New Vauxhall Insignia - first UK drive

Vauxhall is a brand brimming with confidence. It 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.

We sent Stuart Milne to the roads around Loch Lomond to deliver his verdict.

There's certainly no denying Vauxhall has moved the game on when it comes to its styling. It’s the first Vauxhall for many years to have a truly radical design.

From the huge chrome grille, with its restyled Vauxhall badge, through its coupe-like side profile to a sweeping rear with integrated spoiler, reminiscent from some angles of a BMW 6 Series, the Insignia is a striking car.

The L-shaped lines along the doors will be a feature of future models, and its likely similarly-shaped accents within the headlamps, which are visible in the daytime running lights will also become a Vauxhall trademark.

View more images of the stunning new Vauxhall Insignia

If the bonnet looks unusually high, that's because it is – 50mm higher than that of the outgoing Vauxhall Vectra to help with pedestrian crash protection.

From 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. The Sports Tourer estate model will follow in early 2009.

View images of the Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer

Stunning interior

The design of the interior has moved up a gear from that of the Vectra too. The swooping dash uses plenty of nice looking and tactile plastics, to offer a distinctly German feel – and it should, as despite wearing the British Vauxhall badge, it was actually designed by Opel in Germany.

The cabin feels generally well built, although some of the plastics around the centre console felt a little cheap against the rest of the high quality interior. 

There's a good 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 catered for with plenty of space, although headroom is limited in the rear due to the sloping roofline.

The dials are very clear, and actually change colour when specified with the Easyride system, which tailors the ride and steering through three settings. ‘Tour’ and ‘Normal’ are white, while ‘Sport’ activates a more sinister red glow.

View EXCLUSIVE images of the Insignia being unveiled at the British Motor Show

Developed on the Nürburgring

Vauxhall says its spent a great deal of time testing and developing the Insignia in northern Sweden and eastern Spain. The challenging Nürburgring circuit in Germany helped to hone its handling, and Millbrook in Bedfordshire was used to tailor the car for British roads.

We tested the four-wheel drive chassis with the 2-litre turbocharged engine, and found its levels of grip superb. On wet Scottish lanes, the surefooted Insignia cut through corners in a very neutral stance, free from understeer (where the front wheels wash wide in bends) and oversteer (where the back end flicks out).

Under hard cornering it's possible to feel the four-wheel drive system working, shifting power back and forth to keep the car in line.

Like most cars with electric power steering, the steering feels a little artificial, and we found it too eager to self-centre when exiting corners. But the Easyride system fitted as a cost option to our car (standard on some models) helped to overcome this. 

Sport mode weights up the steering, and firms the suspension to transform the Insignia into a drivers' car of near Ford Mondeo levels.

View more images of the stunning new Vauxhall Insignia

Wonderful ride comfort

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 bodyroll through bends.

Vauxhall offers a comprehensive engine choice, which sees five powerplants 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 we tested 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.

View images of the new Vauxhall Insignia

Efficient diesel engines

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 in 2009.

Although the Vauxhall Insignia hasn't been put through the EuroNCAP crash test programme yet, Vauxhall is confident of full marks. It claims 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.

View more images of the stunning new Vauxhall Insignia

So will the Vauxhall Insignia re-assert Vauxhall as a desirable player in the minds of buyers? Almost certainly.

Its bold styling and excellent – possibly class-leading – ride comfort will be enough for many, but for sheer driving thrills the Ford Mondeo just edges it.

Vauxhall Insignia equipment

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 Exclusiv 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 autochanger 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.

View more images of the stunning new Vauxhall Insignia

Check out the trailer for the new Insignia:

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