| Germany:
Rüsselsheim | Canada:
Oshawa, Ontario (
Oshawa Assembly) (North American market Regal) | China:
Shanghai (
SAIC-GM) (Chinese market Regal) | Russia:
Kaliningrad (
Avtotor) }} | 4-door
saloon | 5-door
liftback/
fastback | 5-door
estate }} }} The Insignia debuted as the Vauxhall Insignia at the 2008
British International Motor Show in London on 23 July. It then went on sale in European dealerships in October 2008 for the 2009 model year as a five-door
liftback and five-door
estate dubbed Sports Tourer – a departure for Opel which traditionally used the "Caravan" name to denote the estate bodystyle. It was the first production car to be based on the
Epsilon II platform, which was also used on other models such as the
2010 Saab 9-5 and the
Chevrolet Malibu. Design wise, the Insignia offers more knee room than the Vectra. The saloon and liftback variants have the same length, while the
estate version is slightly longer at . All three models share the same, wheelbase. The Insignia also marked the debut of redesigned badges for both the Opel and Vauxhall brands. For Vauxhall, it was the first car to dispense with the characteristic "V" grille that has adorned Vauxhall models since 1994, which had helped differentiate them from the otherwise identical Opel models. The Insignia was also the first Opel to debut many new and improved safety features, including: • Improved
adaptive Forward Lighting –
bi-xenon, gas discharge headlamps with variable light beam distribution in width, direction and range.
Advanced Front-Lighting System (AFS), static
cornering light, complemented by
daytime running lights with
LEDs. Sensors and software monitor the surroundings, traffic and weather conditions so that the system can activate the appropriate lighting function. • Opel Eye – This uses a camera at the top of the windscreen to monitor the area in front of the vehicle. Information from the camera is continuously analysed to identify road markings and traffic signs. Road markings are used as the basis of the first of Opel Eye's two functions:
lane departure warning. Traffic signs are recognised and indicated to the driver in the second function: traffic sign memory. At speeds above , Opel Eye warns the driver if the car is about to veer inadvertently out of the lane in which it is travelling. The system can detect road markings and, if they are sufficiently distinct, unmarked road edges. The Insignia was the first
production car to feature a dual function frontal camera with
traffic sign recognition. A small number (17 examples) of the Insignia OPC were modified by
Erich Bitter and sold as the "Bitter Insignia". Only available with the 2.8 Turbo engine, these luxurious derivatives received a new front clip and other exterior modifications, as well as a more luxurious, all-leather interior, where as much plastic as possible was replaced with other materials.
Pre-facelift File:Opel Insignia 2.0 BiTurbo CDTI Sport OPC Line-Paket – Heckansicht, 3. April 2012, Velbert.jpg|Opel Insignia saloon (2008–2013) File:Opel Insignia CDTI rear 20100926.jpg|Opel Insignia liftback/fastback (2008–2013) File:Opel Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTI – Heckansicht, 3. Juni 2011, Wülfrath.jpg|Opel Insignia Sports Tourer (2008–2013) File:Opel Insignia Sportstourer Edition Pannacotta Interieur.JPG|Interior
Markets File:2009 Vauxhall Insignia Exclusiv 130 CDTi 2.0.jpg|Vauxhall Insignia (United Kingdom; pre facelift) File:2011 Buick Regal -- 07-04-2011.jpg|Buick Regal (North America) File:Chevrolet Vectra 2.0 Turbo.jpg|Chevrolet Vectra (South America)
OPC In early 2009, Opel revealed the Insignia OPC, a high performance variant of the Insignia. Like the preceding
Vectra OPC, it is powered by a 2.8 litre single-turbo V6 (Manufactured in Melbourne, Australia). The updated engine makes and . Of this 435, are available from 2,000 rpm. It is paired with a six speed manual transmission / six-speed automatic transmission and Saab's (
Haldex) active all wheel drive system. The Insignia OPC has a modified
MacPherson strut front suspension called HiPerStrut which reduces torque steer. Also standard is an electronic
limited slip differential for the rear wheels and Opel's
FlexRide adaptive suspension, which has three settings (OPC, Sport, and Normal). An OPC version of the Insignia Sports Tourer wagon was also unveiled. In April 2011, Opel launched the Insignia OPC Unlimited, with no speed limiter. File:Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer 2012.jpg|Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer (pre-facelift) File:Opel Insignia Sports Tourer OPC – Heckansicht, 13. März 2011, Wuppertal.jpg|Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer File:Opel Insignia OPC 2015 (15805462541).jpg|Opel Insignia OPC (facelift) File:2015 Holden Insignia (GA MY15.5) VXR sedan (20104110092).jpg|Holden Insignia VXR sedan (Australia; facelift)
Country Tourer The Opel Insignia Country Tourer made its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2013 as a
crossover-styled station wagon. File:Opel Insignia Country Tourer 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX 4x4 (Facelift) – Frontansicht, 24. Oktober 2015, Münster.jpg|Opel Insignia Country Tourer File:Opel Insignia Country Tourer 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX 4x4 (Facelift) – Heckansicht, 24. Oktober 2015, Münster.jpg|Opel Insignia Country Tourer
