Vauxhall Insignia GSi 2021 UK review

Reworked flagship saloon aims to snare keen drivers who appreciate good value If you always liked big, mainstream saloons with great handling and a decent turn of speed, take a good look at this one because the breed is getting much rarer and even this former market leader won’t be around forever.Vauxhall’s D-segment Insignia has had a good life in the UK, amassing sales of around 300,000 units in a bit over a decade – even managing 8000-odd units in 2019 – despite much demand shifting to SUVs, and the premium marques have taken even more.However, Opel-Vauxhall has made it clear this platform won’t continue beyond the mid-2020s, when all of its models are due to be electrified, so this latest set of changes – bringing impressive and efficient refinements to powertrains across the Insignia range – is likely to be the last before the Insignia joins all those other family-sized exec saloons in the sky.Our test subject, the top, performance GSi – which comes with a brand-new 227bhp four-cylinder turbo engine, a new nine-speed auto and a clever four-wheel drive system – emerges as the car with the clearest purpose in the newly refreshed range.SUVs can’t match it for handling, and big, spacious saloons as quick as this (147mph, 0-60mph in 7.0sec) are usually a fair bit more expensive than this car’s seriously enticing £38,690.