These are leaked pictures of the all-new Insignia, Vauxhall’s replacement for the Vectra and the car intended to give General Motors a genuine rival to the Ford Mondeo.The Insignia is larger and better-looking than the car it replaces, but it’s also been engineered to offer the sort of quality feel previously unknown to Vauxhall drivers. The car will make its official debut at the London Motor Show in July, with the first cars being delivered to UK customers in October.The leaked pictures show a car which, like the Ford Mondeo, Citroen C5 and Honda Accord, features more individualistic and ‘premium’ styling, intended to help distinguish it from other D-segment rivals. Like other mainstream manufacturers Vauxhall is keen to press the increasingly upmarket credentials of its new family car, while continuing to undercut marques like BMW and Audi.The Insignia is the first production model to use GM’s new Epsilon 2 platform, a much-altered and improved version of the original Epsilon used by the current Vectra. It’s grown substantially, being nearly seven inches longer than the current car. The leaked images show the saloon version, but both hatchback and estate bodystyles will also be offered. The exterior design is striking, boasting a coupé-like profile and a shrink-wrapped, compact look (surprising, considering the car’s Mondeo-beating dimensions). A distinctive scalloped shape runs from the driver’s door down the side of the bodyshell, working with the relatively shallow glasshouse to emphasise the car’s sporty profile.The Insignia’s interior design takes GM’s European models to new level of material quality and sophistication. The architecture and ambience is far more radical than the severe practicality of the Vectra; in fact, it makes most BMWs look austere. Technical details will be released later in the week, and we’ll be the first to bring you the full story and the official pictures.
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Re: Vauxhall Insignia leaked
I think the car looks very good and it is clearly part of the current generation of Vauxhalls which began with the Astra in `03, albeit with a faint Japanese influence while the bootline and rear lights look similar to the 2nd gen Hyundai Lantra.
However, while Ford seems to have found a winner in terms of sales with the latest Mondeo will Vauxhall have the same success against BMW, Merc and Audi? Sadly, i doubt it even if the car is fabulous and trumps the Mondeo as class best. In many eyes the Vauxhall badge really doesn't cut it in today's image conscious world and it is possibly percieved as worse than a Ford badge.
Re: Vauxhall Insignia leaked
Perhaps it will look better in the flesh, but I'm no fan of bulbous oversized vehicles. These "family cars" are now very large, that the class underneath are able to accommodate a family easily. Therefore why spend more money than necessary on a bigger car?
Personally I drive a "small family estate" with over 500l of regular boot space, and more legroom than I'd ever need. Thankfully it's less than 1.8m wide (excluding mirrors), meaning I can actually get it into my parking space, and on the country lanes the near misses are still near misses rather than trips to a repair shop. If we had wide open roads then big cars might make sense, but we don't - no wonder everyone is downsizing, so that leaves a smaller market for big cars. At least this will make sense above the (to me) similar in size Corsa and Astra.
Re: Vauxhall Insignia leaked
It is a nice enough looking car. Trouble is no-one buys this type of car anymore, if you are a private buyer and you want a saloon you buy a Beemer, Audi or Passat. If you do not buy one of those then you buy a CR-V or a Zafira etc.
So in Europe this car will be a cab, or a rep car. However ... look at the bigger picture, this car will underpin many cars in the US (Saturn Aura, new Buick, Chevvy etc) China (Buick Regal) and so on. For GM this car is very important and will bring in the bucks, in Europe it is as pointless as the 407, C5, Avensis and so on.
Makes you shudder to think that the Saab 93 is now based on this cars predecessors predecessor. :(