GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

Make / Model Search

Car reviews - Opel - Insignia - OPC

Our Opinion

We like
Design, smoothness, AWD balance and grip, V6 performance, refinement, value, features, safety, comfort, space, relative ride quality
Room for improvement
Lacks alacrity, doesn’t interact with driver, confusing centre console, not really a fun sports sedan despite the extra oomph and chassis mods

Gallery

Click to see larger images

13 Feb 2013

SOMEONE handsome has been to the gym!

The regular Insignia has already left its mark on us in $50K Select 2.0T guise as a rapid, rewarding, and luxurious family car alternative brimming with style, value, and kit.

Sure, there are more dynamic rivals – namely the Ford Mondeo and VW Passat that it goes head-to-head with in Europe – but the Opel remains a bit of a secret gem among the mainstream-to-aspirational mid-sizer set.

Euro prestige buyers can do a lot worse here.

But does the OPC version take the Insignia to a whole new level?

With its beefier body, turbo V6 muscle, all-wheel drive and uprated chassis, Opel ought to have the performance sedan market all sewn up.

But in reality, the fastest and most expensive Insignia is a bit of an enigma.

Despite possessing a whole lot more power and torque than the normal mid-range Select (239kW/435Nm 2.8 turbo V6 versus a still none-too-shabby 162kW/350Nm 2.0 turbo four-pot), the newcomer feels neither sportier nor more dynamic.

Yes, step-off acceleration starts off strongly and then just keeps rocketing ahead with unseemly haste, with a suitably fruity exhaust note to boot.

But the auto transmission could be a bit more reactive to driver inputs and the driver never really feel connected with the whole moving or driving experience.

Maybe the extra mass of the V6 up front and all-wheel drive gear in the rear have something to do with it, but the eager sprightliness of the smaller-engined Insignias is gone, replaced by a weightier and altogether heftier sedan of somehow more cumbersome proportions.

Furthermore, while the steering feels eager and planted, tactile and communicative it is not., The ride is firm, but not uncomfortably so – even in the stiffer adjustable damper setting – and the cabin transmitted some road noise in over several of the rural NSW bitumen varieties we tested it on.

That’s no surprise – this is a German car after all.

Sporadic rain periods over some fun terrain did not diminish the OPC’s grip or civilised behaviour, while on the dry straights the Insignia felt absolutely glued to the blacktop.

A stint around the Eastern Creek racetrack underlined the punchy V6’s big-time power delivery and steadfast chassis neutrality when clumsily pushed wide into a corner, but there does not seem to be the athletic interactivity that, say, a fast BMW or Mercedes offers.

Tellingly, the brilliant little Astra OPC also on the launch drive (and track) quickly eclipsed this as the preferred driver’s device – come rain or shine.

However, against the double-the-price Audi S4, or far exxier Volvo S80, the Insignia OPC stands seriously tall as a sensible yet sexy value alternative.

We do need to drive it far more, and on more representative urban roads, before a definitive judgement can be made, but right now we think the underrated Insignia Select 2.0T in either of its body styles might be the more prudent and enjoyable mid-sized Opel.

Our advice is to flex your brain by bypassing the brawniest Insignia for the best value version.

Click to share

Click below to follow us on
Facebook  Twitter  Instagram

GoAuto can help you buy a new Insignia

Customer Terms and Conditions – New Car Lead enquires

Agreement

This is an agreement between GoAutoMedia Pty Limited ACN 094 732 457 of PO Box 18, Beach Road, Sandringham, VIC, 3191 (“we/us”), the owner and operator of the GoAuto.com.au website (“the website”) and the person wanting GoAuto.com.au to provide them with a lead for the purchase of a new car (“you”).

By completing a New Car Lead Enquiry, you agree to the terms and conditions and disclaimers and acknowledge the policies set out below.

Terms and Conditions

  • In order for us to effect a lead you must you must complete a New Car Lead Enquiry (“Enquiry”).
  • We will call you as soon as possible after you complete the Enquiry and certainly no later than the next business day. When we call, we will discuss with you your new car requirements.
  • You consent to our passing on the Enquiry and your requirements to an appropriate authorised motor car dealer as a lead.
  • We will contact you again in approximately eight days following your initial enquiry to check on the progress of the Enquiry.
  • While we will provide the dealer with the Enquiry and details of your new car requirements, we take no responsibility for what happens after passing on that material as a lead.
  • You acknowledge that we are a new car information service providing new car editorial information, pictures and prices to our customers as a guide only. Any new car prices published on the website are the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices and do not include delivery charges and on-road costs. Any authorized motor car dealer to which we pass on your Enquiry as a lead will provide you with full details of the price at which the vehicle will be sold to you.
  • You acknowledge that we do not sell motor vehicles. Any sale of a new car to you by a dealer after we have passed on your Enquiry to that dealer as a lead, is a sale by that dealer not by us.

Privacy Policy– New Car Lead Enquires

  • We take privacy very seriously. We understand that you will only complete an Enquiry if you can trust us to protect your personal information and use it appropriately. Our policy is to ensure that the personal information collected when you make an Enquiry is only used for the purposes of connecting you with an authorised motor car dealer.
  • We do not on-sell information collected from you or any other customer.
  • From time to time, we may email you with information or promotions that may be relevant for car buyers. You will continue to receive communications from us unless you tell us that you do not want to receive any advertising or promotional information in the future by unsubscribing from these communications.
close
* Denotes required field
** Australian inquiries only

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here