Euro NCAP Five-Star Rating Confirms: All-New Opel Insignia with Strong Safety Concept

• Top crash test performance: Euro NCAP awards new Insignia five stars
• New active hood: Provides clearance to hard structures in engine compartment
• Automatic Emergency Braking: Detects pedestrians as well as vehicles

Optimum pedestrian protection: The active hood of the new Opel Insignia receives special praise in the latest Euro NCAP safety ratings.

Euro NCAP has confirmed the integrity of the new Opel Insignia’s total concept. In its latest safety ratings published today, Euro NCAP awarded the Insignia Grand Sport and Insignia Sports Tourer the maximum five stars. The all-new Opel flagship achieved high scores in each of the categories assessed – adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection and safety assist.

Commenting on the new Insignia’s crash test performance, Euro NCAP made special mention of two of the car’s innovative safety systems in particular. The all-new active hood, which in a collision lifts up in milliseconds, thus increasing the distance to the engine and offering pedestrians improved protection, “operated robustly for a variety of pedestrian statures and over a wide range of speed”. The refined Automatic Emergency Braking system, which can detect pedestrians as well as other vehicles “performed well … (and) … at highway speeds showed good performance, with accidents avoided or mitigated.”

“The top marks from Euro NCAP demonstrate that the individual safety components of the new Insignia form a total system” says Managing Director Sales and Aftersales, Peter Küspert. “But safety first at Opel applies not only to our flagship; the youngest members of our product portfolio, the Crossland X and Grandland X also offer front collision warning with Automatic Emergency Braking, as we want to offer all our customers the latest safety technologies. After all, as our new brand claims says, the future is everyone’s.”

In addition to the active hood and Automatic Emergency Braking, the new Opel Insignia impresses with many more ultra-modern assistance systems. No other car in this class offers such a wide range of intelligent technologies as the new generation of the Opel flagship:

 

•  IntelliLux LED  Matrix light: The 16 LED segments in charge of the high beam function that are integrated into each of the very slim headlamps of the Insignia enable the various light patterns to adapt to the prevailing traffic situation with the highest precision. Transitions between the multiple lighting patterns are faster and more seamless. 

• Head up display: Information such as speed, traffic signs, set speed of speed limiter and adaptive cruise control along with navigation direction is projected onto the windshield. Drivers thus have everything in their direct line of sight, ensuring that they keep their eyes on the road.

• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with automatic emergency braking: Uses a camera and radar sensors to measure the distance to the vehicle ahead and adapt the speed accordingly. If the distance decreases abruptly when the driver ahead suddenly brakes, red LEDs in the windscreen/head up display light up and an audible warning sounds. At the same time, ACC initiates automatic emergency braking – faster than a person could normally react.

• Lane Keep Assist with automatic steering correction: Driving always requires undivided attention, but if the system registers that the car is unintentionally drifting out of its lane, it also provides gentle steering wheel movements to counteract this and shows this on the display when the car is travelling at speeds between 60 and 180 km/h.

These are complemented by assistance systems that provide the Insignia driver with excellent all-round visibility, which really come into play in urban driving:

• For the first time at Opel, the 360°camera: It consists of four individual cameras, one on each side of the car. The combined system enables an optional 360-degree bird’s-eye view, facilitating every parking and low-speed driving maneuver. The driver can thus keep everything in view over the IntelliLink display in the center console – no uncomfortable neck-craning necessary.

• Rear View Camera: Shows the area behind the vehicle on the IntelliLink touchscreen as soon as reverse gear is engaged. Dynamic guidelines based on the steering wheel angle are shown on the display and facilitate accurate reversing into a parking space.

• Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The system uses radar sensors in the rear bumper to detect objects coming from up to 20 meters at 90 degrees from the left or right side behind the vehicle and warns with visual and acoustic signals, a very useful function when reversing out of a parking spot with limited visibility.

