Vauxhall Insignia
Vauxhall is a brand confident in the current auto world of uncertainty recently redesigned its famous Griffin badge, and this, the all-new Vauxhall Insignia is the first model to wear it.
Vauxhall's big saloon cars have sold well, but usually played second fiddle to many of its rivals. Often seen as a 'rep's car', the Vauxhall Vectra - and the Cavalier before it - have been worthy, but ultimately unexciting machines.
Vauxhall is hoping the Vectra's replacement, the Insignia, will change all that.
Vauxhall have moved their game on when it comes to its styling, the Insignia is the first Vauxhall for many years to have a truly radical design.
Gone is the front grill 'V' bar replaced by a huge chrome grille, with the restyled Vauxhall badge, side on the car displays a coupe-like profile sweeping through to rear integrated spoiler, some what similar to the BMW 6 Series, the Insignia is truly a stand out car.
The lines along the doors which Vauxhall describe as 'blade' will be a feature of future models, as will the shaped accents within the headlamps, which are visible in the daytime running lights will also become a Vauxhall trademark.
The Insignia sports a slightly higher bonnet than it's predecessors 50mm actually than that of the outgoing Vectra to help with pedestrian crash protection.
At launch, Vauxhall will offer saloon and hatchback models, although the hatchback is likely to make up the bulk of sales. There's very little difference in the look of the models, although the hatch makes great work of exposing the huge 520 litre boot, and a Sports Tourer estate model completes the set.
The design of the interior has moved up a gear from that of the Vectra, in comes a swooping dash featuring plenty of nice looking and tactile plastics, betraying it's German design, as despite flashing the British Vauxhall badge, it was actually designed by Opel in Germany.
The cabin is well built, although does come up a little short with a centre console looking a little cheap against the rest of the high quality interior.
There's plenty amount of storage within reach of the driver, and the controls are well laid out, although buttons in the centre console can be tricky to identify at night.
Front passengers are well served with plenty of space, although rear set passengers may feel a little tighter due to the sloping coupe roof line.
The instruments are very clear, and as a feature a colour change when specified with the Easy ride system, which tailors the ride and steering through three settings. ‘Tour’ and ‘Normal’ are white, while ‘Sport’ activates a more sinister red glow.
But even in the stiff Sport mode, the ride quality is excellent. For the bulk of our test route, we left the car in its normal setting, and found it a superb compromise, affording plenty of comfort, but very limited body roll through bends.
Vauxhall offers a comprehensive engine choice, which sees five power plants in the range. Petrol options include a 1.8, 2-litre turbo and 2.8 V6 turbo, while a pair of 2-litre diesels in 130PS and 160PS guises complete the line-up.
The 2-litre turbo offers 220PS, and 350Nm of pulling power. Its refinement hides its performance, with it never really feeling the sports saloon it might have been. Power delivery is very smooth, with it covering 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 147mph, but the car's 1,650kgs left us wanting more pulling power.
The hot 2.8 V6 turbo caters for that end of the market - the engine previously found in the Vauxhall Vectra VXR. That model will reach 62mph from rest in just 6.7 seconds, before reaching 155mph.
The diesels will make up a significant percentage of sales, thanks to their economy. Both models can return an average of 48.7mpg, while emitting 154g/km of CO2. An ultra-efficient ECOflex version, which will emit less than 140g/km will be available later in 2009.
Vauxhall claim the Insignia is one of the safest cars on the road, and cites a host of features including ABS, ESP, traction control, multi-stage front and side airbags for driver and front passenger, head curtain airbags for front and outer rear seats and collapsible pedals among more conventional features.
Its adaptive brake lights flash if the car's ABS is activated above 20mph, while Vauxhall's Intelligent Adaptive Forward Lighting (Intelligent AFL) has nine light functions which operate depending on the car's speed and steering angle. It features LED daytime running lights, and can automatically detect oncoming vehicles when running on main beam to dip the headlights to avoid dangerous dazzling. Additionally, Vauxhall will introduce a front camera system after launch which can read traffic signs to provide information on speed limits. Understandably the company are confident that their vehicle will get full marks in the EuroNCAP crash test programme.
So the Vauxhall Insignia with its bold styling and excellent - possibly class-leading - ride comfort will make Vauxhall a desired label again.
