Right here we go:
The new car is different car from the old one. It is longer, wider but crucially, lighter. The driving position is completely different: you sit 'in' this one, whereas in the old one you felt you were sitting 'on' rather than 'in' the seats.
A few people have remarked that it feel likes driving a large American car, but not in a bad way. I think an auto will suit the car really well.
The long wheelbase and wide track mean it feels fantastic on the motorway and really eats up the miles. The seats (I have the sports leather) are excellent too, and an improvement over the old ones.
The standard technology is excellent - all the usual stuff, but you also get lane assist, front camera system (traffic sign recognition, emergency braking) as standard.
The dash and interior are fully up-to-date and look and feel pretty good. The touchscreen works well. In fact, most of the technology simply works. Many other systems have issues or 'quirks' that can be annoying; I've not noted anything (other than that they've put more controls on the screen than physical buttons - people previously complained there were too many buttons...)
I recommend either leather or at least the winter pack (or both). The heated seats are automatic - i.e. they come up if the car senses it's cold, and then go off again as the car warms up. Winter pack also has heated front screen and heated steering wheel.
I recommend a model with parking sensors (all but the base model I think, but check). i'd also recommend the rear camera.
Engine-wise, if you want a petrol the 1.5T 165 does the job and we've found it quite popular on the work scheme. Both diesels are fine, the 2.0 170 has plenty of urge, but I hear the 1.6 isnt too bad either.
Spec wise I'd suggest going for SRI Nav (or SRI Nav VX-Line if you like) or Elite Nav (leather, Matrix LEDs, 8" instrument display).
I have the Elite Nav with the 2.0 170PS and a manual. It has the 20" wheels which look great, and dont seem to compromise the ride too badly. Mine's missing the winter pack and the rear camera. The next one has both of those, along with an automatic transmission (new 8-speed Aisin box I am looking forward to trying). It also has HUD and FlexRide (adaptive suspension) which are nice-to-haves. It comes in December.
Here she is:
Colour is Darkmoon Blue, which is very dark, but it really pops with the sun on it.
My boss has the Tourer in 1.5T 165PS Elite Nav guise and he's very happy with it. I think his only comment is that it does so much for you that you dont feel you're driving the car. Obviously its designed as a comfortable mile-muncher rather than any kind of sports car.
Go to a dealer and check one out. The dealers should have a Grand Sport in stock that you can try, and most should be able to get hold of a Tourer. I checked the reg data and the Insignia is the top seller by far this month at a retail level (Mondeo/Passat have usually ruled here, while the Insignia has ruled the company car market). Are you looking to buy privately, or as a company car?
TL-DR - go try one
