When word slid over the transom that the Opel / Vauxhall Insignia had snatched the European Car of the Year (ECOTY) award from the Ford Fiesta by a single point, we had to go and do some digging.
Both the Insignia and Fiesta romped over the competition, with point tallies nearly 50% higher then the nearest competitor. It’s not hard to see why. The Insignia is a strikingly designed sedan (the body style is known as a “saloon” on the other side of the pond). The Times Online called the sedan “sleek, curvaceous and cleverly proportioned.”
Credit crunch aside, GM is in dire straits due to an insufficient variety of fuel-efficient vehicles for the American market. The irony is that GM designs vehicles in Europe that could help rebuild sales here in America. While the trend is well underway to bring those vehicles to our shores, the pace must be hastened and significant tweaks must be made.
The Saturn Vue and Astra were designed in Europe and are currently available here in the States. (The Vue is built in Mexico, while the Astra is built in Belgium.) But odd as it may seem, GM chose not to import the Vue and Astra with the highly fuel efficient engines that are so widely popular in Europe.
Putting the current high cost of diesel fuel aside (this is a domestic problem that can and will be solved), GM’s decision to execute slowly with regard to small displacement common rail clean diesel engines is perplexing, as it goes right to the core of the problem that has put the company behind the biggest 8 ball it’s ever seen. Delaying clean diesel has placed the company and this country in peril.
Carfueldata.org.uk shows five diesel drive trains for the 2009 Vauxhall Insignia. We’ve taken the time to convert between the British Imperial gallons and our US gallons to come up with some rough equivalents for mileage. The most thrifty of the bunch is rated to deliver the equivalent of 49 US miles per gallon on the highway.
2009 Insignia 4 Door Saloon – 6-Speed Manual Transmission
2.0CDTi 16v (110PS)
37.2 MPG Imperial Urban / 58.9 MPG Extra Urban / 48.7 MPG Combined
Equivalent: 31 MPG US City / 49 MPG US Highway / 40.5 MPG US Combined
2009 Insignia 4 Door Saloon – 6-Speed Manual Transmission
2.0CDTi 16v (130PS)
37.2 MPG Imperial Urban 58.9 MPG Extra Urban 48.7 MPG Combined
Equivalent: 31 MPG US City / 49 MPG US Highway / 40.5 MPG US Combined
2009 Insignia 4 Door Saloon – 6-Speed Automatic Transmission
2.0CDTi 16v (130PS)
30.7 MPG Imperial Urban 54.3 MPG Extra Urban 42.2 MPG Combined
Equivalent: 25.5 MPG US City / 45.2 MPG US Highway / 35.1 MPG US Combined
2009 Insignia 4 Door Saloon – 6-Speed Manual Transmission
2.0CDTi 16v (160PS)
37.2 MPG Imperial Urban 58.9 MPG Extra Urban 48.7 MPG Combined
Equivalent: 31 MPG US City / 49 MPG US Highway / 40.5 MPG US Combined
2009 Insignia 4 Door Saloon – 6-Speed Automatic Transmission
2.0CDTi 16v (160PS)
30.7 MPG Imperial Urban 54.3 MPG Extra Urban 42.2 MPG Combined
Equivalent: 25.5 MPG US City / 45.2 MPG US Highway / 35.1 MPG US Combined
MPG Source: Carfueldata.org.uk
