Country Tourer provides taste of high life

“The Insignia Country Tourer is one of the smartest cars Vauxhall has produced in years,” according to Richard Hammond in the Daily Mirror. And he cites it as the perfect alternative to the Audi A4 Allroad. “Like the Audi it has four-wheel drive, a loftier ride height (by 20mm) than a standard car and bits of plastic cladding stuck around the place to prevent paint damage in the unlikely event of going off-road. “The price tag attached to our white 2.0 CDTi reads £25,349 which, to save you the maths, is pretty much spot on £6,000 less than the Audi. "That’s a lot of money for the bragging rights of having an Audi on your drive. Especially as the Country Tourer looks every bit as good as the A4 – in fact, it looks better. Our white test car is running on very sexy grey machined alloy wheels and looks the business.” Hammond describes the Vauxhall as a “quiet cruiser” and says it’s “so classy” that “even the cheapest Country Tourer comes with a powered tailgate, front and rear parking sensors, xenon lights and privacy glass”. He adds: “If you really want to spend a load more money, buy the Audi. I wouldn’t.” (Link: Daily Mirror, 3 January)