Vauxhall Insignia

, Vauxhall's styling department has garnered unanimous praise for its work on the Insignia - we've yet to hear anyone refer to its looks with anything other than gushing praise. However, we're seeing plenty of them on the road now, so the novelty of the styling is wearing off; it's time to look beyond the design and see if everything else is up to scratch.

What are its rivals?

It might have a new name, but the Insignia is really the latest Vectra (or the latest Cavalier, depending on how far you want to look back), which means it's GM's saloon for the masses. You'll probably know that Vauxhall dropped the Vectra name partly because the last car - while not being awful - was widely regarded as being duller than Jeremy Clarkson's wardrobe.

So the Insignia battles with the same cars the Vectra always did, most notably the Mondeo, the Mazda6, the Renault Laguna and the Peugeot 407. Basically, name any medium-sized three-bAnecdotallyox saloon made outside of Germany or a Lexus factory and it's a rival.

How does it drive?

Better than the Vectra did, that's for sure. At its launch the Insignia was trumpeted as being in every way the equal to the premium compact executives, and while that's not quite the case, it has a decent go. The most notable positive is the general driving position - Vauxhall has succeeded in creating a cosseting cockpit that's both comfortable and sporty. The car shrinks around you; on the move the steering is sharp and the chassis composed. It really does strike a great balance between providing a comfy, supple ride yet transmitting a bit of feel through the seat. It falls short of offering the outright steering response as, say, a BMW 3 Series, but it's precise all the same.

This is the second Insignia we've driven in quick succession - the last one being the 1.6-litre turbo petrol version - and at the time we thought the Insignia would benefit from a smoother, torqueier diesel. We were right: the CDTI 130 diesel engine, which has 128bhp and 221lb.ft, is much better suited to the car, providing ample pulling power for overtaking while never overwhelming the front wheels. It also returns a decent 48.7mpg on the combined cycle.

What's impressive?

As an overall package the Insignia dishes up an enticing blend of looks, performance and equipment in the 'SE Nav' spec of our test car. We weren't fans of its glossed wood dashboard trim, but apart from that everything is put together with style and flair.

The poise with which it drives is its main appeal. We're still not convinced it's better than the class leading Mondeo - which has both a degree more ride suppleness and cornering flair - but it's difficult to believe that the Insignia is the Vectra's successor. That much is clear from the very first time you turn the wheel. Little things like the red ambient lighting in the cabin, and the way the tachometer needles throw a red dot of light onto the silver dials, make the Insignia feel a cut above.

And on the motorway the Insignia feels right at home - which is as it should be if you think about its target audience - because it shuts out wind and road noise very effectively indeed, making it a relaxed car to cruise at 69mph in.

What's not?

The quality is still a little suspect, and the one major area that separates this premium pretender from the actual premium players. Despite the neat little touches in the cabin we've just described, some of the switchgear and lower level plastics are poor, frankly; just like the Insignia ST we tested recently, the dashboard button stack on this saloon creaked like the floorboards of a cartoon haunted house.

Work your way up the Insignia range and it's not actually that cheap either. There are a myriad of engines and specification levels to choose from, but with a price tag of around £23,000 our SE-spec test car was hardly a budget buy.

Should I buy one?

Why not? As we've said, they're getting more common now, but that doesn't seem to have watered down the visual impact the Insignia has on the road. We'd still urge you to try Ford's saloon first, but it's high praise indeed to say that this car runs the Mondeo close. It's not a revelation though, and we still think it's too expensive when the quality isn't any better than other mainstream rivals. Good, but not exceptional