Vauxhall Insignia Estate

The wraps are off Vauxhall’s new Insignia estate, which will debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. Called the Sports Tourer, it will go on sale in the UK in Spring 2009 rivalling Ford's Mondeo Estate and Honda's Accord Tourer.

Like the saloon and hatcback models, it's certainly good looking, with a neatly styled tail. All the bodywork aft of the B-pillars is unique to the Sports Tourer and the look is finished off with some stylish rear light clusters. Vauxhall says the Sports Tourer shares the same wheelbase as the saloon and hatchback models but is 80mm longer.

Inside there's room for five and, says Vauxhall, "one of the best loadspace volumes in its class". Full details of just how big the boot is will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show. Under the bonnet will be two new engines – a more powerful turbodiesel and a smaller capacity turbocharged petrol unit – in addition to the five powerplants available in the saloon and hatchback models. Vauxhall says there will also be a low emission ecoFLEX version too.

Like the saloon and hatch, the Sports Tourer will be available with front- and four-wheel drive, as well as Vauxhall’s FlexRide system. The new estate model will also get Adaptive Forward Lighting (AFL) and a Front Camera System, which can read and memorise road signs and alert drivers.