Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport

It’s nice to drive a tow car that’s not an SUV and is this goodlooking! A certain portion of its visual charm comes from those handsome 20-inch alloys. However, the road noise they generate at motorway speeds is tiring on long journeys, which I couldn’t live with long-term. In fact, time in this car did highlight a number of features that I love and a few that were downright annoying. It’s great that there’s no fuel filler cap, you just stick the nozzle in and start refuelling. The heated steering wheel and seats were much appreciated, and the seats have a good range of adjustment. The cabin looks and feels premium, and the manual gear lever is well-shaped so it fits comfortably in your hand and feels good to use. But the very plasticky steering column stalks with little damping erode that high-end feeling. The head-up display (£290) is wonderful, with an excellent range of adjustability in terms of height and what’s shown, and it’s easy to tweak from the driver’s seat. However, it’s not great when the windscreen is mucky or there’s a bright glare off the road. I also like the start-stop indicator on the tacho – handy for those new to the tech. But 39.9mpg in solo driving, mainly on motorways and A-roads, was rather disappointing.