Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport (the new Insignia) gets an early reveal

The Vauxhall Insignia is being replaced in 2017 by the new Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport, and Vauxhall has revealed its new car three months ahead of its debut.

Life isn’t easy for mainstream car makers as premium brands hunt in packs lower down the food chain, and it’s particularly difficult for cars like the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia – trapped by the pincer movement of premium alternatives and a market that seems to want only SUVs and Crossovers.

Ford is trying to fight back by offering its own premium Vignale, and this is Vauxhall’s new fighting machine – the 2017 Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport.

We’re not entirely sure what adding ‘Grand Sport’ to the front of Insignia will do for the Insignia’s sales, but Vauxhall are keen to show it off ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in the spring and demonstrate how the Grand Sport is so much better than the Insignia.

With new vehicle architecture gets a longer wheelbase (by 92mm) for more passenger space, sits a bit lower and has shorter overhangs.

The new grille and slim headlights make the Grand Sport look wider, and what Vauxhall call a ‘SweepSpear’ – a big gouge up the side heading up the rear wheel arch – is designed to make the new car look athletic and ready to roar, and the new back lights also give the Grand Sport width and presence.

Vauxhall say the Grand Sport’s ‘Propulsion Technology’ (that’s engines to the rest of us) will offer lots of choice, although decline to elaborate. However, don’t be shocked to fin it a mix of 1.5 and 2.0 litre petrols and 1.6 and 2.0 diesels, together with a new eight-speed auto option and an AWD option too.

The interior comes in for a titivate too, with the button count down thanks to a new infotainment touchscreen of decent size, lots of connectivity – including CarPlay and Android Auto – and there’s plenty of tech too, like LED Matrix lights, Heads-Up, Adaptive Cruise, Lane Keep Assist and Cross Traffic ALert.l

The new Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport will go on sale after its Geneva debut, and it looks like it will be followed shortly after by a Grand Sport estate and, perhaps, a Crossover variant.