Photo: SB-Medien
The second-generation Insignia Sports Tourer was introduced just last year, so we're a little surprised to see it preparing for a facelift. But due to new ownership and a shrinking car market in Europe, Opel is adapting all its money makers as quickly as possible.
The Sports Tourer is only the first facelift version of the Insignia to be spotted. Nearly all of the camouflage is mounted to the front of the car, where we can make out a substantial redesign.
Bucking recent trends, Opel is giving the Insignia a much smaller main grille with mesh instead of the usual horizontal bars. The placement of the parking sensors also reveals that the so-called side intakes, which are just pieces of trim around the fog lights, will be smaller as well.
Meanwhile, the headlights have a brand new design, featuring small kinks at the bottom like Audi is doing on its SUVs. Also, we can make out a pale while LED halo around the main beam. Meanwhile, the back end of the car will feature a redesigned lower bumper and updated taillights.
We strongly believe that the cosmetic changes are just a pretext for Peugeot to install its own engines under the hood of the Insignia, thus saving money. Which engines? We only need to look at the range for the Peugeot 508, a direct competitor. Its lineup is made up of small 1.2 gasoline and 1.5 diesel units, two versions of the 2-liter diesel and the 1.6 turbo with up to 225 HP. Meanwhile, the Insignia mostly relies on Opel's 2.0-liter diesels. This prototype has two mufflers hidden away, so it's probably quite powerful.
Since the link between the two companies is so new, we don't know how much technology will trickle down during these facelifts. Peugeot makes some of the coolest interiors of any mainstream European automaker, but updating the Insignia's dashboard may prove unreasonably costly.
Bucking recent trends, Opel is giving the Insignia a much smaller main grille with mesh instead of the usual horizontal bars. The placement of the parking sensors also reveals that the so-called side intakes, which are just pieces of trim around the fog lights, will be smaller as well.
Meanwhile, the headlights have a brand new design, featuring small kinks at the bottom like Audi is doing on its SUVs. Also, we can make out a pale while LED halo around the main beam. Meanwhile, the back end of the car will feature a redesigned lower bumper and updated taillights.
We strongly believe that the cosmetic changes are just a pretext for Peugeot to install its own engines under the hood of the Insignia, thus saving money. Which engines? We only need to look at the range for the Peugeot 508, a direct competitor. Its lineup is made up of small 1.2 gasoline and 1.5 diesel units, two versions of the 2-liter diesel and the 1.6 turbo with up to 225 HP. Meanwhile, the Insignia mostly relies on Opel's 2.0-liter diesels. This prototype has two mufflers hidden away, so it's probably quite powerful.
Since the link between the two companies is so new, we don't know how much technology will trickle down during these facelifts. Peugeot makes some of the coolest interiors of any mainstream European automaker, but updating the Insignia's dashboard may prove unreasonably costly.
Google News