Opel Insignia opinions

Colonel Sanders

Hi

Getting married next year and am thinking of getting a saloon car to replace my TDI Golf, I'll probably look to buy a 09 later this year or early next

Really like the Opel insignia and was wondering what people on here think of them? Would they recommend them? Are they reasonable value relative to other saloons in this bracket?

I noticed on Motorcheck that sales are down on last year. Is this cos they haven't reduced the price like other brands? I test drove one in Wexford bout 2 weeks ago, and the Opel garage (and also the Mazda garage, test drove a Mazda 6) were empty compared to very busy activity in Nissan, Ford & Peugeot.

Any opinions much appreciated.

Thanks

rocky

Sure, go for the Superb, everyone else seems to!

lordnoah

I don't own an Insignia but really like them. I'd rate the Insignia, Mazda 6 and Honda Accord very highly. Even the Seat Exeo is a good quality car and good value.
The Alfa 159 is a great looking car aswell and better than a lot of people give it credit for.

Wouldn't bother with a Ford, Renault or Peugeot in this size of car.

Colonel Sanders

rocky wrote: »

Sure, go for the Superb, everyone else seems to!

Lol Seriously though, its on my list to test drive!

lordnoah wrote: »

I don't own an Insignia but really like them. I'd rate the Insignia, Mazda 6 and Honda Accord very highly. Even the Seat Exeo is a good quality car and good value.
The Alfa 159 is a great looking car aswell and better than a lot of people give it credit for.

Wouldn't bother with a Ford, Renault or Peugeot in this size of car.

I drove a Mazda 6 too, I always liked the older model and the new model is even nicer to look at. I took to the Insignia more though.

Hadn't thought about a Honda Accord, will add to the test drive list also!!

squod

Had a look last week, insignia seems to have litttle leg room in the back seat.

-Chris-

The Insignia is actually a very nice car compared to its rivals and it's expected to be pretty strong in the second hand market too, I'd certainly consider it.

Alan Smithee

agreed its a beautiful car and as its a new model wont be changed or look dated any time soon. what spec did you try out?

Alan Smithee

congrats on the upcoming wedding:D..was it ferrbank motors you tried? was in a few days ago and it was empty. not good to be a car sales man in these times:(. at least they didnt build a glass temple to the gods of motoring like bolands et al in the boom years so no doubt dont have a large mortgage

Colonel Sanders

Alan Smithee wrote: »

congrats on the upcoming wedding:D..was it ferrbank motors you tried? was in a few days ago and it was empty. not good to be a car sales man in these times:(. at least they didnt build a glass temple to the gods of motoring like bolands et al in the boom years so no doubt dont have a large mortgage

It was Ferrybank. The guy I dealt with was decent enough, can't remember his name though!! Empty when I visited too. as I said, January sales are way down on last year

I drove a hatch (think it was the SRi) although I'd be looking for a saloon.

In terms of the SE over the SC or SRi is there a huge difference in specs?

Colonel Sanders

squod wrote: »

Had a look last week, insignia seems to have litttle leg room in the back seat.

I read an online review that said the very same thing. The rear window isn't massive either but didn't seem to obstruct my view

I'd definitely make sure to test drive again and also try out a few other models before I decide 100%

Alan Smithee

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

It was Ferrybank. The guy I dealt with was decent enough, can't remember his name though!!

I drove a hatch (think it was the SRi) although I'd be looking for a saloon.

In terms of the SE over the SC or SRi is there a huge difference in specs?

opel.ie have all the specs and is worth checking out, prefer the sri as its the sporty model se more for comfort the 2lr diesel seems the best engine option but thats just me. what ever model or make you choose many happy years of motoring;)

Colonel Sanders

Alan Smithee wrote: »

opel.ie have all the specs and is worth checking out, prefer the sri as its the sporty model se more for comfort the 2lr diesel seems the best engine option but thats just me.

I'd definitely go for the diesel version, an online brochure I saw advertised 60mpg for motor way driving.

Seems to be getting positive feedback in many places and looks superb IMO. I loved it the second I saw it.

Alan Smithee wrote: »

what ever model or make you choose many happy years of motoring;)

Cheers!!

Tea 1000

It's an excellent car, probably the best all-rounder in it's class, Superb and Mondeo included... and that's high praise coming from someone who was never an Opel fan at all.
Looks good inside and out, handles well, nice engine range, refined, well equiped and well priced. If you're considering an Accord, that means your budget would be in the higher end of that car bracket, which should land you a 160bhp Elite Insignia.