• Advanced Park Assist: Ultrasound sensors on the Insignia’s front and rear bumpers identify suitable parking spaces and detect possible obstacles. When the parking spot is detected, the system automatically parks the vehicle without the driver touching the wheel. The driver just controls the pedals and gear shifting.

A host of further radar and camera-based automatic assistants complete the portfolio and make driving in the new Opel Insignia even safer. These include established systems such as:
 

• Lane Change Alert with Side Blind Zone Alert. Rearward directed radar sensors cover a range up to 70 meters behind the left and right exterior mirrors, thus alerting the driver to road users approaching in the adjacent lanes. In this way, the system prevents impending collisions if a driver tries to change lanes into oncoming traffic.

• Following Distance Indication in central information display: Uses the front camera or the front radar to detect moving vehicles on the road ahead and calculate the distance to them in seconds, which is more helpful to drivers for their assessment than a meter indication. A stylized green car symbolizes the vehicle in front. If the distance is insufficient, the distance warning is activated and the symbol turns amber.

• Forward Collision Alert: Assists drivers in avoiding or mitigating the impact of front-end collisions with situation-dependent emergency braking settings. If the Insignia nears the vehicle ahead too quickly, the system warns the driver with a loud audible alarm, a visual warning in the instrument cluster and an LED projection on the windscreen. The driver can choose between ‘near’ ‘mid’ or ‘far’ settings.

• Traffic Sign Assist: This newest-generation TSA can detect and display round traffic signs such as speed limits and derestrictions as well as many rectangular signs. The system processes data provided by the front camera as well as map data provided by the optional navigation system. Speed limits are also visible in the head up display if it is on board.

Overall, the new Opel Insignia impresses with highly intelligent safety technologies and excellent value for money, making it a rival that even premium brand models have to reckon with.

!NEW! Opel Insignia Grand Sport: No Need to Fear the Winter Chill

• Cozy warmth from heated steering wheel, front seats and rear outer seats
• Heated windshield improves visibility in frosty and humid conditions
• Remote control stationary heater warms up interior before driving starts

There is no reason to fear the winter chill in the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport, which features an array of protective measures against the cold, including a heated windshield.

There is no reason to fear the chill of winter when you drive or ride as passenger in the next generation Opel Insignia. The new flagship from Rüsselsheim features an array of protective measures against the cold, including a remote controlled stationary heater, heated seats in the rear as well as the front and a heated windshield. The windshield is defrosted silently and comfortably at the push of a button, by a fine wire heating element. The heated windshield also prevents fogging in humid conditions, further improving visibility and safety. The heating switches off automatically and it can be reactivated if necessary by another press of the button.

At the push of a button, drivers of the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport can enjoy the warmth of a heated steering wheel.

In addition to the heated windscreen, the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport provides drivers and passengers with many more ways to keep warm. Drivers can enjoy the luxury of a heated steering wheel, while seat heating is available not only for the driver and front passenger, but also for the occupants of the outer rear seating positions. In the front, the heating is adjustable, and with the automatic seat heating option it can even be controlled via the personalization menu in the information display.

“With the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport, it has never been easier to feel warm and comfortable in an automobile” said Opel’s vice president of sales and aftersales, Peter Christian Küspert, “and the improved visibility from the heated windscreen is a safety benefit for all road users”.

Heating of the seats and steering wheel is operational not only when the engine is running, but also during start/stop. Switching on the heated rear window also activates heating of the exterior mirrors for further improved visibility to the rear.

For the ultimate in wellness as well as warmth, the ergonomically certified AGR driver power seat of the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport also features a ventilation function.

For the ultimate in wellness as well as warmth, the 18-way adjustable and ergonomically certified AGR (Aktion Gesunder Rücken) Driver Power Seat additionally features massage and ventilation functions.

Seat heating in the new Opel Insignia Grand Sport is available not only for the driver and front passenger, but also for the occupants of the outer rear seating positions.

