• Functional interior isn’t particularly stylish
• All buttons and dials are easy to read and use however
• Ergonomics spoiled by significant blind spots

Sit behind the wheel of the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer and you immediately feel that the cabin has been geared-up towards the driver. The seat and steering wheel carry excellent adjustment, while the sat-nav screen is angled usefully in the direction of the driver.

Dead ahead is the clear, but slightly drab-looking dials on lower-spec models, improving to a snazzy 8.0-inch digital display on Elite Nav versions. The steering wheel is chunky but visually attractive, and doesn’t impede on the driver’s view of the dials. Cheap-feeling indicator stalks spoil the sense of quality, however, as do the odd bits of hard plastics scattered around the cabin.

And while most of the buttons and switches have been upgraded over the previous-generation model, there’s still some which feel like they’ve been fished out of the Vauxhall parts bin. The tacky plastic handbrake switch is a prime example.

The central infotainment screen, while helpfully angled towards the driver, sits with excessive upward slant and is too far away from the driver. A handily-placed ridge below the screen for the user to rest their wrist on helps make up for this, though.

All-round visibility is reasonable for a car in this class, plus the optional head-up display is worth speccing if you can stretch to it, offering clear info on vehicle data, navigation and multimedia. 

Up front and in the back, the seats are broad and comfortable, with plenty of support all-round. There’s tonnes of space, too, meaning rear seat passengers can really stretch out on long journeys.

Road noise could be improved – even on the smaller 17-inch alloys – at speeds above 50mph, and is a noticeable blot on the copybook of an otherwise refined package.

• Smooth, relaxed ride quality
• Plenty of adjustment in driving position
• Excellent levels of space all-round

The Insignia Sports Tourer was designed for to provide excellent ride comfort and superb cruising manners, and, on that front, Vauxhall’s engineers have succeeded.

Whether you’re travelling over pockmarked urban roads or badly-surfaced motorways, Vauxhall’s big estate is impressively smooth and refined. Ride quality obviously deteriorates with larger alloy wheels, but on the standard 17-inch rims the Insigina Sports Tourer absorbs bumps and potholes with aplomb.

READ: We took our Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer on an epic drive, see how comfortable it was here

The only time it comes undone is when driven over sharp, repeated bumps, as the soft suspension struggles to react to the undulations in time.

Up front and in the back, the seats are broad and comfortable, with plenty of support all-round. There’s tonnes of space, too, meaning rear seat passengers can really stretch out on long journeys.

Road noise could be improved – even on the smaller 17-inch alloys – at speeds above 50mph, and is a noticeable blot on the copybook of an otherwise refined package.