New Opel Insignia, previewed before its presentation

A few days ago we saw it dressed for the occasion, that is, still wearing camouflage. And for now Opel has not said it is time to take it out in front of the public, but AutoWeek.nl couldn’t care less and, without wasting any time, they have brought to light a few official images of it.

Does it make an impression? Honestly, no. I’m not a big fan of the indifferent designs of Opel, models that are balanced in many ways but end up with a bland and nihilistic character. That said, the successor to the Vectra looks like a strong rival for its namesakes on the market, such as the Laguna, Mondeo or 407. It is sportier, yes, but that is already a constant in almost every new design, and the one from Rüsselsheim is no exception.

If it weren’t for its rear, with similarities to the Astra, and the shape of its chrome grille, we would hardly know this is a Opel. Perhaps that is because, under the General Motors umbrella, there are other brands that will put their badge on this saloon without making a mere touch-up. Examples are Saturn for the United States and Vauxhall for the United Kingdom.

But let’s look a little deeper: chrome trim, the removal of protective plastic that earns it points for aesthetics, curved shapes over straight lines, and lines that connect part to part, harmonising the whole design… its design is simple but pleasant and elegant. The interior is another matter: although it looks like any D-segment saloon, it lacks definition in its shapes. What I mean is that other brands always adhere to certain canons or constantly innovate, giving reasons and motives for doing so, but Opel stays on a conformist and discreet line that is sometimes hard to understand.

As for engines, it is believed that the Insignia will come with five different petrol types. These are a 1.6-litre with 116 CV, a 1.8-litre with 141 CV, another 1.6-litre but Turbo with 182 CV, a 2.0-litre Turbo with 202 CV, and a 2.8-litre V6 Turbo with 263 CV. To these we must add a sixth that would start from the last mentioned but pushed up to 300 horsepower, thus being the jewel that will power the OPC version.

As for the diesels, there is supposedly a 2.0-litre available with 111, 131 and 162 CV, and a slightly bigger one, the 2.9-litre V6 with 252 CV, to round off the diesel range.

These are practically given as certain, but it must be remembered that the model has not yet been made official, it will be in a few days, so until then we neither confirm nor deny anything. The good news is that we can already get to know the car visually, and for that you have the full photo gallery below:

Via | Autoblog and Carscoop