Vauxhaul Insignia

[benny205mi16 19 1 Cars]

I know, I know, it's not a 205 by a long way,

We are looking to replace our "family car" currently we have a ford focus 1.6 petrol zetec s.

It's been good no complaints, but it's now getting to an age where it's keep for ever or sell it while it's still worth a bit, add some money to start again.

But this time round I could do with something with more pulling power, we have bought a folding camper,trailer tent. For this reason I have been looking at the 2.0 diesel CDTI SRI insignia.

Can anybody offer any advise on these? Good/bad?

Thanks

Ben

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Personally wouldn't touch modern diesels. I know some are better than others but the whole diesel particulate filter and dual mass flywheels make things bloody expensive when they go wrong

[welshpug 1,657]

that'll be the classic old knackered diesel owners blinkered view

 

there has been 15 years of advancement since your old nail paul!

[aldworth33 45 1 Cars]

I don't like the insignia, I drove a few when I worked in a garage that had quite a few lease service contracts, they were noisy, bulky and felt nasty to drive. I picked up and drove a few passats and skoda superbs and they were a lot better. Also what about a 508?

[Paul_13 212 1 Cars]

Why I said some are better than others.

Grandad and uncle have had horrendous problems with ford diesels

[benny205mi16 19 1 Cars]

I have personally only ever own petrol models, but when doing a search for the larger family cars (autotrader) you get far more diesel than petrol, 239 diesel or 19 petrol to choose from, And as I am going to be towing with this car I am thinking that the grunt of a diesel will be helpful.

[Roon 29 1 Cars]

If you've enjoyed the ford and it's been good to you but prefer something a little different and diesel what about a mondeo.

 

Truly huge car inside massive boot loads of room my friend has one and it pulls well is comfy not problematic and can fit 5 adults in very comfy.

 

Heard the insignias are quite small inside for the size of the car.

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Petrols are far better at towing, no bloody turbo lag for a start,

Modern Oil burners are OK as long as they driven long distances, short trips and they don;t last long, Modern service intervals kills them too

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Another shout for a Mondeo.

 

I had an Insignia recently as a courtesy car from work and it was awful. Had a Mondeo pretty much back to back so a decent comparison could be made. But, neither were a patch on a mates 520d towing a Clio and trailer. Brilliant motor, as long as the iDrive keeps functioning!

[Juttie205 123 2 Cars]

Ive got a 508sw and cannot fault it. It's comfortable quiet has been reliable so far touch wood its nice to drive does everything i need in a family car.

[Biggles 65]

There is no way I would run a Euro5 or Euro6 diesel (ie post 2010) if I was paying the bills. You might get a good one but if you don't, it is going to cost a lot of money. Anything goes wrong with the fuel system and the bill starts at 4 figures. DPF's ? If it's active regen (like I believe Vauxhalls are) and it goes wrong, it will drink fuel like you wouldn't believe until you fix it (big bill again). Oh, and all this is brought to you from knowledge of the warranty costs OEM's have on diesel cars. There is a reason they've spent many millions on DI gasoline engine development to improve fuel economy (it's nothing altruistic - they can make more more profit from gasoline engines as it's so much more reliable - the warranty costs aren't crippling like they are with a common rail diesel running at 3000 bar injection pressure).

[Rock Lobster 28]

My mate has had two insignia and they have been in and out of the garage with electrical problems and A gearbox failure, I had one as a hire too and wasn't impressed in the slightest!

[Alastairh 47]

I had a 14 plate CDTI Sri for a month as a hire car. I liked it, but I also like the mondeo. To be fair you could do a lot worse.

 

Read up on the service light issue, I remember a friend having an insignia and what looked like needing a service light needing clearing, it turned out to be much worse.

[allye 530 3 Cars]

Every time I see a estate version I think just how good they look!

[White Pugs 6]

I've run a couple as my co-cars through work, they are the cheapest car in the class (mondeo/passatt etc) by some margin. I had a Soverign Silver ('59 Plate) 160 ecoflex Diesel, Tech Line trim from new for nearly 4 and a half years and did 87,000 in it with no issues, I had a Witter detachable bar and electrics fitted and it pulled my BJ Minno Max and 205 no bother, it would do 35mpg towing, 43 around town and 53 on a run. I now have a Carbon Flash (14 plate) 140 ecoflex Design nav trim that has done 28,000, I swapped the bar and electrics over no bother and it runs the same winter rims/tyres as the earlier car. On paper the new car looks down on BHP but its got the same lbft (actually more on overboost) and therefore it actually feels a but quicker on the road. I specced the sports seats out the SRi and the heated steering wheel (the bomb on chilly mornings!) new car is slightly better all round on the MPG especially when the missus drives it, she did a run from ours up to Berwick and back an the trip said 69.9mpg when she got back.

 

Happy insignia driver

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Seeing as you have free reign on what you buy then to me you need to try out all of the possible alternatives and see which suits you best.

Personally I have not driven anything modern and Vauxhall that I've liked especially, there are better cars out there for my money but of course thats personal choice.

[benny205mi16 19 1 Cars]

This is where I am struggling,

I have no real preference to a brand, so I have just been looking at all really.

My situation is this,

2 young children plus all the baggage they bring,

My wife will be driving it on a daily basis,

Needs to be able to tow our folding camper (1 ton, so not massive weight)

As hassle free as possible,

I have £10,000 to spend.

That's about it really, so really quite broad, any ideas which fit that would be great,

I have thought about another Focus, insignia, seat altea, nissan juke/qashqai, and out of this bunch was edging towards the insignia, but as mentioned above they can be costly when issues arise.

 

Thanks

Ben

[Alan_M 66 1 Cars]

Could you not save a load of money and pick up a decent 406/C5 estate HDi?

Edited July 26, 2015 by Alan_M

[Pugleyrich 37 1 Cars]

I recently bought an e61 diesel 5 series estate. Seems to fit your requirements and you'll get a nice one for that money!

Edited July 26, 2015 by Pugleyrich

[aldworth33 45 1 Cars]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507115123645/sort/atcustom/postcode/ne659ry/radius/1501/make/VOLVO/price-from/8000/price-to/10000/page/1/usedcars

[dynacord 6 1 Cars]

Volvos are nice family cars, there are some complaints about the 2.5T motor (or are only valid for the V50, not sure)

I would also suggest to take a look at Honda Accord 2.2 diesel.

off: can you post some pic of the trailer? I'm also looking for some kind of folding camper

[nomis 12]

Our other car is a 2.2d Jaguar X Type Estate.

 

It's a cracking car, feels like a proper Jag despite the disparagement they sometimes get and while I am not such a fan of the X-Type saloon, the estate looks great.

 

Its comfortable, quick, handles really well (ours is Sport spec which has slightly stiffened suspension) and gets you a lot more for your money than if you bought a BMW, Merc, or Audi, but still with the premium motor feel.

 

Ours is a 2006 car so worth peanuts now, cost us £7,000 almost three years ago. Found an independent Jag specialist nearby and has been no more expensive to run than any other car I have owned.

 

A quick scan of Auto Trader shows me that you could get a 59-plate 2.2d X-Type estate for £10k with 40,000 miles on the clock.

 

You could save some money and get the petrol version but would pay more each year in tax and fuel.