West drive Opel Insignia hatchback since 2008 sedan

Opel Insignia 2.0: Time to change names

Ask me -whether Opel Vectra was a successful car, and you will take my free time for the next week. Because I do not know the exact answer to this question. But I will suffer them. Modern, safe, representative turns out, good? But the market spoke about the opposite, the vertors were poorly sold, and they were resold- even worse, significantly losing in price.
The new Opel Insignia, the succession of Vectra, the engineers built so that the answer to your question was more obvious.
Onomastics argue on behalf of a person, his fate depends. Captain Vrungel said about the same thing: as you call the boat, so it will float Vectra poorly. In Russia, as well as around the world, sales were poorly updated four years after the appearance (in 2002), the model could not fight competitors gaining strength, they were more fashionable and prestigious. Mazda6, Ford Mondeo, Toyota Avensis made the weather in the market, and Vectra simply designated the presence of the company in a promising D-segment.
Perhaps the customers associated not the best years in the life of Opel, or maybe the company considered that Insignia (the so-called signs of tsarist power in ancient Rome) sounds a noble fact that the new line of business sedanes changed the name , design, place on the market almost everything!
Now at 2,737 cm, which is provided by the new GM global platform, there can be seven civilian engines (including three diesel), with a capacity of 110 hp. up to 260 hp, front and all-wheel drive transmission and three types of body. And there is also a traditional sports version of the OPC with a bit around 325 hp, which should put an end to disputes is the new Opel interesting?
Interesting. InSignia lives in a special spirit that used to rarely flew past cars from Rüsselheim, and people made him in the car who have everything in order with fantasy and a sense of style. And, by the way, the Car of the Year 2009 contest commission thought in the same way, putting the first place in the car.
So, design. That's what with a capital letter. The uninterrupted squint of the headlights and the cunning shape of the lanterns favorably emphasize the smooth forms of the body, which from the bumper to the bumper stretched into worthy 4 830 mm. But he did not smash at all, this sign of power: the appearance of the car is more athletic than a representative-carrier. Thanks to the new-fiber profile of the pseudo-coupe, which is operated by many auto D, from Mazda6 to Passat CC. For this, by the way, the rear passengers will pay, with whom the rolling roof will definitely rub the crown, but I don’t know about it yet in the driver's seat.
The salon is literally pulled around the driver's interior to horrify plastic. If Vectra inside resembled a hard, rhythmic march, then Insignia like a melodic waltz. The softness of the shapes is pleasant, cozy, even a plastic tree along the glazing line looks good and natural. This vector was frightened by a steep console, gray faceless colors and toxic-orange backlight, and in insignia at the level and a rich combination of shades, and the imagination of designers.
Convenience? The main keys are large, visual, and are located within walking distance - you will not hold it. Landing also did not disappoint, it is convenient to get a complete set of adjustments of the chair (for surcharge and with an electrified lumbar stop) and the steering wheel. Unless I tuned in to the operation of a powerful two-liter turbocharger under the hood, and I am sitting in a comfortable chair, and it is not painful that I was clamped between the rollers of lateral support.
Quality? Perhaps, from a car applying for a revolution in the walls of Opel, I have the right to demand more. Plastic in areas where there is no potential contact with fingers, is harsh for the premium, and also too label collects dust and requires constant care. Efforts on the keys and climate systems are adequate, but without covering Soft-Touch, which is so pleasing in VW models or premium skoda. It turns out that the quality of the decoration in insignia is largely visual than the actual. But I almost believed! I also believed in the capabilities of the 2.0-liter motor, and not without reason: 1433 kilograms of equipped mass should be completely tolerant by 220 turbocharged forces.
The motor is a little delayed with a response on the bottom, but it will be played out in full, it is worth the arrow of the tachometer to cross the mark of 2,000 rpm. It is from it, and up to 4,000 rpm, there is a rush of thrust of 350 nm, and it is then that insignia becomes a well -piloting projectile for the flight with pleasure. Acceleration without turboyam, but too flat and not as gambling as you expect. For example, Mondeo with a 2.5 turbocharged engine from Focus ST wins up to hundreds of only 0.3 seconds (7.5 versus 7.8 C), but emotionally much brighter, even at low and medium-speeds. Maybe everything spoils the box (Ford is equipped only with a handle)? But the Ophevsky machine gun with six steps is not so bad: it is more configured for comfortable and smooth movement than sports starts, but did not bother with special inhibition. It is a pity that the test car was not equipped with an active Flexride suspension, which allows you to play with the settings, since the standard operation of the suspension will not be arranged. Sharp but predicted reactions to the steering wheel and good exchange rate stability even on wide rubber R18 235/45 spoiled shock absorbers, too sluggish, ineffectively practicing small irregularities. Of course, the rear passengers are unlikely to be shaking, but they still have to treat the tops of the top of the top of the top of the crown ...
But this is the nit -picking, honestly. It is clear that from a 220-horsepower elevator on low-profile rubber you are more likely to wait for sports reactions than the smoothness of the course. Moreover, both Flexride and the Adaptive 4x4 drive are able to adjust notes in the behavior of the machine. So, there should not be disappointed.
The main merit of Insignia is her ability to interest those who had not even looked towards Rurisselham products before. The shortcomings of execution are compensated by powerful design solutions, the image with a new name. And those 400 cars that are already gathering daily at the German Opel plant, the best confirmation that the struggle in the D-class has now become even more interesting.
  


Author: Alexander Mikhailov
Photo: Roman Ostanin

 

Source: Wheel magazine [July 2009]