a colour 2-inch information display in the driver instrument binnacle.
• The Vauxhall Insignia Tech Line Nav gets all the equipment from the Design, plus five-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic wipers, all-round parking sensors, chrome-effect door handle inserts, dual-zone climate control, twin rear USB sockets, front passenger seat height adjustment, driver's seat tilt and lumbar adjustment, and the 2-inch main dash info display.
• The Vauxhall Insignia Elite Nav has a more luxurious spec list including 18-inch alloys (1.6 diesel excepted), LED matrix headlights, front fog lights, leather trim, heated front and outer rear seats, and an 8-inch infotainment screen. There’s 4x4 model with premium Bose audio and torque vectoring tech, while the top 260PS model gets 20-inch alloy wheels.
• The Vauxhall Insignia GS Line has a sporty appearance with 20-inch alloys, sports front and rear bumpers, a rear spoiler, Alcantara upholstery, and a flat-bottomed steering wheel.

Used Vauxhall Insignia dimensions and boot size

The Vauxhall Insignia’s exterior dimensions are:

• Length: 4,906mm
• Width: 1,863mm
• Height: 1,455mm
• Ground clearance: 130mm

The Vauxhall Insignia’s boot space is:

• 490 litres
• 1,450 litres with rear seats folded

Used Vauxhall Insignia road tax

The most recent generation of Insignia debuted in 2017, after the changes to the VED system had already gone to a single flat rate. That means almost all models will cost you £190 per year as of 2024/2025, though a handful of high-spec models, that cost more than £40,000 brand new, get a surcharge which takes the annual tax cost up to £600.

How much is it to insure a Vauxhall Insignia?

The Insignia range falls between groups 13 and 30 depending on the model - the former being in the same ballpark as some smaller family hatchbacks, the later closer to some premium models. The 1.5 and newer 1.6-litre turbodiesels tend to be a little cheaper, while the most powerful petrols are at the top of that range.