New Vauxhall Insignia
Vauxhall unveils its Vectra replacement
You may have already seen the leaked images on the internet but Vauxhall today officially launched its Vectra replacement, the Insignia.
In the past the launch of a new mid-size Vauxhall would be a good time to think of as many ways as possible to say ‘boring’, but we have to say, this car actually doesn’t look too bad.
Also the good news is there will be a 260bhp version which is likely to have four-wheel drive, which should sort some of the handling issues of powerful Vectras of the past.
The car almost has a coupe-like roofline and there is what Vauxhall calls a ‘blade’ feature running from behind the front wheel and along the side of the car.
Overall the design is clean and Vauxhall has ditched the ‘V’ shaped front grill in favour of a tidier version.
The car will be available in hatchback and saloon guise initially, but expect an estate to join the range soon.
‘We’ve re-defined our design vocabulary,’ said Mark Adams, vice president of design, GM Europe.
‘The Insignia is muscular, but lithe and curvaceous. Our aim was to develop a confident look which reinforced the car’s superb driving dynamics, but also one that made it clear that this was a premium product, albeit still at a highly competitive price in its class.’
Inside there is ‘ambient lighting, which will be featured in future Vauxhall models, radiates a warm, luxurious aura’.
The Insignia also features AFL (Adaptive Forward Lighting) - nine different light beam settings automatically adjust themselves to cater for various driving conditions.
The Insignia is available with five engines at launch and come with either manual or automatic six-speed transmissions. The three petrol engines range from a four-cylinder 140bhp unit to a V6 with 260bhp.
Two new 2.0-litre direct-injection diesel engines will be offered with power outputs of either 130bhp or 160bhp.
So many curves and bends and surfaces conflicting, it just looks wank!
Yes, lovely bold sides, but then it gets fat over the rear wheel arch and frikkin tall, they know it, they have a strong line to mask it, but then oh no, they need a deep boot with a low entry point because one 3ft high is too high, so they droop the arse end down with a new line.
Sorry, but you can't have something nice that is compromised for the spec sheet.
Like the wheels though.
Dave
So Vauxhall: any glitches that will put buyers off? There always seems to be something that ruins it: daft indicator stalks maybe?
But I bet that the first one I see will be in non-met dark blue, have 14" hupcaps (one of which we be missing), scuffed bumpers, a 'DIESEL' sicker on the filler cap and have the tell-tale green Avis sticker in the window.
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