Vauxhall goes upmarket

On the move, Vauxhall’s new Insignia Grand Sport feels like the bigger car it's now become, the suspension floating you over broken surfaces that would have troubled and impeded the previous model.

Importantly, this second generation model is 175kg lighter than its predecessor and that really shows when cornering at speed, where there's less body roll than before and, generally, a much higher level of agility.

As for engines, well most buyers will continue to want a diesel, with the majority of sales likely to go to the 1.6-litre Turbo D unit we tried, offered with either 108 or 134bhp. If you trade up to the 167bhp 2.0-litre diesel, efficiency drops off markedly, though there's the compensation of 295lb/ft of pulling power, a figure that will be improved further if you go for the 207bhp biturbo variant.

Engine-wise, you'll find much more that's really different if you turn your attention to petrol power, with both units on offer being completely new. Small capacity turbocharged engines that use unleaded are very much in vogue at present and the 1.5-litre unit supplied here should suit that trend, offered with either 138 or 162bhp.

Further up the range sits a potent 256bhp 2.0-litre petrol Turbo model that showcases both of what are arguably the two most significant engineering developments introduced with this second generation In- signia. One is the superslick eight-speed auto gearbox that's optional on lesser models.

The other is a sophisticated new intelligent allwheel drive system that uses a state-of-the-art rear torque vectoring system for greater cornering traction and sharper turn-in.

Vauxhall reckons that this Insignia Grand Sport has ‘the aura of a car from