The new Opel Insignia Grand Sport can even warm up the passenger compartment before anyone gets in, thanks to the optional remote controlled stationary heater. The factory fitted heater is activated via remote control timer or automatically according to temperature sensors.

!NEW! Vauxhall Outperforms Premium Rivals for Vehicle Dependability

• Vauxhall named fourth best manufacturer in JD Power survey for vehicle dependability
• Manufacturer outperformed premium rivals in study of over 13,000 drivers
• Vauxhall Insignia top of class

Vauxhall Insignia outperformed its closest rival by 16 pp100 vehicles, and was stronger than the class average to the value of a staggering 46 pp100.

Vauxhall has performed very strongly in the second annual JD Power survey for vehicle dependability, achieving fourth overall in the manufacturer rankings. Moving up from ninth in last year’s inaugural survey, Vauxhall outperformed all premium rivals including Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar.

Recording a range average of 90 problems per 100 vehicles (pp100), considerably better than the industry average of 113, Vauxhall models also performed well across individual classes. Most notably, the Vauxhall Insignia topped the mid-size class, while the Corsa and Mokka models came third in the small and compact SUV classes respectively.

Vauxhall Corsa

Vauxhall Insignia outperformed its closest rival by 16 pp100 vehicles, and was stronger than the class average to the value of a staggering 46 pp100. On average the small category achieved among the best results, with the Vauxhall Corsa ranking third, 15 pp100 ahead of the class average. In the rapidly-growing compact SUV class, the Vauxhall Mokka also achieved third. With a notable score of only 65 problems per 100 vehicles, the Mokka was an impressive 45 pp100 ahead of the class average.

“It is brilliant to see that our cars are performing well for durability after they have left the showroom,” said  Rory Harvey, Vauxhall’s Chairman and Managing Director. “Providing high-quality, reliable vehicles is a priority of ours, and to see models across the range achieve these results and outperform their premium rivals is great.”

Vauxhall Mokka SUV

Now in its second year, the JD Power survey for vehicle dependability looks at the reliability of new vehicles sold in the UK. The 2016 study looked at 113 models (73 ranked) across 25 manufacturers, gathering data from over 13,000 drivers of MY13-15 vehicles.

!NEW! Wales football boss Chris Coleman gets New Vauxhall wheels

Wales manager Chris Coleman is the latest footballing addition to the Vauxhall driving family.

Chris Coleman poses with his new Vauxhall Insignia

Coleman was presented with a brand new Vauxhall Insignia at Evans Halshaw in Cardiff last week where he announced his squad for Wales’ UEFA European Championship campaign opener against Andorra.

The former Wales international will be hoping to lead his team, that includes Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey, to their first major finals since 1958.

Coleman, who took part in a Google+ Hangout with the four Home Nations Managers and Vauxhall recently, said: "I am delighted to be driving the Vauxhall Insignia.

"I am very grateful for the support that Vauxhall has given me and the national team since I became Wales manager in 2012 and look forward to working with them in the future."

Peter Hope, Vauxhall’s Marketing Director added: “We are thrilled that Chris has decided to drive a Vauxhall Insignia.

"We're three years into our partnership with the Wales team and the relationship continues to grow.

"We are looking forward to Euro 2016 and giving our support as Wales begin their journey on the road to France.

"We would also like to thank Chris for his excellent support, as well as his players, coaching staff and everyone connected with the Wales Team."

Chris Coleman is presented with the keys to his brand new Vauxhall Insignia

Coleman’s new Vauxhall wheels are an Insignia Sports Tourer 2.0 CDTi (163PS) in Tech Line trim.  This extremely well-equipped model gets lots of handy kit as standard, including a Navi 900 IntelliLink sat nav system with touch-screen and touch-pad control, 17-inch 7-spoke alloy wheels, an automatic lighting control with tunnel detection and rain-sensitive windscreen wipers.

Vauxhall is proud sponsor of the England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales national football associations.