Opel has got the new Insignia right. The transformation from the Vectra is light years with a new styling that is both modern and impressive. The car has a new strong look almost reminiscent of the old Opel Rekord of years ago, giving it an obvious road presence.

Insignia has performed well for Opel in a difficult market. Firstly, it took the coveted title of the 2009 European Car of the Year Award. In recent weeks, it has been rated as the best seller across Europe in the segment of the market with sales topping 100,000 units for the first four months of 2009. The diesel: petrol split in sales was a 50:50 split, while in Ireland; the 2.0 litre CDTi diesel powered 130bhp model was the popular choice.

That was the car that I took for a recent test drive. I can confirm that this new improved diesel engine does deliver. The engine power output is higher at 130bhp than the previous Vectra diesel. There's more torque from under the bonnet too.

As the new Insignia is a heavier car than the Vectra that it replaces, acceleration improvements are only marginal. This big diesel car delivers a 0 to 100km/hr acceleration rating of 11.1 seconds and that's carrying an additional 100kg compared with the older Vectra model. That's comparable with the competition.

Opel claims that the fuel economy figures are also marginally better at 5.8 litres/100km (47.8 mpg) in the combined driving cycle. During my test drive the car seemed even more economical as I topped 900 kilometers on a single tank. This fuel tank is bigger than that of the older Vectra with capacity lifted from 61 litres to 70 litres, meaning less fuel stops along the road.

Opel has also trimmed some units from the Insignia CO2 emissions figures. That was a part of the design challenge, increase the power, performance and features while lowering the CO2 footprint.

This new diesel model comes with a CO2 rating of 154 g/km putting the Insignia diesel into the Road Tax Band C. That's a drop from Road Tax D and a drop in annual tax costs from €447 to €302 compared with the older Vectra model.

The 2.0 litre CDTi models come with a six speed gearbox as standard that's smooth and relatively easy to use. The sixth gear allows you to cruise at 120km/hr with just 2000 engine rpm on the occasional motorway stretch. You'll notice that this is where the real fuel economy comes into play, but you need motorway style roads to get the full benefit.

The clutch on the other hand felt a little heavy. Regular city driving was more tiring due to this feature.

You get a solid power feeling from behind the wheel. Compared with the competition the new Insignia acquits itself well. The engine power is close to the top in the segment. Engine torque is also relatively high at 300Nm, but pulling power is a little disappointing at only 1.6 tonnes with a braked trailer. And that's against the equivalent Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat competition each of which come with a 2 tonne towing rating.

The Insignia in SE format which I drove had solid and easily adjustable, electrical, seating. Electric seat height control is standard across the range as is height and reach adjustment of the steering wheel. So it was easy to get comfortable. Rear seat passengers need to be under the 6ft for headroom comfort, while legroom is adequate.

The large 18 inch wheels with Bridgestone tyres seemed to generate a relatively higher road noise level. And there was some hint of wind noise from the rear passenger window, not what I would have expected.

The Insignia has a decent boot with reasonable depth. It's probably not as long as that of the Ford Mondeo, but very adequate.

My test also showed that the large 18 inch wheels with Bridgestone tyres generated a relatively high road noise level. And there was some hint of wind noise from the rear passenger window, at motorway cruising it was most noticeable.

The safety deal includes electronic stability programme (ESP) loads of airbags, but not a knee one like the Toyota Avensis. The SE model comes with electronic brake assist, useful for awkward hill starts. There's air conditioning and rain sensitive windscreen wipers also in the SE deal, which adds over €3,500 to the €27,495 entry price before delivery charges.

The new Insignia price is only marginally higher than that of the equivalent 1.9 litre Vectra deal. The value difference is significant. The Opel ownership turmoil's are not helping its case, but this car will live on irrespective of who owns Opel, but it might never offer the same value.

The diesel power seems the obvious one for the new Insignia and the 130bhp engine offers value in this impressive car. The styling is strong and gives the car a big car look to reinforce its longer, wider and higher dimensions, even though it's not that huge on the inside. Insignia looks the business, it drives very well and it's now competitive.

Opel Insignia 2.0 CDTi - Specifications

Top speed  205 km/hr

0 - 100km/hr  11.1 seconds

Economy  5.8 l/100km (47.8mpg)

CO2 emissions 154 g/km

Road Tax Band C (€302)

Entry Price  â‚¬27,495 plus delivery charges

Caption: Opel's new Insignia brings style with good road feeling and impressive comfort to replace the Vectra. Prices are competitive starting at €27,496 for the 130bhp diesel powered model.

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