Vauxhall Insignia: Driven - Introduction

Meet the Insignia, the car that takes the place of the Vectra in Vauxhall's line-up.

It's not a replacement for it, though – not in the eyes of people who work for the company, anyway.

The Vectra may have served them well down the years, but it's now a member of the family they'd rather forget, like a dotty old aunt, whereas the Insignia is the future – a car with 'German values', but at a more affordable price.

It follows the Ford Mondeo, Renault Laguna, Citroen C5 and Skoda Superb in leading something of a renaissance for the traditional family car.

Get it right, Vauxhall says, and in these days of fuel-price and CO2 consciousness, it's just possible that the tide of more practical MPVs and more image-flattering 4x4s might be reversed.

For our first impressions of how the car drives, read on...