Insignia makes a stronger case
10/04/09 15:19 Filed in: Road
tests
If you simply count the number of
vehicles sold, the Vauxhall Vectra has to go down as a successful
model. But as Ford found with the Mondeo, being the darling of the
fleet buyers can be a double-edged sword.
Volume sales are only part of the story. You also have to make money on the vehicles you sell and that is the problem. The margins in the mainstream car market may be very tight, but they are wafer-thin in the fleet market. Also private buyers, or ‘user-choosers’, were put off the Vectra by its very success. They don’t want to drive that screams “sales representative” to their friends and neighbours.
The Vauxhall Insignia marks a decisive move to bury the Vectra image. This is a car that is aimed to appeal in its own right.
Vauxhall say it is “offering buyers in this class a compelling mix of breathtaking design and leading technology”. Hmmm. Yes. Not sure it is quite “breathtaking”... but it is certainly looks really good – a considerable advance on the model it follows.
There is a more up-market look to the styling. The stance is more sporting and there is even a hint of fashionable coupé about the sloping roof line. One thing you will notice about the Insignia is the disappearance of Vauxhall’s chrome ‘V’ strip on the grille. That may be significant. Have you ever noticed the number of owners who have removed to change the car’s image?
The Insignia’s more sophisticated design tends to set higher expectations when you open the door and sit behind the wheel. The expectations are fulfilled. This is really a rather pleasant space to inhabit. The note I put on my pad sums it up nicely. “Much more classy interior,” I noted, adding “feels good”.
The driving environment does, indeed, feel just right – apart from a clutch pedal with its rather long travel and late biting point. Space in the front is good. Space in the back is best described as adequate, rather than generous. The headroom, with the sloping roofline, could be a little tight for loftier passengers.
Vauxhall has some technical innovations on the Insignia to grab the headlines. One is the soon-to-be-available forward facing camera which can warn the driver if they are veering from the straight-and-narrow. The system can also recognise certain road signs and alert the driver.
There is also a lighting set up that – using a total of nine light functions — adapts the lighting to suit the conditions. The Insignia is also fitted with most welcome daytime running lights. When a third of car accidents in the UK are caused by drivers not looking properly, anything that improves visibility has to be a big ‘plus’ in my book!
My test car was the Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 Exclusiv Nav. This is the smallest of the engine sizes in the range, so it is not surprising that I found the acceleration a little flat in the overtaking range. Otherwise the Insignia proved to be a refined and responsive performer on city, country and dual carriageway roads.
It may not be rapid, but the 1.8-litre is the model to go for if you want good economy and lower tax. The official figures give an extra-urban figure of 47 mpg and a combined figure of 36.2 mpg. This latter figure was close to my best of 35 mpg on a country road route around tow, but I freely admit I was not driving with economy uppermost in my mind. In town work, the Insignia returned a still creditable 25 mpg. With CO2 emission of 184 g/km, the annual vehicle tax in the UK is £170.
The Insignia (in this case badged with the European Opel brand)
The price of the Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 Exclusiv Nav is £17,425. The Exclusiv specification brings 17-inch wheels and standard equipment includes cruise control, trip computer and automatic lighting control.
To sum up, I found the Insignia a very pleasant, relaxed and refined car to drive. It really does have a quality feel to it and, for that reason alone, it is a huge improvement on the Vectra. Add to that the way it drives and the Mondeo has a strong new rival.
Volume sales are only part of the story. You also have to make money on the vehicles you sell and that is the problem. The margins in the mainstream car market may be very tight, but they are wafer-thin in the fleet market. Also private buyers, or ‘user-choosers’, were put off the Vectra by its very success. They don’t want to drive that screams “sales representative” to their friends and neighbours.
The Vauxhall Insignia marks a decisive move to bury the Vectra image. This is a car that is aimed to appeal in its own right.
Vauxhall say it is “offering buyers in this class a compelling mix of breathtaking design and leading technology”. Hmmm. Yes. Not sure it is quite “breathtaking”... but it is certainly looks really good – a considerable advance on the model it follows.
There is a more up-market look to the styling. The stance is more sporting and there is even a hint of fashionable coupé about the sloping roof line. One thing you will notice about the Insignia is the disappearance of Vauxhall’s chrome ‘V’ strip on the grille. That may be significant. Have you ever noticed the number of owners who have removed to change the car’s image?
The Insignia’s more sophisticated design tends to set higher expectations when you open the door and sit behind the wheel. The expectations are fulfilled. This is really a rather pleasant space to inhabit. The note I put on my pad sums it up nicely. “Much more classy interior,” I noted, adding “feels good”.
The driving environment does, indeed, feel just right – apart from a clutch pedal with its rather long travel and late biting point. Space in the front is good. Space in the back is best described as adequate, rather than generous. The headroom, with the sloping roofline, could be a little tight for loftier passengers.
Vauxhall has some technical innovations on the Insignia to grab the headlines. One is the soon-to-be-available forward facing camera which can warn the driver if they are veering from the straight-and-narrow. The system can also recognise certain road signs and alert the driver.
There is also a lighting set up that – using a total of nine light functions — adapts the lighting to suit the conditions. The Insignia is also fitted with most welcome daytime running lights. When a third of car accidents in the UK are caused by drivers not looking properly, anything that improves visibility has to be a big ‘plus’ in my book!
My test car was the Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 Exclusiv Nav. This is the smallest of the engine sizes in the range, so it is not surprising that I found the acceleration a little flat in the overtaking range. Otherwise the Insignia proved to be a refined and responsive performer on city, country and dual carriageway roads.
It may not be rapid, but the 1.8-litre is the model to go for if you want good economy and lower tax. The official figures give an extra-urban figure of 47 mpg and a combined figure of 36.2 mpg. This latter figure was close to my best of 35 mpg on a country road route around tow, but I freely admit I was not driving with economy uppermost in my mind. In town work, the Insignia returned a still creditable 25 mpg. With CO2 emission of 184 g/km, the annual vehicle tax in the UK is £170.
The Insignia (in this case badged with the European Opel brand)
The price of the Vauxhall Insignia 1.8 Exclusiv Nav is £17,425. The Exclusiv specification brings 17-inch wheels and standard equipment includes cruise control, trip computer and automatic lighting control.
To sum up, I found the Insignia a very pleasant, relaxed and refined car to drive. It really does have a quality feel to it and, for that reason alone, it is a huge improvement on the Vectra. Add to that the way it drives and the Mondeo has a strong new rival.