Four years ago, when Vauxhall began work on designing and building the new Insignia, the market wanted family cars that were stylish, safe, quiet and comfortable. And if that meant they also weighed as much as a small hotel, nobody was too bothered. That’s why even the lightest Insignia weighs more than 1.5 tonnes — some 10% more than the Vectra it replaces. Unsurprisingly, it also uses more fuel, pumps out more CO2, has slower acceleration and a lower top speed. They call this progress. There is increasing public apathy towards this bread-and-butter type of car. Why drive a staid saloon or humdrum hatch when, to cut a dash, you can have an Audi or a BMW for the same money? Maybe you’d be better off in a recreational SUV, or, if it’s a properly practical car you need, why not buy a seven-seat MPV for the price? The dice seem loaded against the Insignia from the start — the wrong car for the wrong time. So it’s a surprise to discover how well it fares in spite of hostile market conditions. Vauxhall rightly decided to bin the old Vectra name, and while Insignia sounds pretentious, it at least comes unburdened by the Vectra’s inseparable association with dire depreciation. And it’s an all-new design from the tyres up, which looks — dare I say it — terrific, and even better in the flesh than it appears on this page. Sleek, curvaceous and cleverly proportioned, it’s taller than the old Vectra, yet looks as low as a coupé. Smarter still is an interior that offers decent seating for up to five, despite that raked roofline.

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