Taking its inspiration from the Audi A4 Allroad, VW Passat Alltrack and Volvo XC70 is the new
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer.
Based on the more conventional Sports Tourer, the Country Tourer adds all-wheel-drive, 20mm
higher ground clearance and tougher styling.
Some of that arrives in the shape of the grey body cladding and wheel-arch extensions, the
rather handsome 18-inch alloy wheels, the distinctive headlights with wing-shaped LED
running lights - a theme that's repeated at the rear with the tail-lights - chunky fog-light
surrounds, and subtle silver trim designed to be reminiscent of a skid-plate.
At the rear, the chunky look continues, particularly with the twin exhausts poking out through
the silver trim of the rear diffuser, while a subtle 4x4 badge hints at the Haldex-based
four-wheel-drive system that lurks beneath.
Inside, it's Insignia business as usual, with a laid-back driving position and a high window-line
that offers a sense of security.
The dash itself is well laid out, although some of the switches such as the Sport button
are mounted high up and are a bit of a stretch to reach.
It's also a little surprising to find dual-zone climate control is an option on a car like
this.
Still, the centre stack is dominated by Vauxhall's IntelliLink system which provides audio, phone,
and navigation functions with an eight-inch touch-screen that makes everything generally
easy to get around.
If you don't like jabbing a sticky finger at the display, you can instead use the touch-pad
controller mounted down by the gear-lever to swipe your way through the menus, and you
can even use the pad to draw letters when entering addresses - although we found that
somewhat laborious.
The Country Tourer uses the eight-inch instrument display that appeared in the Insignia in a
recent update, and it allows a variety of information to be displayed in front of the
driver.
There's a choice of two styles, too, based on whether you're in Sport mode or not.
The rear seats are a fairly laid-back affair, and while there's plenty of headroom, there's
not a tremendous amount of room to get your feet in.
Once you're in, though, it's pretty comfortable back here, and you get your own charging point,
armrest and cup-holders to keep you amused.
If you're into cargo space, the seats fold forward easily and although they're not completely
flat, they're not far off.
All Country Tourer models come with a power tailgate as standard, and this can be opened
and closed from the key fob or via a handy button in the driver's door that also allows
you to limit how far it opens - useful in, say, a multi-story car park.
The boot opens to reveal a fairly hefty rear overhang that can make loading a bit of a
stretch for some people.
That aside, though, it's a good size, and features an underfloor storage area, underneath
which is the puncture repair kit, there's a ski-hatch for long loads, and with the seats
folded there's 1,530 litres of space on offer.
Two engines are available: a 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 163PS and 350Nm of torque, or this, the
2.0-litre BiTurbo with a more interesting 195PS and 400Nm.
The latter definitely sounds the more interesting, but while the low-power unit is available
with both auto and manual transmissions, the BiTurbo version is available only with an
automatic.
As diesel engines go, it's a little noisy, though, filling the cabin with a rather characterless
drone.
It's not helped by an automatic gearbox that feels somewhat behind the competition.
A six-speed unit, it engages each new ratio with something of a jolt.
It seems to have been given a very tall set of ratios, too, and this is exasperated by
its relaxed attitude to kick-down - floor the gas pedal, and the 'box seems willing
to downshift only one gear, masking what would otherwise be a very quick car.
Engage Sport mode and the transmission will hold on to lower gears for longer, perhaps
in an attempt to get around this.
Really all this means, though, is that you spend much of your time driving around at
nearly 3,000rpm in too low a gear burning fuel faster than is necessary.
If you want to press on, it's best to use the tiptronic function of the gear lever - slide
it across to the Manual position and then change gear yourself by pushing the lever
forwards and backwards.
It's a shame the auto box lets the side down, because the chassis that underpins the Insignia
is nicely sorted, with a nicely pliant ride and a surprising ability to filter out even
large surface imperfections.
That doesn't mean it wallows about- in fact, body-roll is very well controlled, especially
when you consider the Country Tourer is 20mm further away from the ground than the regular
Tourer models.
That modest increase in ground clearance isn't necessarily an invitation to head out off-roading.
Realistically it's more a practical safety-net to keep you out and about in adverse weather
conditions, with the system defaulting to largely front-wheel-drive in normal use, but
with a centre differential that can send up to 95% of engine torque to the rear wheels
as necessary.
Despite the added 4x4 ability, it's likely the Insignia will spend most of its time trudging
up and down the motorways, and that's no bad thing because that's where the Insignia shines,
with comfortable seats, a well-composed ride, and wind and road noise that are both kept
well in check.
Economy is respectable, too.
While the government figures claim 42.8mpg for our BiTurbo model, we averaged around
33mpg in everyday driving, while a day spent on the UK's motorway network notched up a
figure just under 41mpg.
Prices for the Country Tourer start at £24,349 for a model without the 4x4 system, with the
cheapest AWD version priced at £25,494.
Our BiTurbo test car with a few tasteful options tips the scales at £35,579.
By comparison, the VW Passat Alltrack starts at £29,385 with the Audi A4 Allroad kicking
in at £32,235.
If you're looking for an estate car to keep you mobile when all others are getting stuck,
the Insignia Country Tourer offers a handsome and value-for-money alternative to the established
German competition.