09 Opel Insignia - What is the best engine/version

v638sg7k1a92bx

Anyone know what is considered the best engine/version of the insignia?

Seems to be a big difference on the price of these two for example

09 Hatchback €9,250 61,000M http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Insignia/SC,6-SPE/37113743238011530/advert?channel=CARS

09 Saloon €11,750 51,000M http://www.carzone.ie/search/Opel/Insignia/SE-1.8-I/36613748517726220/advert?channel=CARS

The hatch even seems to have a better spec with the exception of the half leather.

Is there a big difference in the engine and that's what's driving the price?

bazz26

SE is higher spec than SC. Neither will be worth much come resale time as nobody wants petrol models in this class of car. But that aside if I was buying for me then I'd go with the higher spec slightly more powerful 1.8 litre. The 1.6 is woefully slow so the 1.8 is really the lesser of two evils.

BTW The dealer asking €11750 for a 4 year old petrol Insignia is either a comedian or needs his head examined.

Marcusm

In answer to your first question, I imagine it's the 2.8L turbo'd OPC/VXR version.

v638sg7k1a92bx

bazz26 wrote: »

BTW The dealer asking €11750 for a 4 year old petrol Insignia is either a comedian or needs his head examined.

Doesn't seem to be too far off the mark for similar spec models.

R.O.R

I don't think the Insignia was ever sold with a 1.8 engine, but apparently it was!

SC has composite wheels - Hub Caps that look a lot like alloys, on 17" tyres. Should also have an actual handbrake, rather than the button. From meory - Front Electric Windows, single zone climate control, Cruise Control are standard on the SC.

SE adds 18" Alloys, Half Leather Seats, Dual Zone Climate, Rear Electric Windows.

Tyres are expensive for the 18" wheels, but the wheels do suit the car better.

The 1.6 is probably going to be very, very thirsty. The 1.8 should be better. Can't imagine either are going to be that cheap to tax.

v638sg7k1a92bx

R.O.R wrote: »

I don't think the Insignia was ever sold with a 1.8 engine, but apparently it was!

SC has composite wheels - Hub Caps that look a lot like alloys, on 17" tyres. Should also have an actual handbrake, rather than the button. From meory - Front Electric Windows, single zone climate control, Cruise Control are standard on the SC.

SE adds 18" Alloys, Half Leather Seats, Dual Zone Climate, Rear Electric Windows.

Tyres are expensive for the 18" wheels, but the wheels do suit the car better.

The 1.6 is probably going to be very, very thirsty. The 1.8 should be better. Can't imagine either are going to be that cheap to tax.

They're both about €700 car tax. Nice car but I think the Lexus IS might be a better option for not that much more money (incl tax) but with more spec?

bazz26

A Lexus IS250 is around €1080 to tax per year.

Have you looked at the Saab 9-3:


http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-3/9-3/37013722642472520/

Leonard Hofstadter

Arianna Unsightly Sibilant wrote: »

Doesn't seem to be too far off the mark for similar spec models.

If those prices were for diesels, they would be fine, but since both cars are petrol, they're simply too expensive. Nobody wants them because of the high tax relative to their diesel counterparts. That and the fact that a 1.6 non turbo petrol in a car that size will be worse than useless and even the 1.8 will be sluggish too, this car is bigger than a BMW 5 series!

Jesus.

bazz26 wrote: »

The 1.6 is woefully slow so the 1.8 is really the lesser of two evils..

That little sentence sums it up very well. As someone else said a few days ago, for cars in this segment you've really got to be looking at a 2 liter. Obviously that's a very simplistic argument but I do think that generally it holds true.

YouTookMyName

1.6 mated to a 6 speed box? is that necessary?

MuppetCheck

YouTookMyName wrote: »

1.6 mated to a 6 speed box? is that necessary?

All cars should have them! Would be an absolute alcoholic on the motorway in 5th!

Leonard Hofstadter

MuppetCheck wrote: »

All cars should have them! Would be an absolute alcoholic on the motorway in 5th!

On a car with a power to weight ratio as low as a 1.6 Insignia, I don't think a sixth gear will make any difference to fuel economy on the motorway. If anything, it is likely to be so underpowered you'll be dropping down to fifth on inclines in order to maintain 120 km/h!

MuppetCheck

With Opels usual gearing I can see 5th being needed a bit on steeper inclines alright but the majority of the time 6th should keep it on the right side of 3k revs and more hopefully the engine noise at bay.

