Opel Insignia: should you still buy it?

Appeared in 2017, the second generation of Opel Insignia faces more recent competition. Despite her age, is she still up to date?

Yes, the Insignia is still recommendable …

Within a category comprising the Peugeot 508, Volkswagen Passat, Skoda Superb or Toyota Camry, the Opel is one of the most imposing sedans in the segment, with a length of 4.90 meters.

This template, if it can complicate parking in an urban environment, benefits the space on board.

At the rear, the outboard seats are welcoming, with lounge chair-style seats: the seats inclined towards the rear and the hollowed-out bench backrests compensate for the headroom limited by the receding profile of the roof.

Called Insignia Grand Sport since 2017, the sedan is also entitled to a station wagon version, called Sports Tourer, which brings the length to 4.99 meters and increases the trunk volume from 490 to 560 liters.

The adventurous variation, called Country Tourer, has disappeared of the catalog before the restyling in summer 2020.

On the occasion of this mid-career development, the Opel flagship has revised its staffing upwards. He can now embark a digital rear view camera, also used for rear transverse traffic alert during maneuvers.

Active lane keeping assistance, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control and heads-up display complete the paraphernalia.

Produced at the historic site of Rüsselsheim, Germany, Insignia sold 7,341 units in France since its inception (volume discontinued at the end of May 2021).

It has a mechanical range capable of satisfying the greatest number, with three petrol versions (170 hp, 200 hp and 230 hp for the “sporty” GSI version) and diesels whose power ranges from 122 to 174 hp.

The access version is the only Insignia to be able to have a manual gearbox. The 174 hp engine, like that of the GSI, can benefit fromall-wheel drive.

No, the German is struggling …

With the compact Astra on the verge of renewal, the Insignia is the latest representative of the General Motors era.

The other models in the range were all developed after the sale of Opel to the PSA group, resulting in real progress in terms of driveability.

This sedan is however pleasant to handle, but it suffers from too light steering andamortization to the penalty to annihilate the undulations of the road.

The interior presentation has not changed enough since the launch in 2017. It seems a bit outdated and some materials are still disappointing.

The Insignia’s automatic transmission has eight speeds on the diesel engines, and nine on the gasoline units.

But this BVA9 disappoints, with slow gear changes and perfectible staging. It also does not help with fuel consumption or CO2 emissions, which determine the amount of the eco-tax.

Result, a gasoline Insignia is accompanied, at the minimum, of € 2,544 penalty, or even € 9,103 for the GSI version.