All Insignias come with high levels of equipment as standard, including ABS, ESP, passenger airbag deactivation, automatic headlights, electric driver’s seat height adjuster and electrically adjustable four-way lumbar support. Cruise control is also standard across the range, along with front, side and curtain airbags and ISOFIX child seat mountings.
The entry level S model receives manual air conditioning, a seven speaker radio/CD with steering wheel mounted controls, power door mirrors, trip computer and a leather trimmed steering wheel.
The Exclusive model adds single zone climate control, 17-inch steel wheels with bespoke fitted wheel trims, a front centre armrest with storage facility, and interior ambient lighting. Step up to the SE for 18-inch alloys wheels, an electronic handbrake, automatic wipers, electric rear windows, electric passenger’s seat height adjuster and electrically adjustable four way lumbar support as well as an audio upgrade which includes an MP3-compatible six-disc auto changer and DAB digital radio.
At the sporty end of the range is the SRi which has sports seats, single zone climate control, electric rear windows, front fog lights and suspension lowered by 15mm.
The Elite model builds on the SE, adding full leather trim, eight way electrically adjustable drivers seat, dual zone climate control, front and rear park sensors, Intelligent Adaptive Forward Lighting, front fog lights and folding door mirrors. Flexride is standard on the 2.0 Turbo and 2.8 V6 petrol engines, while 4X4 is also standard on the 2.8 V6 model. Flexride is also standard on the 2.0 Turbo petrol engine.
Vauxhall is a brand confident in the current auto world of uncertainty recently redesigned its famous Griffin badge, and this, the all-new Vauxhall Insignia is the first model to wear it.
Vauxhall's big saloon cars have sold well, but usually played second fiddle to many of its rivals. Often seen as a 'rep's car', the Vauxhall Vectra - and the Cavalier before it - have been worthy, but ultimately unexciting machines.
Vauxhall is hoping the Vectra's replacement, the Insignia, will change all that.
Vauxhall have moved their game on when it comes to its styling, the Insignia is the first Vauxhall for many years to have a truly radical design.
Gone is the front grill 'V' bar replaced by a huge chrome grille, with the restyled Vauxhall badge, side on the car displays a coupe-like profile sweeping through to rear integrated spoiler, some what similar to the BMW 6 Series, the Insignia is truly a stand out car.
The lines along the doors which Vauxhall describe as 'blade' will be a feature of future models, as will the shaped accents within the headlamps, which are visible in the daytime running lights will also become a Vauxhall trademark.
The Insignia sports a slightly higher bonnet than it's predecessors 50mm actually than that of the outgoing Vectra to help with pedestrian crash protection.
At launch, Vauxhall will offer saloon and hatchback models, although the hatchback is likely to make up the bulk of sales. There's very little difference in the look of the models, although the hatch makes great work of exposing the huge 520 litre boot, and a Sports Tourer estate model completes the set.
The design of the interior has moved up a gear from that of the Vectra, in comes a swooping dash featuring plenty of nice looking and tactile plastics, betraying it's German design, as despite flashing the British Vauxhall badge, it was actually designed by Opel in Germany.
The cabin is well built, although does come up a little short with a centre console looking a little cheap against the rest of the high quality interior.
There's plenty amount of storage within reach of the driver, and the controls are well laid out, although buttons in the centre console can be tricky to identify at night.
Front passengers are well served with plenty of space, although rear set passengers may feel a little tighter due to the sloping coupe roof line.
The instruments are very clear, and as a feature a colour change when specified with the Easy ride system, which tailors the ride and steering through three settings. ‘Tour’ and ‘Normal’ are white, while ‘Sport’ activates a more sinister red glow.
But even in the stiff Sport mode, the ride quality is excellent. For the bulk of our test route, we left the car in its normal setting, and found it a superb compromise, affording plenty of comfort, but very limited body roll through bends.
Vauxhall offers a comprehensive engine choice, which sees five power plants in the range. Petrol options include a 1.8, 2-litre turbo and 2.8 V6 turbo, while a pair of 2-litre diesels in 130PS and 160PS guises complete the line-up.
The 2-litre turbo offers 220PS, and 350Nm of pulling power. Its refinement hides its performance, with it never really feeling the sports saloon it might have been. Power delivery is very smooth, with it covering 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 147mph, but the car's 1,650kgs left us wanting more pulling power.