Big fleet seller gets improved in-car refinement and a lower list price
The Vauxhall Insignia has been given a major makeover that centres on greater in-car refinement, much-reduced running costs for company drivers and list price cuts of £3500 to £5000.
Vauxhall sources say the car’s suspension and steering set-up have been reworked, with new bushes, revised settings for the dampers and anti-roll bars and new software for the electric power steering. Overall, the aim has been to improve ride refinement and deliver a chassis with slicker responses.
The entry-level 138bhp 1.8-litre petrol Insignia Design has a list price of £16,279 —£3500 cheaper than the outgoing ES entry model. Its kit list includes DAB, cruise control, climate control, Bluetooth and electric driver’s seat adjustment. The entry-level 2.0-litre diesel (119g/km of CO2) is priced at £17,909 and the 99g/km Ecoflex version is £18,749.
The weakest technical link with the original Insignia was the 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine. The revised unit is claimed to be much more refined, especially when cold and at lower speeds at wide throttle openings. This new model will also benefit from GM’s all-new five-speed and six-speed manual gearboxes.
Although the Insignia line-up gets the all-new 167bhp 1.6-litre and 246bhp 2.0-litre SIDI turbo petrol engines, it is expected to be at least another 12 months until the all-new 1.6-litre turbodiesel is offered. Even so, Vauxhall says the 99g/km Ecoflex version of the 2.0-litre engine gives it a key advantage in running costs and taxes for business drivers.
The exterior has been updated with a redesigned nose and tail. There is a larger grille, tweaked headlamps and a new front bumper with larger, lower air intakes. At the rear, the new bumper extends lower to hide the rear suspension and the new rear light clusters are extended on to the bootlid and hatchback. The rear also gets a new ‘logo bar’. The changes are designed to make the Insignia look lower and wider.
There are bigger changes inside, where the dashboard gets a major makeover. There are far fewer buttons on the centre console. Materials are claimed to better and there’s now the option of an eight-inch touchscreen. The steering wheel has been redesigned, as have the on-wheel controls.
The new Insignia will make its debut at the Frankfurt motor show in September, and the order book is open now for late September delivery.