From the start I've been impressed with the new Opel Insignia. The design is modern and strong looking, the manufacturing feel is solid and the performance on the road is well ahead of the previous car. Were the Irish car market in a more healthy state, the new Opel Insignia would be its top performer.

Opel has got the new Insignia right. The transformation from the Vectra is light years with a new styling that is both modern and impressive. The car has a new strong look almost reminiscent of the old Opel Rekord of years ago, giving it an obvious road presence.

Opel's new Insignia brings style with good road feeling and impressive comfort to replace the Vectra. Prices are competitive starting at €27,496 for the 130bhp diesel powered model.

Insignia has performed well for Opel in a difficult market. Firstly, it took the coveted title of the 2009 European Car of the Year Award. In recent weeks, it has been rated as the best seller across Europe in the segment of the market, with sales topping 100,000 units for the first four months of 2009. The diesel: petrol split in sales was a 50:50 split, while in Ireland the 2.0 litre CDTi diesel powered 130bhp model was the popular choice. That was the car that I took for a recent test drive. I can confirm that this new improved diesel engine does deliver. The engine power output is higher, at 130bhp, than the previous Vectra diesel. There's more torque from under the bonnet too.

As the new Insignia is a heavier car than the Vectra it replaces, acceleration improvements are only marginal. This big diesel car delivers a 0 to 100km/hr acceleration rating of 11.1 seconds and that's carrying an additional 100kg compared with the older Vectra model. That's comparable with the competition.

Opel claims the fuel economy figures are also marginally better, at 5.8 litres/100km (47.8 mpg), in the combined driving cycle. During my test drive, the car seemed even more economical, as I topped 900 kilometers on a single tank. This fuel tank is bigger than that of the older Vectra with capacity lifted from 61 litres to 70 litres, meaning less fuel stops along the road.

Opel has also trimmed some units from the Insignia CO2 emissions figures. That was a part of the design challenge; increase the power, performance and features while lowering the CO2 footprint. This new diesel model comes with a CO2 rating of 154 g/km, putting the Insignia diesel into the Road Tax Band C. That's a drop from Road Tax D and a drop in annual tax costs from €447 to €302 compared with the older Vectra model.

The 2.0 litre CDTi models come with a six-speed gearbox as standard that's smooth and relatively easy to use. The sixth gear allows you to cruise at 120km/hr, with just 2000 engine rpm on the occasional motorway stretch. You'll notice that this is where the real fuel economy comes into play, but you need motorway style roads to get the full benefit.

The clutch on the other hand felt a little heavy. Regular city driving was more tiring due to this feature. You get a solid power feeling from behind the wheel. Compared with the competition, the new Insignia acquits itself well. The engine power is close to the top in the segment. Engine torque is also relatively high at 300Nm, but pulling power is a little disappointing at only 1.6 tonnes with a braked trailer. And that's against the equivalent Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat competition each of which come with a two tonne towing rating.