In 2014 Vauxhall made a late appearance in a market sector already populated by the more established Audi A4 Allroad, Volvo XC70 and so on by creating a semi-off-road version of the Insignia Sport Tourer estate car.

Following conventional practice in the class, the Country Tourer has extra body protection and greater ride height. With the demise of the Sport Tourer 4x4, it's now the only Insignia available with all-wheel drive, though not every specification has this. In order to keep fuel economy reasonable and minimise CO2 submissions, the four-wheel drive models actually utilise front-wheel drive in most conditions, sending power to the rear axle only when required.

The engine line-up has changed slightly since the car's launch. Every Country Tourer has a 2.0-litre diesel engine, but there are three power outputs. The 161bhp version is mated exclusively to a six-speed automatic gearbox but comes with a choice of front- or four-wheel drive, while the 168bhp unit is available only with manual transmission and drive to the front wheels. A twin-turbo version producing 192bhp is fitted to automatic four-wheel drive models.

Performance

Power output does not, in this case, correlate exactly with straight-line performance. Due to having the simplest and lightest drivetrain, the quickest Country Tourer is the 168bhp front-wheel drive manual, which has the best top speed and 0-62mph time at 137mph and 9.4 seconds. The BiTurbo, hampered by the automatic gearbox and extra shafts, lags behind slightly with 130mph and 9.9 seconds, almost exactly equal to the 163bhp manual's 130mph and 10.1 seconds. With automatic transmission the 163bhp car is quite a bit slower, the relevant figures here being 124mph and 11.4 seconds.

Clearly, none of the Country Tourers is especially quick, and they can all be quite noisy. Vauxhall's efforts to improve the refinement of its engines has produced excellent results, but so far there is no new-generation diesel for this range.

Ride and Handling

It isn't as capable as most SUVs, and you wouldn't want to try anything too ambitious, but it makes a good job of smoothing out quite serious rust and potholes.

The greater ride height of this car compared with the Insignia Sport Tourer has a noticeable effect on its road behaviour. The front end rarely feels fully settled even on reasonably well-surfaced tarmac, and while it's useful that the FlexRide adaptive suspension has three driver-controlled modes (normal, Tour or Sport) you may find that the most appropriate for one corner may not be suitable for the next. Choosing one and sticking to it is apt to lead to compromises for the journey as a whole. The Country Tourer is slightly more impressive off-road. It isn't as capable as most SUVs, and you wouldn't want to try anything too ambitious, but it makes a good job of smoothing out quite serious rust and potholes.

Interior and Equipment

The Country Tourer arrived while the Insignia's interior was being thoroughly reworked. No examples were ever built using the older design.

While Vauxhall correctly says that the Country Tourer is competitively priced against other models in its class, you have to pay extra for some features that a stern critic would suggest ought to have been included as standard. So, for example, cruise control, DAB digital radio, air-conditioning, LED daytime running lights and a powered tailgate are part of the basic specification, this is not the case for heated front seats, an automatically dimming interior mirror, keyless entry and start or hill start assist. Other extras include an adaptive version of the cruise control system, dual-zone climate control and traffic sign recognition. Models with Nav in their titles come with satellite navigation, and can be had with still more extras not available on non-Navs, including a reversing camera and several other safety aids. The cabin is very spacious and capable of fitting up to five adults, although elbow space is rather tight for the central rear seat. But the seats are of high quality and feel well suited for long journeys. Load space is 540 litres with the rear seats in place and 1,530 litres up to roof level when those seats are folded down. Reasonably enough, this puts it between the allroad versions of the smaller Audi A4 and the larger A6, and slightly behind the Volvo XC70, which is within 4mm of being the same length as the Vauxhall.

Cost

As well as being the quickest car in the range, the 168bhp front-wheel drive manual is also the cheapest to buy and run.

As well as being the quickest car in the range, the 168bhp front-wheel drive manual is also the cheapest to buy and run. Priced from under £25,000, its combined fuel economy of 60.1mpg and 124g/km official CO2 emissions are not bad at all, the latter leading to Vehicle Excise Duty payments of £110 and a Benefit In Kind rating that will take a slightly wobbly but generally upward journey from 22% to 25% from the 2015-16 to 2018-19 financial years. For people - especially business users - who can use most of the off-road capability but will tend to steer clear of muddy ground, this is the version to have. The front-wheel drive 161bhp automatic is a distant second on 52.3mpg and 143g/km. The BiTurbo makes the least financial sense, being more expensive than the others and having economy and CO2 figures of 42.8mpg and 174g/km. Something else worth noting - the starting price for the Insignia Country Tourer is far less than the Audi A4 Allroad, which starts at about £33k.

Our Verdict

The Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer is not a bad effort in a class that the company isn't particularly familiar with. Even the front-wheel drive versions perform as well off-road as most customers could ever need them to, and the pricing undercuts that of some rivals by a substantial margin. However, the driving experience, the lack of straightline performance and the need to specify extras that should be offered as standard reduces its appeal. There are rivals which offer a better drive and far more standard kit. But if you’re keen to settle for a cheaper alternative in this market segment then the Insignia Country Tourer is still worth considering.