Last week, JOE’s Oisin Collins had the pleasure of driving around in the new Opel Insignia, so here’s a look at how he got on driving on some snowy roads in the Wicklow Mountains.
Car tested: Opel Insignia SE 2.0L CDTi 140hp – €30,756 (Starting from €24,995)
The Opel Insignia remains the flagship model for the German automaker and quite a bit of effort has gone into further refining the popular saloon, which received its first ‘facelift’ last year since its debut in 2008.
Recently, I tested the Opel Insignia Country Tourer in Croatia and if the Country Tourer was designed for the ‘rugged man that doesn’t shave’ (no really, that’s what we were told) then the saloon version is for his clean-shaven business-type counterpart.
The Drive
I took the 2.0L CDTi (diesel) 140hp Opel Insignia for a spin around Sally’s Gap in Wicklow last weekend, but I picked a bit of a bad day seeing as it was snowing high up in the mountains. I contemplated turning back in case the road conditions worsened as I drove further through the Gap, but as I pushed past Kipuree the heavy snow eased off leaving a layer of light slush on the ground, so I motored on regardless.
The car handled extremely well on the slippery surface and while I might have been taking it handy, I never felt like I was losing control of the large car. The Insignia offers a comfortable ride along country roads and through towns & cities, but it felt a little stiff when driving along main roads at high speed, which was a tad disappointing. Other than that, I was very impressed with Insignia’s handling and stopping abilities and you can rest easy knowing it comes equipped with a high safety rating.
The Style
The Insignia, with its fresh new look, is undoubtedly one of the better-looking cars in the D-segment. While some of it’s German and Japanese counterparts might be slightly more powerful, the Insignia is certainly one of the better-looking models available with a sleek, sophisticated exterior design that’s neither too conservative nor too edgy. In my opinion, Opel definitely got the design right on this one.
The interior has been cleaned up and the mass of buttons on the centre console that featured in the last Insignia has been swapped for the new and extremely neat (in the non-cluttered sense) Intellilink 8” touch screen infotainment system. There’s also a laptop-style finger track pad (pictured below) to help you navigate the Intellilink, which makes changing radio stations or making phone calls a little less distracting – once you get used to using it, that is. The interior styling is also top notch and there are some really nice lines that run around the inside door panel and blend into the dashboard beautifully.
There are a rake of optional extras available across the various Insignia models, but the SE that I tested came equipped with 18″ alloys, Intellilink 8” touch screen infotainment system, 4.2″ driver display between speed and rev gages, Bluetooth, electric rear windows, automatic head lights, self-dimming rear mirror and steering wheel controls with front fogs lights as an extra.
Sex Appeal
The new Insignia really is one gorgeous looking motor and the Aurum Green paint (pictured in the shots featuring the Wicklow Mountains, above) really looks well on the car. As I said above, it’s not too conservative and it’s not overly edgy, so I think it will appeal to both families looking for a large saloon that isn’t heavy on fuel/emissions and business people looking for something that will leave a lasting impression for all the right reasons.
Some Stats
Price – Tested €30,756 – From €24,995
0-100kph – 9.5secs
Max Speed – 221km/h
CO2 – 99/km
Tax Band – A2 (€180)
Fuel Consumption – 3.7mpg (combined)
The Verdict
The 2.0L CDTi SE Insignia was a superb car to drive around town and it certainly looks the part, but I was a little bit let down by its ride comfort at high speeds and it was a tad noisy as it climbed through gears. The SE model was very well equipped, but there’s no denying that €24,995 for the standard S model is a seriously great price for a large saloon, even if it doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles. The S model also comes in at just €295 per month on Opel’s current finance choice deal, which you can find out more about that over here.
All in all, I think anyone who buys an Insignia will definitely be happy with their choice in the long run.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
