The Vectra was always going to be a tough act to follow.
We drive the new Insigna, European car of the year 2009.

Vauxhalls family favourite became a familiar sight on our roads, and a familiar name to anyone who has ever driven a car.

Practical, straightforward and a little bit bland, it was massive success for the company for both private and fleet sales, and any plans to replace it were always going to be a risk.

But when the Insignia emerged from the mists last year, the bosses at Vauxhall must have been delighted with the reception the car enjoyed from critics and public alike.

The icing on the cake came at the end of last year when the Insignia picked up the European car of the year award.

A big hand must go to the designers - because the Insignia is a stunning looking car from every angle.

Chunky yet sleek, with a sophisticated front end and a distinctive rear end, the Insignia has real presence on the road.

Their are six engines in the range - four petrol and two diesel, ranging from the 1.8 through to the 2.8 V6 Turbo.

I drove a fairly basic 1.8 Exclusiv Nav and although I came away mightily impressed with the new Vauxhall on the whole, this 1.8 came up short on performance.

Although the engine was smooth, it struggled to react to a prod of the pedal at lower speeds, and left me with a feeling that something was missing.

It needed working hard, especially as I took the family away and the car was pretty loaded down.

The 1.8 only really felt in its comfort zone at higher speeds on the motorway and, for a family car, this is a plus point.

It ate up the miles as we journeyed south and really provided a comfortable ride. I would definately go for one of the bigger engines, which provide that extra thrust.

The Insignia handles well enough, with pretty decent, if light, steering and cornering, and the suspension copes with most things thrown at it.

Inside the cabin the designers have provided an interior fit to mach the look of the rest of the car.

The dashboard sweeps from both sides of the car into the centre console and ther’s an attractive wood effect trim.

The plastics are quality looking and the dials are simple and classy.

You’ll need a degree in knobtwirling to get the hang of many of the controls, but I got there in the end. There are also loads of buttons as well just to add to the intrigue.

The seats are big and comfortable and headroom and legroom in the front is good, although that distinctive sloping room cuts in to the rear headroom, although this isnt going to impact on anyone around average height.

It does mean however, that visability suffers through the small rear window. Although front and side views are fine. Theres an amount of road noise when the surface gets roughm, along with some wind noise, but overall things are pretty refined.

There is plenty of space - 520 litres in hatchback, enough to take the accumulated luggage of a small family ( including a bike, in our case). There are five trims available in the Insignia range. Entry level exclusiv cars come with front electric windows cruise control. Mine came with satnav and a decent DVD / MP3 sound system too. SRi spec brings electric rear windows, alloy wheels and sports suspension, while the SE level gets wood trim and automatic lights.

Elite adds electric heated front seats and parking sensors.

As you would expect for a family car, Vauxhall has not held back on security and safety. The Insignia received a five star EuroNcap ratings and boasts six airbags and stability control as standard, and you also get anti whiplash front head restraints and an alert to tell you if anyone in the rear has undone their seatbelt.

You can also get headlights with nine different beam patterns to suit driving conditions and lane departure warnings. The Insignia comes in at just over £17,000 for the basic 1.8 but that climbs to more than £30k for the V6.

It compares well to many of its rivals in the family car market and with good economy for the diesels, and 36mpg for the petrol 1.8, the Insignia will be a popular choice as a family car - and as a fleet car, too.

That prestigious Car of the Year award for 2009 is certainly not going to do its credentials any harm, either.

VAUXHALL INSIGNIA 1.8 EXCLUSIVE NAV
Engine : 1.8
Transmission : Six Speed manual
0-62 : 10.9 secs
Top Speed : 129mph
Combined mpg : 36.2mpg
OTR price from : £17,920

Dagenham Ford Hounslow
Ford Hounslow

Dagenham Motors Hounslow
719-727 London Road
Hounslow
Greater London
TW3 1SE
Phone 0208 814 4600
Fax 0208 814 4601

Approved Ford dealer services:

New Car Sales
Service
Nectar
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Ford Direct
FNP Region 1

Ford Dagenham part of the Dagenham motors Ford Retail dealer group.

The only way to excel in all the key objectives of the business we have, is for us all to be focused on the needs of the customer. By ensuring that at every opportunity we all recognise the important role we play in creating a positive experience for the Customer, the business will grow and develop in all areas. All of us play a critical part in the success of our business whatever role we are in.

