Insignia estate is ready for action

Here are the pictures that prove Vauxhall’s Insignia is loading up on style. Following on from the unveil of the hatchback and saloon at the British Motor Show in July, the wraps are off the estate.

Called the Sports Tourer, it will make its world debut at the Paris Motor Show in October before going on sale in the UK in spring 2009. Rivalling the Honda Accord Tourer and Ford Mondeo Estate, the new Sports Tourer is the next step in Vauxhall’s attempt to take the large family car market by storm.

As with the saloon and hatch, it’s certainly good looking, with a neatly penned tail and stylish rear light clusters. “This is a stand-alone model and not simply an estate version of the saloon,” explained Insignia designer Mark Adams. “In fact, all of the bodywork to the rear of the B-pillars is unique
to the Sports Tourer.” The firm says that the estate shares the same wheelbase as the saloon and hatchback models, but is 80mm longer overall. Inside there’s room for five and, according to Vauxhall, ‘one of the best loadspace volumes in its class’.

Full details of exactly how big the boot is will be revealed at the Paris show, but it’s expected to at least match that of its chief rival, the Mondeo. The Insignia is also likely to feature underfloor storage and Vauxhall’s clever Flex partitioning system, which splits the loadspace up into sections to stop smaller items from rolling around.

Under the bonnet will be the same five powerplants available in the saloon and hatchback models, including 128bhp and 158bhp versions of the 2.0 CDTI diesel, a 217bhp 2.0-litre turbo, and flagship 256bhp 2.8-litre V6, which gives the Insignia a 0-60mph time of 6.7 seconds.

However, the line-up will also feature two additional engines – a more powerful turbodiesel and a smaller capacity turbo petrol unit, too. Vauxhall says there will also be a low emission ecoFLEX version. As with the saloon and hatch, the Sports Tourer will be available with front and four-wheel drive, as well as Vauxhall’s FlexRide adaptive dampers. 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.