Without exception, everyone who saw this car, remarked very favourably on its styling and finish. I certainly found it to be very satisfactory all round and was particularly impressed with its ability to allow you to select your own preferred performance characteristics, Sport or Touring. Having driven in both modes I am impressed with both options.
Initially it took me a while to get used to it. The difficulty was that my previous test car had a 2.0 litre turbocharged diesel engine, with plenty of low down torque. It would run without complaint with just 1,300 - 1,500 rpm on the tachometer. This car has a good torque output but you need to keep it at 2,000 rpm or above. Once I got used to that, there was no difficulty. It does involve more frequent gearchanging in an urban driving environment, but the car has a very positive gearchange, so that is no problem.
I am not a great fan of black interiors, but this car’s black interior, set off with satin finish aluminium, bright chrome and piano black veneers, was superb. I certainly could find no fault with it and, dare I say it, I actually liked it. The instruments and driving controls were all beautifully laid out which makes driving so much more relaxing and comfortable.

The excellent leather covered steering wheel was almost an instrument panel in itself, with controls for the audio system, cruise control and telephone, clearly set out on its two horizontal spokes. A compact rotary switch on the right hand side of the facia, just below the ventilation duct, has all the controls for the lights and fog lamps. The car comes with automatic headlamps, but thankfully this rotary switch allows you to turn them off by twisting it to the left. You have to do it every time you restart the engine, but at least it can be done in those conditions where you consider it to be necessary. Close by on the driver’s door, just ahead of the shiny chrome door handle, there is another rotary control for electrically adjusting the exterior rear view mirrors.
The lower section of the centre console, houses all the controls for the dual zone air-conditioning system. This includes heating and cooling for the two front seats. These two seats come with a full range of adjustments, most done manually, but others like the lumbar support are done electrically. The car was fitted with figure hugging sports seats, which were very comfortable and contributed greatly to the overall driving pleasure.
A large screen in the top centre of the facia, when switched off, shows the time, date and outside air temperatures at the top of the screen and a large Opel badge in the centre. When switched on it gives information on the audio settings, or if the navigation DVD is in use, it gives the required navigational information.
As you would expect in a car of this price range, there are four electric windows, front fog lamps and covered vanity mirrors in each of the two sun visors.

This model is fitted with a turbocharged, direct injection petrol engine. It is tuned to give a very outstanding 81.081 kW/lt, which puts it well into the super performance class. Top speed is an outstanding 234 kph (145 mph), with 0-100 kph acceleration in 8.0 seconds. Before you yawn and say, “So what !” at that eight seconds, just remember that this is a spacious five door family hatchback, with a large boot, not some compact, two seater sports roadster, or 2+2 coupe. It has a power/weight ratio of 12.561 kg/kW, which puts it into some very distinguished company indeed. A BMW 525 SE that I tested in March 2004 had similar levels of performance, but it had a 2.5 litre petrol engine which only drove the rear wheels, whereas this Opel has the additional drag associated with four wheel drive.
On the urban cycle it is recorded as having a consumption of 13.2 lt/100 km (21 mpg), which improves to 7.0 lt/100 km (40 mpg) on the extra urban cycle, giving a combined cycle average of 9.3 lt/100 km (30 mpg). The BMW had carbon dioxide exhaust emissions of 228 gm/km, compared to 215 gm/km for the Opel. This shows that progress is being made in reducing emissions, as although the fuel used and the performance delivered is the same, emissions have dropped.

The Insignia is potentially a five seater, but like most cars today, the centre section of the rear bench seat, is not the most comfortable seat in the house. The backrest is hard, due to that folding centre armrest, the cushion is a little bit yielding, but not as much as those on either side and the centre tunnel means that you have to put one foot on either side. The Insignia has a very sleek and sporty, sloping roofline, so that passengers of average height, sitting up higher in the middle, will find their heads in contact with the roof lining, which is hardly comfortable. Average height adults in the two outer places have just sufficient headroom.
Luggage room on the other hand is very generous. When all five seats are in use, there is 0.530 cubic metres of space. This is marginally better than that 525 SE BMW. The rear seat on the test car, a hatchback, was divided 60/40, so that when only two seats are needed, both back seat backrests can be dropped onto the cushions, allowing the space to increase to 1.465 cubic metres. If your luggage is bulky, rather than heavy, so that you need even more space, this Insignia will carry up to 100 kg in a suitable box on the roof. As the plate on the car was not specific to the particular version in question, but tended to cover the Insignia range as a whole, it was impossible to ascertain the actual gross vehicle weight and gross train weight, for this particular specification and as a result I cannot give you the maximum trailer weight with complete certainty. However, it would appear that 1400 kg would be safe for braked trailers and 750 kg for unbraked trailers. There is a possibility that you may be able to go as high as 2000 kg for braked trailers, but this would have to be verified with Opel and your local Opel dealer.

Above left : Normal luggage space ----------------- Above right : Maximum luggage space

Above left : Seat backs dropped --------------------- Above right : Spacesaver spare wheel

The car was fitted with fat, low profile tyres, so I am not happy with the provision of a skinny Spacesaver as a spare wheel. The normal tyres have almost double the tread width of the spare, which must adversely affect the ride and roadholding of the car, especially on wet or slippery surfaces. Also you have to remember that these Spacesaver tyres are not suitable, even for emergency use, when you are towing a trailer or caravan. While they may save a bit of weight, I am not convinced that they do not adversely affect the safety of the car, especially in difficult driving conditions.
The Opel Insignia 2.0 Turbo SRi with all wheel drive has a pretty standard arrangement of MacPherson struts up front with an independent multi-link rear suspension. It gave a comfortable ride in both Touring and Sport modes, even over Fingal’s pathetic road surfaces. The steering has a reassuringly positive feel, with just 2.75 turns from lock to lock, yet it never felt heavy or cumbersome at slow and manoeuvring speeds, or vague and imprecise at touring or cruising speeds.
Any car with an exciting performance like this Opel, needs good reliable brakes. The system is naturally servo assisted and based on dual circuits for safety. It operates large 323 mm ventilated discs at the front with large 318 mm ventilated discs at the back. The system has anti-lock with emergency brake assist and a hill start assist, plus an electronic stability programme which includes traction control.

Technical data

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