Vauxhall has sent shockwaves through the automotive landscape with the announcement of the Insignia Sports Tourer ecoFLEX. Imagine the saloon ecoFLEX, and then think about what that might be like in estate form. Voila.
It follows the saloon and hatch versions to become the final piece of the ecoFLEX jigsaw, and probably the most important one because estates by nature tend to cover bigger mileages than their saloon (or hatchback) counterparts. The fact this car has an 823-mile theoretical tank range will have some fleet buyers giddy at the thought of fewer service stations. See, it's not only fuel consumption that's reduced, Pepperami and pasty consumption takes a nosedive too. Imagine the possible savings for a 20,000-mile per year driver.
By taking the 2.0-litre CDTi version of the Insignia, adding low rolling resistance tyres, blanking off some of the vents, lowering it, and endowing even more slipperiness by way of two under-body spoilers, drivers will get 6.6mpg more per gallon of diesel on average. Multiply that by a big mileage and the £500 premium Vauxhall sees fit to charge model-for-model should be clawed back in no time.
Its official stats are thus: 139g/km of CO2, 53.7mpg, 0-62mph in 9.3 seconds and a 134mph top speed. Get one now if that sounds good to you, with prices starting at £21,515 for an Exclusiv model.
Mark Nichol - 24 Aug 2009