The Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer has been revealed at the Frankfurt motor show. It will act as a rival to Audi's Audi A6 Allroad, with sales expected to begin before the end of the year.
The car, which has previously been spotted testing, will be powered by a choice of three engines at launch, including one petrol and two diesels. The entry-level 2.0-litre CDTi turbodiesel unit produces 161bhp and 258 lb ft of torque, which can be temporarily increased to 280lb ft via an overboost function.
A 195bhp 2.0-litre CDTi BiTurbo engine sits in the middle of the range. Thanks to a sequential two-stage turbocharger the unit can produce 295lb ft of torque.
The sole petrol option at launch will be the 2.0-litre SIDI (Spark Ignition Direct Injection) Turbo, which produces 247bhp and 295lb ft.
Both the 2.0-litre SIDI Turbo and the 2.0-litre CDTi turbodieselare offered with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic gearbox. The higher-powered 2.0-litre CDTI BiTurbo, however, can only be ordered with the automatic gearbox option.
Vauxhall has given the Insignia Country Tourer a wider and deeper front grille with a silver chrome insert hinting at the protection plate underneath. Twin chrome tailpipes feature at the rear, while grey side cladding, prominent in these pictures, is designed to protect the flanks of the Country Tourer from off-road obstacles.
The car features an electronically controlled 4x4 system which can vary torque at both the front and rear axles of the car continuously. Vauxhall is confident that its system, in conjunction with electronically controlled suspension, will offer good control on off-road surfaces. The car uses a latest-generation Haldex system to manage its torque, meaning that the car can switch to front wheel drive four-wheel drive isn't needed.
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A great big lump
Following on from the "Toobignia" itself, this is no less of an oversized lump than might be expected. Unless someone has found a means of increasing the size of this country someone needs to get the size of vehicles down.
How the hell does switching
How the hell does switching to frontwheel drive when 4x4 isnt needed reduce weight ? ! Ok, it could jetison the extra diffs and propshaft after it switched to frontwheel drive, but how can it go back to four wheel drive after its done that ? Maybe it carries spare diffs and a prop shaft, but that would mean several trips to a dealer a day to replace the spares, (surely it wouldnt carry more than 1 set) so it could switch back to 4x4. Or maybe the writer is just talking nonsense ? !
Hope its better built than the Astra
I supposes its okayish as many Vauxhalls are nowadays . However I would not have one . The Astra I have just hired is poor. Loose and rattling trim and even worse the handbrake is so close to the gear lever housing you catch your knuckles every time you relaese the handbrake .
An unforgiveable design flaw in a modern car . Id sooner have a Skoda !
So Vauxhall if you really want to go upmarket youd better focus on getting basic design right let alone squishy plastics on dashboards and kidding yourselves you are competing with Audi .
So hang on....
....your comparing quality with a hire car. Yep a hire car. No wonder it rattles - who ever gets a hire car and treats it even 'quite' well lolz (hint: think holiday hire car)! No problems with mine after 44k miles (and seen plenty of broken down Octavia's on the M8 roadside). Please think before you write....