Facelift A major facelift was introduced in June 2013, with new exterior and interior styling, new engines, and new safety features. The car officially premiered at the September
2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, before going on sale later in 2013. The new design includes a newly designed cockpit with a simplified control panel and two eight inch colour displays, a four way infotainment system via new a
touchpad in the centre console, an eight-inch
touchscreen, steering wheel controls,
voice command,
radar and camera based
driver assistance and safety systems, such as full speed
adaptive cruise control and
imminent collision braking,
rear camera,
lane change assistance,
blind spot alert, and rear cross traffic alert. The second generation Insignia was revealed in December 2016, and was reported to be renamed
Insignia Grand Sport. File:2016 Opel Insignia in Dark Sea Blue Pearl Effect, front left, 06-05-2025.jpg|Opel Insignia (facelift) File:2016 Opel Insignia in Dark Sea Blue Pearl Effect, rear left, 06-05-2025.jpg|Opel Insignia (facelift) File:2016 Vauxhall Insignia Design 1.4.jpg|Vauxhall Insignia (facelift)
Engines 2008–2013 From launch, the Insignia was offered with four petrol engines: :
1.6 L ;
1.8 L ;
2.0 L Turbo ;
2.8 L V6 with – and three diesel engines (all derived from the Fiat/GM
JTD engine), all displacing 2.0 litres: :
2.0 L ;
2.0 L ;
2.0 L . In 2009, a
1.6 L Turbo petrol , the
ecoFLEX diesels, and the
OPC versions were introduced. From September 2010, the 2.0 CDTi diesel engine gained Adaptive 4x4 as an option. A 2.0 BiTurbo CDTI developed with the help of Saab, with , was expected to begin production in 2010. Due to the sale of Saab, production was delayed until 2012. The BiTurbo CDTI was offered with front- or four-wheel drive. All engines have a six speed
manual transmission as standard, with some engines having an
automatic transmission as an option. Since launch, all diesels have improved their emissions. In 2011, some engines gained
Start/Stop, all diesel engines have this option, with more petrol engines expected to gain the technology in the future. A 1.4 Turbo , with S/S as standard, became available - replacing the 1.8 - and the 2.0 Turbo with four-wheel drive was upgraded to ; the front-wheel drive 2.0 Turbo still had . In 2009, a new range of ecoFLEX diesel engine offered same amount of power, but less CO2-emission (g/km) and fuel consumption. The 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX with and have emission of only 114 CO2-emission (g/km), as well as a version with 2.0 CDTI 4x4. The Bi turbo diesel engine has 129 CO2-emission (g/km).
2013–2017 Alongside the facelift of 2013 came a new range of engines – some existing, some tweaked, and some brand new. Diesel engines available at launch include the 2.0 CDTI ecoFLEX (also with Start/Stop), with outputs of 120 PS, 140 PS, and 163 PS and the existing 195 PS BiTurbo. There is also a non ecoFLEX engine with 130 PS which is only available with automatic transmission. Petrol engines include the existing 1.4 Turbo and 1.8 (only on some markets), and the all new
1.6 SIDI Turbo engine introduced in the
Cascada, and new
2.0 SIDI Turbo. All engines come with a six speed manual gearbox as standard, with a six speed automatic available as an option on the 1.6 and 2.0 SIDI turbo petrol engines, and the 2.0 CDTI 163 PS and 195 PS diesel engines. All petrol and diesel engines have a Start/Stop system except the 2.0 CDTI with 130 PS. In September 2014, Opel introduced its all new generation of engines – large diesel engine, starting with 2.0 CDTI engine with 170 PS and 400 Nm, which is a part of new strategy in which Opel will introduce 17 new engines in a period from 2014 to 2018. The new engine became available from the end of 2014/beginning of 2015.
Awards Since making its début, the Opel Insignia has won more than fifty national and international awards, including 'Best Executive Car' in the United Kingdom and
Slovenia, 'Best Family Car' in Ireland twice, and best car for fleet customers in the United Kingdom, Austria, Denmark, and Portugal. • The Insignia was voted 2009
European Car of the Year. • The Insignia scored a five star rating in
EuroNCAP. • In 2011, German institute DEKRA gave Opel an award for the Insignia as a car with the fewest flaws in its class. • In 2012, Gesellschaft für
Technische Überwachung mbH/Association for Technical Supervision evaluated Opel Insignia as number one in terms of used car quality.
Production and sales Production started at the end of 2008 on all major markets in Europe. At launch, the Vauxhall versions were produced in Exclusiv, S, SE, SRi, Elite, and VXR specification levels. It was a popular choice with British buyers, being the nation's ninth best selling car in 2009 – its first full year on sale, outselling its direct competitor the
Ford Mondeo, but just falling short of the sales achieved by the more upmarket
BMW 3 Series. At the beginning several trim levels were available, depending on the market: Essentia, Edition, Sport, Cosmo, OPC. Later on others were added, such as the Business edition, Selection, Active, 150 years of Opel, and Innovation. By August 2011, over 400,000 Insignias had been sold, and on 26 April 2012, the 500,000th Insignia was produced. The last vehicle rolled off the line in April 2017, in time for the release of the Insignia II.
Safety == Second generation (Z18; 2017) ==