Matt Simis

Marcusm wrote: »

In answer to your first question, I imagine it's the 2.8L turbo'd OPC/VXR version.

Pearls before swine in Ireland.

MuppetCheck

Matt Simis wrote: »

Pearls before swine in Ireland.

And the fact it's 50k new...on an Opel!

Grab All Association

If I was you I would try pick up a 2009/10 end of line Vectra instead. It would be the same year and similar build and features but would be much cheaper than an insignia. If it's a car you see yourself keeping for a few years you should also consider importing a Vauxhall Vectra or insignia. There's not much of a market for Vauxhall here in Ireland so VRT should be cheap enough.

Jesus.

captainspeed wrote: »

On a car with a power to weight ratio as low as a 1.6 Insignia, I don't think a sixth gear will make any difference to fuel economy on the motorway. If anything, it is likely to be so underpowered you'll be dropping down to fifth on inclines in order to maintain 120 km/h!

That's all the more reason to have an extra gear I would have thought?

5th gear in a heavy car with an underpowered engine is like being in 4th in "normal" cars. My car doesn't be far off 3,000 revs and very loud at just 60 mph. It always feels like there's another gear but I've just not found it!

Matt Simis

Jesus. wrote: »

That's all the more reason to have an extra gear I would have thought?

5th gear in a heavy car with an underpowered engine is like being in 4th in "normal" cars.

I dont think you quote understand the point of gears or their effect. If you have a very underpowered engine (for the application), specifically low torque, then the torque reduction of a very tall overdrive (say 0.65) will create a situation where the car doesnt have enough torque to do anything but maintain speed, which is a problem on inclines (and obviously impossible to overtake or even keep pace with traffic).

Conversely a very powerful engine simply wastes fuel without an aggressive overdrive... which is why the earlier statements make sense (in theory) and yours does not. As it happens the 1.6 Turbo seems to have plenty of power, so I assume the comments earlier were regarding the 115bhp NA version?

R.O.R

Chris___ wrote: »

If I was you I would try pick up a 2009/10 end of line Vectra instead. It would be the same year and similar build and features but would be much cheaper than an insignia.

If I was you OP, I'd totally ignore the above advice.

There is a massive difference between the Vectra and the Insignia - the Insignia is a good car.

I've seen some 09 / 10 reg Vectra's and my first thought was, god - I hope they got that cheap.

The 1.6 was N/A - carried over from the Vectra. The model line up for Ireland was being planned before the Co2 tax changes, so Opel thought they'd still be able to sell big cars with small engines. I'm pretty surprised any were sold tbh.

Drove a few 1.6 Vectra's and they weren't as bad as they sound. Do need pushing on to get anywhere, and fuel economy suffers as a result. If the 1.8i is the same as they used in the 9-3, then it's surprisingly sprightly, but again - fuel usage is fairly high.

OP - if looking for a big Petrol car, also look at the Mondeo 1.6. Haven't checked prices, but can't imagine they are going for the same as Petrol Insignia's. 1.6 in the Mondeo is thirsty and not going to win any races, but isn't dangerously slow and would suit someone doing low mileage around town.

Also worth looking at the Volvo S80 2.0i FF. Similar sized car, most likely a much better specification, for around the same price, and tax cost.

Jesus.

Matt Simis wrote: »

I dont think you quote understand the point of gears or their effect. If you have a very underpowered engine (for the application), specifically low torque, then the torque reduction of a very tall overdrive (say 0.65) will create a situation where the car doesnt have enough torque to do anything but maintain speed, which is a problem on inclines (and obviously impossible to overtake or even keep pace with traffic).

Conversely a very powerful engine simply wastes fuel without an aggressive overdrive... which is why the earlier statements make sense (in theory) and yours does not.

As it happens the 1.6 Turbo seems to have plenty of power, so I assume the comments earlier were regarding the 115bhp NA version?

Interesting. Obviously a 6th gear in an underpowered car would be disastrous.

It confirms what I said about large cars with underpowered engines though. A car should really have appropriate power for the weight of its own body.

As it happens the 1.6 Turbo seems to have plenty of power, so I assume the comments earlier were regarding the 115bhp NA version?

It may well have which is why I said "generally" and not exclusively.

Still, Irish people's idea of "plenty of power" ofttimes is way off the mark.

dazag

Help!

Cdti 2 l 160bhp 60k miles.

Good on fuel?

Anything I should look out for or ask dealer. Trading a 09 Peugeot petrol .. Getting great deal less than €5