Dagenham Ford in Barking
Ford Dealer in Barking part of Ford Retail

Dagenham Motors
51 River Road,
Barking,
Essex,
IG11 0SW

Ford Retail Limited
Tel 020 8477 4050
Fax 020 8477 4077

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Nectar
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FNP Region 1

Ford Retail operates from over 53 locations across the UK and is the largest Ford owned Dealer Group in the world. We trade within the UK through the Dagenham Ford, Iveco and London Mazda in the South, Brunel Ford in the West, Polar Ford in the North, Heartlands in the Midlands.

Gates Ford - Epping
Ford Dealer in Epping

Gates of Epping

33 High Street
Epping
Essex
CM16 4BA
Tel.0844 8475775 (Calls charged at local rate)
Fax.01992 560705
E-mail: enquiries@gates.co.uk

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Part of the Ford approved gates dealer group:

The Gates Ford dealer group regularly stock more than 1000 used vehicles and their enormous buying power ensures that new and used vehicle prices are as keen as you will find anywhere.

Gates Ford - Harlow
Ford Dealer in Harlow

Gates of Harlow

Edinburgh Way
Harlow
Essex
CM20 2EJ
Tel.0844 8475774 (Calls charged at local rate)
Fax.01279 424819
E-mail: enquiries@gates.co.uk

Dealer Services and facilities:

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FNP Region 2

Established in 1920. Gates are a multi Franchise dealer group selling new and used ford. Mazda and Mitsubishi cars and vans accross dealer outlets in Herefordshire and Essex

Chevrolet Lacetti 1.6 SX

First we have Chevrolet - synonymous with all things American (’57 Chevvies, kids called Buddy with check shirts and quiffs, driving your date to the Prom). Then we have Lacetti - cool sounding. Italian, than soft “c” conjouring images of olive skinned teens hanging out in dark glasses.

But put the two together and you get something very different. Because the Chevrolet Lacetti is a long way from that cool image. The car - which actually started life as the Daewoo Lacetti before the General Motors buy-out of the South Korean manufacturer in 2002 - is a value for money hatchback that is aimed at people who want to get from A to B with the minimum of fuss.

With an entry price of £10,175 rising to £13,265, it ticks all the boxes for those peopl who are looking for the no-frills motoring at a competitive price.

It wont thrill you or leave you panting for more, but it’ll do what you ask it in a quiet and unassuming manner. Just taking a look at the five door hatchback gives an indication of what the Lacetti is all about.

It looks like an amalgam of a lot of other hatchbacks. Nothing striking (although the headlight cluster is on the verge of being so) but nothing unpleasant. An everyman kind of look.

The Lacetti comes in a range of three petrol engines - 1.4, 1.6 and 1.8 but no diesel.

The 1.6 I drove is sprightly enough off the starting blocks but things begin to slow further up the gears. Steepish hills necessitate a gear change but once the revs are up the Lacetti has a decent pull. Things begin to struggle at lower speeds in top gears.

Acceleration figures for the 1.6 while the top of the range 1.8 knocks a second off that. Top speed is 120mph.

once it reaches crusing speed, however, the hatchback is adept at eating up the motorway miles, and I put on a few hundred miles of M1 on the clock.

The five speed manual gearbox is solid enough, and slots nicely into place with only a little jerkiness. Where the Lacetti scores is in its driveability its comfortable in an unassuming way although there is a degree of body roll while cornering, the more marked the tighter the corner.

The steering is prcise and light, enabling good control either in town or at higher speeds. The driving position is just right and all-round visability is very good.

You do however, get a fair amount of noise inside the cabin, especially road noise, and the engine noise levels rise in accorance with your speed.

Inside the Lacetti the theme of functionality is continued. Everything is in the right place and does exactly what is asked of it. The dash layout is so straightforward it could be described as old fashioned.

There are three large, clear dials in front of the driver telling you what you need to know and traditional twirly knobs for the heating control, a complete lack of push button switches and a CD player which unlike practially all new cars now, is of the type you can remove tha fascia and carry away.

