Page 38 - Fast Car (March 2020)

TOP 10 MOTORWAY BRUISERS

Vauxhall Insignia VXR
e
V
a
e

e
o
h

a
e
l
v
f
o
h
e
y
t

t
o
e
n
d
k
r
l

c
a

a
fl
k
t
r
r
T The old Vectras taken a lot of flack over the years s
c
o
t
s
a
n
u
c

u
g
i
l
n
s
f
i
e
a
c
o
’

,
t
b
i
b
s

r
i
t

e
t

,
g
e
b
s
l
u
l
e

a
r
o
a
s
e

y
f for being boring, because, let’s face it, it usually is. .
i

,
W e h a v e s e e n p e o p l e t u r n V e c t r a V X R s i n t o p r e t t y
We have seen people turn Vectra VXRs into pretty
cool projects, but for the most part it’s not a car to
co o l p r o j e c t s , b u t f o r t h e m o s t p a r t i t ’ s n o t a c a r t o
get t he blood pum ping . And t he s ame ’ s t r ue of t he
get the blood pumping. And the same’s true of the
Insignia that replaced it – a large, bland, neutral-al-
Insi gnia t ha t r eplac ed it – a lar ge , bland , neut r
n
n

v

i
p
p
i

e
i
V
r
s
l
c
t

r
a

a
a
d
.
l
X
n
l
i
t
R

t
a
i
h
,
h
h handling appliance. Until the VXR arrived, that is. .
n
g
e
t
a
U
e
d
i

n
B Because the top-of-the-line Insignia is frankly a bit of f
i
i
-
o
-
n
s
t
l
p
g
e

a
o
s
b
-
t
n
e
e
f
e
n
c
l
a
y

h
I
k

u
a
f
t
r
i
t
i

o
h

e
s
a

a
2
u
r
o
r
d
b
e

a
t
h
g
c
s
V
t
’
c
l

h
n
i
i
.
I

h
t
u
r
t
e

s
e
o

i
.
a
a nutter. It’s got a turbocharged 2.8-litre V6 which is
t
6
t
g
w
-
r

8
e
e
o
l
a
l

u
l
k
h
l
t
the very definition of overkill, serving up a beautifully y
e
r
t

u
v
i
e
v
i
f
f
d
p
e

i
n

e

n
rv
g
u
fi
n
o
i
ry

i

,

s
o
b
a
t
a

n

i
s

h
-
e
m
d
p
c
t
a
h
i
e
d
6
s
2

p
n
c

2
a
s
.
s
e
b
0
h
e
p
u unnecessary 321bhp. 0-62mph is despatched in a
n
1
3
ry
mere 6.7 seconds and your annual road tax bill
m e r e 6 . 7 s e c o n d s a n d y o u r a n n u a l r o a d t a x b i l l
g
o
y
s

5
–
g
h
i
m
i
s

5

n
a

o
t
t
is a mighty £555 – which isn’t something to be e
£
t
5
c
b
i
h
w
e
i
t
s
n

’
h

m
h
i

t

i
a
b

l
n
g
l
e
m
i

m
b
n
l
t
e
g
s
a
o
l
x
o
d
s
i
a
s

n
a ashamed of, it makes an excellent bling-bling boast t

e

n
e
,
f
k

-
b
a
c
e
h
t
T
e

.
v
l
a
r
e
p
a
l
o
n
h
b
t
h
r

e

e
t

.
e
n
r
t
w
a

i in the Travelodge bar. Screw the planet. Forget the
S
e
o
g
F
e
d
c

g
h
t
e

r
a
s
c
p
e
polar bears. Sod the increasing moves toward eco o
t
a
r
w
o
b

r
l

o

d
a
e
e
.

v
i

a

S
i
t
s
n
o
h
r
e
g
r
n
e
d
o
m

s
c
g
5
o
1
r
o

a
u
motoring. Embrace your 251g/km CO2 output. .
u
r
m
o
t
y
u

o
2
t
c

p
e
t
m
O
m
E
2
n
/
i
k
b
r

C
.

g
’
r
t
s

h
f
Life’s too short, eh? ?
o
o
h
o
Li
e
s
t
e

,
PRICE TODAY: £8,000
,000
£8
emap
ena
t
C
t r
TOP 3 MODS: Courtenay Sport remap,
our
y Spor
,
s
w
t
c
g
e

KW

KW V3 coilovers, lightweight flywheel l
r
e
V
o
e

i
i
fl
w
,
3
e
g
v
h
t
l
i
y
o
h
h
l

Volkswagen CC
If there’s any car that’s going to swish you to your location with pleasing thrust while flying under the radar
of the boy racers, it’s this one. What Volkswagen did in creating the CC was a stroke of genius, really: in its
first generation it was badged ‘Passat CC’. Whereas the CC name was used by other manufacturers to mean
coupe-cabriolet, VW’s own interpretation was comfort-coupe. They took the humdrum run-of-the-mill Passat
and redesign the body as a slinky four-door with a coupe-like vibe – like Mercedes-Benz did with the CLS. So
the underpinnings are all Passat, but it’s all a bit more… posh. If you get a post-2012 facelift car (simply badged
Volkswagen CC), you get a more modern nose-and-tail design, and opting for the GT spec gets you all the
gadgets and the nicer seats. Most importantly, you need to look past the fact most of the CCs on the market
are either diesels or automatics (or both) and find yourself a 2.0-litre petrol with a manual ’box. The TSI engine’s
good for 211bhp standard, and a Revo Stage 1 remap takes that up to anywhere between 250-280bhp. You’ll
be swishing into the Grimsby Premier Inn in no time.

PRICE TODAY: £9,000
TOP 3 MODS: Revo remap, BMC CDA induction, Air Lift suspension

038 www.fastcar.co.uk