Vauxhall Insignia VXR (2009) UK CAR review

What’s this, has the VXR brand gone all sensible?

Depends on how sensible you class a 321bhp family saloon that hits 60mph in 5.6sec and could top 170mph were it not for the killjoy limiter. But yes, the hottest Insignia is certainly more visually restrained than the usual VXR offerings and signals Vauxhall’s desire to make this particular VXR appeal to the sort of buyer thinking of snapping up an Audi S4 or hot 3-series.

What’s the point in the VXR? Hasn’t the VXR8 got the sports saloon thing covered?

The VXR8 is an oddity, a halo car designed to get people talking about the brand. With Corvette power and rear-drive it’s quick and uncouth, and at £34k it’s competitively priced, but it’s hideously uneconomical and the roomy cabin is far too downmarket to pinch buyers from Audi and BMW.

And you think the Insignia has a chance of doing that?

Well it’s at least as handsome as the Audi, borrowing heavily from the 2007 Opel GTC coupe concept, and the cabin isn’t a million miles away from the Audi in either look or feel.

The fake-metal embellished steering wheel looks like it was designed for Liberace’s Rolls-Royce but the excellent standard Recaro seats are more RS4 than S4 and come half swathed in cow as standard.

And it’s quick – 0-60mph in 5.6sec, you say?

That’s what it says in the press pack, but it certainly doesn’t feel near-supercar quick from behind the wheel. There’s no huge step in performance, but beyond 4000rpm the blown V6 begins to get into its stride. But the disappointingly muted soundtrack means it never seems that fast.

Remember that Vauxhall quotes 0-60mph where the Germans quote 0-62mph. You might not think there’d be much of a difference but Opel says 6.0sec from 0-62mph for the mechanically identical Insignia OPC, making it nearly a second slower than the Audi S4.

Even so, presumably the front tyres turn to jelly every time you go near the accelerator with 321bhp to deal with?

Actually the VXR is four-wheel drive so it handles its 321bhp incredibly well. There’s no wheelspin and no wheel fight when you plant the throttle coming out of a bend and so much grip from the Pirelli P Zeros that you’ll struggle to find their limits on a dry road without looking like you’ve teleported from the Targa Tasmania road race.

When you do find the limit it’s at the front, the Insignia behaving like a safe, well-set up front-driver. There’s no shame in that though – Audi’s S4 is hardly a drift champion and it’s still fun to drive.

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