R.O.R

Interior of the Insignia is nicer than the Mondeo and it handles just as well in my opinion. I think 60mpg out of the Diesel might be a bit optomistic - I think I managed just over 1,000km from a full tank (70 litres apparently) in the 160ps Sports Tourer I had on demo for a week (mostly M-Way driving).

I don't really see the point of taking the SRi over an SE. Both have 18" Alloys as standard but the SE has a nice interior. SRi has Sports suspension, but the big difference for me on the 09 models would be the hand brake. SRi has the normal hand brake which takes away a large chunk of the centre arm rest. SE has the electronic hand brake and a more usuable arm rest because of it. Half leather interior in the SE is quite nice, full leather in the Elite is nicer if it's within budget.

SC with the plus pack is a nice compromise. 18" wheels and fog lights and it doesn't lose anything of great use over what the SRi has, but it does have the manual hand brake.

2010 models get ecoFlex technology to bring emissions (and road tax) down. Probably better fuel economy as well. Doesn't seem to be available on the SRi models though.

No real difference visually between the 4dr saloon and the 5dr hatch. I'd be going for the 5dr for a more usuable boot, and most of the cars we supplied in 09 (and so far in 2010) have been 5 door rather than 4 door - in that sector.

Head room in back is limited because of the sloping roof line. Fine for little ones, but full sized adults would feel a bit cramped. Never really noticed whether the leg room was adequate or not - would say it's around the same as other vehicles in that sector (apart from the Superb, which is mahoosive).

Try to find one with the built in Bluetooth. Identifiable by the sharkfin aerial on the roof rather than a normal one. Handy to have and will probably help to sell quicker come resale time.

I'd certainly take one over a similar priced Mondeo, and that's saying a lot from a confirmed Ford fanboy.

run_Forrest_run

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

It was Ferrybank.

Ferrybank is not in Wexford!

Leonard Hofstadter

The Insignia is a really nice car, anyone know why the sales of it(and other Opels) are down so much on last year?

Is it because of the price when you consider how much an Avensis of similar spec is and especially the price of the Superb?

R.O.R

captainspeed wrote: »

The Insignia is a really nice car, anyone know why the sales of it(and other Opels) are down so much on last year?

Is it because of the price when you consider how much an Avensis of similar spec is and especially the price of the Superb?

It might be more to do with availability. Any Insignia's I ordered from October onwards are not due in to Ireland until at least the 22nd February.

breedie

I have had an Insignia (2.0 diesel) for almost a year and I love it. I've seen this issue of leg room/head room in the back mentioned in various reviews but don't agree. Everyone in my family is between 5'10 and 6'2 and we have no problems at all. I would definately recommend you give one a go.

Paulw

I have an Insignia SRi, CDTi 160 . I love it, and love driving it still. It's great for distance driving. Nice and comfortable, especially for the driver.

Yeah, it can be just a little tight in the back, but how often will you have 3 adults travelling in the back??? If you have kids, they won't have an issue with space. If you have 2 adults in the back, then it's fine too.

The car is just a joy to drive. Comfort is good, ergonomics are good, everything is easy to reach/access by the driver. The car handling is very good, and power is good too.

I got some addons - AFL (lights are great), CDC400 (6CD changer and DAB), bluetooth kit, and full parking sensors.

It's a great car, and looks good too.

Colonel Sanders

thanks for the replies

what is the tax on a 09 CDTI? I drove a new 10 model and it was €302

Leonard Hofstadter

Colonel Sanders wrote: »

thanks for the replies

what is the tax on a 09 CDTI? I drove a new 10 model and it was €302

The Ecoflex came out in June last year, this has the €156 tax, so there wouldn't be too many Ecoflex 09s around. The Ecoflex has a badge on the boot so that's how you'll be able to spot one. The Ecoflex is now available in 130PS as well but it's utterly pointless when the 160 is only €500 more. Most of the 10MY cars are going to be Ecoflex's so an Opel dealer told me, Opel have pretty much dropped the standard model now. I wonder will they get rid of the petrol ones too, can't see why anyone would buy one of these.

Grimreaper666

Follow the herd and buy the Superb! (The slogan Skoda were afraid to use apparently)