The Insignia will morph into a crossover in the brand’s future line-up.
It seems the public has an insatiable need for crossovers – and Opel is more than happy to meet its demands. So much so, that the company’s next-generation Insignia, a model that was previously sold here as the Holden Commodore before the brand’s demise, will ditch its low-slung liftback styling in favour of a tall-riding SUV stance.
Given the new design brief, we expect the next Insignia will be based on the same eVMP underpinnings as the Peugeot’s upcoming replacements for the 3008 and 5008 SUVs. That also means the crossover will be available with a choice of electric powertrains, offering between 400km and 650km miles of range, depending on the battery pack and motors.
The brand, now owned by Stellantis, could make a resurgence in Australia, and perhaps the Insignia nameplate would return with it.
The eVMP architecture is compatible with batteries ranging between 60kWh and 100kWh in capacity – and there’ll likely be a broad range of electric motor configurations, starting with the 100kW front-wheel drive powertrain from the Corsa-e and topping-out with a 250kW dual-motor, four-wheel drive system in the flagship.
Those unwilling to make the shift to EV power will also be pleased to hear that Stellantis’s eVMP chassis is basically a heavily reworked version of the company’s existing EMP2 platform, meaning Opel will be able to offer plug-in hybrid power on the Insignia, alongside these new electric models.
Opel/Vauxhall (and stablemates Citroen and Peugeot) hasn’t released any details about the PHEV system destined for its next-generation vehicles. Currently, the firm uses a 221kW 1.6-litre unit with a 13.2kWh battery pack, which offers a maximum range of around 65km. However, that could easily be updated for the brand’s next-gen models.
Like Peugeot with the 3008 and 5008, Opel will also shun pure-combustion power on the new Insignia crossover. In place of the current car’s petrol and diesel engines, there’ll be a line-up of mild-hybrid units, designed in tandem with the Belgian engineering firm Punch Powertrain. Details on the units are still yet to be confirmed.
We first heard about the new Opel/Vauxhall Insignia crossover back in 2019, after sitting down for a chat with the company’s then managing director, Stephen Norman. He told us: “The industry is asking what happens after the SUV. And we think the new Insignia will be it. It’s the biggest metamorphosis of what we’ve seen so far from Vauxhall.”
Norman wouldn’t be drawn on any more details, but Automotive Daily has since learned that the current low-slung Insignia Grand Sport will eventually be replaced by a crossover that’s somewhere between an SUV and an MPV.
That doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll have seven seats, but it’s almost certain to be a more premium and spacious high-riding model which follows a similar design brief to the recently launched Citroen C5 X crossover. Our exclusive image previews how the car could look.
We probably won’t see the new Insignia until 2024, though. The current car was facelifted this year, which means it has at least another three years of life left in it. That timeline would also give Peugeot enough time to launch the new 3008 and 5008 before the Insignia – which is important as the brand takes priority over Opel in the Stellantis pecking order.
Steve Fowler