Features

The Insignia replaces the Vectra. You can hardly blame GM for changing the name, because the Vectra badge has become a ball and chain that no new car could successfully drag along. But a new name alone won't do the trick. In 1995, the Vectra replaced the Cavalier. That was one unpleasant car succeeding another, and no amount of renaming could hide it. If the Insignia nameplate is going to get any respect, the car it’s riveted to has to be a real step forward.

So the Insignia is. GM knewit had to look better and feel likea quality item. After all, brilliant dynamics aren’t the be-all and end-all. If they were, Audi certainly wouldn't have got where it is today.

The Insignia's designers have done all the right things: fast screen angles front and rear,a muscular sweep to the surfaces, big wheels to fill the arches, neat details, careful shutlines and smart jewellery. The widened track helps a lot, of course. Both the saloon and the hatch share a similar sleek tail end. Next January’s estate, slightly longer aft of the back wheels, has all the confidenceof an Audi A6 wagon.

And inside, progress is even bigger. The old stack-of-boxes dash has given way to a series of gestural sweeps, with the passenger section pushed right away toward the windscreen to give you a sense of room to stretch. A centre switch panel hovers just proud of the main console surface, givingsubtle 3D interest that is emphasised by its night-time rim-lighting.

Even the stalks are new, and the indicators work like they should - the stalk stays in position rather than meaninglessly returning to the centre, a habit of current Vauxhalls (and BMWs, let us not forget) that drives everyone who has ever experienced it completely batty. You even turn the key in order to start the engine. Some ideas have been around for years because they work.

As with the Mondeo, the Insignia will eventually share its platform with all sorts of other cars all over the world, including Saabs. This means Vauxhall has been able to give it a variety of options that, if being done forthe Insignia alone, would never justify the development cost. For instance, 4WD and big V6s will do OK in the next Saab 9-5, and so they're being made available as options for the Insignia. You just know the AGM of the Insignia

V6 4WD Owners Club could take place in a phone box.