The Vauxhall Vectra was a roomy car with decent workhorse engines which was at its best on the motorway. The Vectra had a long presence in the British car market and as much as it was never really a top seller it had a long term mass appeal, meaning there are still many of them on the road. The Vectra ended production in 2008 and was replaced by the slightly bigger Insignia. The parallels between the two are clearly visible – the Insignia is also best described as a Cruiser and is ideal for notching up motorway miles, but in terms of engineering excellence and style Vauxhall have moved up a level.
One of the most striking facts about the new Insignia is that it can travel 750 miles between fill ups. This obviously won’t necessarily save you any money, but it will lessen those exasperating trips to the fuel pump.
What will save you money is the 2.0 CDTi’s impressive fuel economy. The ecoFlex diesel engine offers 58.9mpg on the extra urban cycles and still achieves 0-60mph in an impressive 8.9 seconds.
As mentioned previously, the Insignia is ideal for those putting in the motorway miles. At high speeds it has one of the lowest drag coefficients of any practical car on the road. The drag figures are those you would more readily associate with a sports car.
The Insignia is particularly aerodynamic because of its super sleek new design. Graceful is a word that springs to mind. It’s as big as almost any car on the road but it doesn’t look cumbersome. The bonnet is sturdy yet dashing due to a wide lower grille and sleek headlamps which taper towards the wing mirrors.