The plastic of the dash and console is a little hard but not too unpleasant on the eye. It all helps to keep the price down. Seats are comfortable and there’s a lot of leg and headroom for both front seat and rear seat passengers. The boot’s a decent size although you have to hoist your suitcases or your shopping over a high lip to use it.

As the Lacetti’s aimed at a family market there are also more than 20 little compartments and cup holders dotted around inside for all those knicknacks that need to be transported.

Each engine has its own trim levels. On the safety side all models have driver and passenger airbags and ISOFIX child seat mountings. The higher spec Chevrolet Lacetti have side airbags.

Its cheap to buy and it comes with three years warranty, breakdown cover and free servicing. Good economy figures to boot with all three engines notching up 40mpg.

Chevrolet Lacetti 1.6 SX
1.6 Petrol
Five Speed Manual
0-62: 10.7 seconds
120MPH max speed
39.7mpg
Price £10,175

Sky Jemel Hemel Hempstead
Hemep Hempstead Ford Dealer

Sky Ford Hemel Hempstead

Redbourn Road
Cupid Green
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire
HP2 7AZ
Phone 01442 220200
Fax 01442 258798
Email info@skyford.co.uk

Sky Ford was launched on the unshakeable belief that genuine commitment to the customer and unrivalled after sales service are essential ingredients in any retail success story.

There is nothing magical about our business formula. It is based on the simple philosophy that hard work plus enthusiasm plus respect for the customer provide a firm foundation for any company. Add pride in the product that you offer and we believe you have a winning combination.

Why don’t you give us a try! You will not be disappointed.

Showroom facilites and dealership services:

New Car Sales
Service
CV Service
Accident Repair Centre

Ford Protect Used
Nectar
Motability
Dealer Business Centre
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FNP Region 2

SKY FORD
Ford Watford

SKY FORD in Watford
202 Rickmansworth Road,
Croxley Green,
Watford,
Herts,
WD18 7GH

Tel 01923 220550 Fax 01923 220557

Sky Ford was launched on the unshakeable belief that genuine commitment to the customer and unrivalled after sales service are essential ngredients in any retail success story.

There is nothing magical about our business formula. It is based on the simple philosophy that hard work plus enthusiasm plus respect for the customer provide a firm foundation for any company. Add pride in the product that you offer and we believe you have a winning combination

New Car Sales
Service

Services and Dealership facilities:

Ford Protect Used
Nectar
Motability
Ford Direct

FNP Region 1

Since it was launched with much fanfare in 2007 Nissan’s Qashqai hit the tarmac running, quickly becoming the fastest selling model in the history of Nissan Europe!

Presenting the Nissan Qashqai +2

Cutomers liked origional Qashqai, its style, which combined with the comfort of a family hatchback with something a little different, with an injection of smart 4×4 styling and mini-MPV practicalities.

It went down a treat, with a quarter of a million cars sold by the autumn of last year.

Not slow to adopt a winning formula other big manufactureres brought out their own take on this crossover styling …with varying results.

But nissan hope to capitalise on this initial success with the Quashqai +2 built in Sunderland, which is a bigger version of the origional plus, er, two extra seats. Nissan say this Quashqai +2 combines the best of both three-row people carriers and the family hatchback with none of the drawbacks, with the driving dynamics, ride comfort and refinement of a finely tuned hatchback with the added benefit of the practiacl interior of a bigger car.

And it certainly is a bigger car. It was apparent when, stragely a Qashqai of exactly the same colour parked in the adjacent parking space in a car park.

Once I’d realised the +2 hadn’t given birth, it was noticeable how much bigger than its sibling it was. In fact, the +2 is 211mm longer and 38mm taller than a standard Qashqai, which has allowed Nissan to shoehorn in the extra pair of seats.

Although very welcome for those with bigger families, they are best suited for children because space is a little on the tight side for legs and heads.

It’s a bit of a knees around the cars situation.

It’s also a bit of an assault course to get them out, when the seats are folded flat, it does add acres to the boot space.

The boot has also been changed from the Qashqai to allow easier loading and unloading.

But there is also loads of leg and headroom for everyone else and a huge panoramic sunroof ads to the airy feel inside.

The +2 comes with a choice of 1.6 and 2.0 litre diesel engines. I drove the two-litre diesel model, which handled the extra weight of the +2 with no problem at all. It was reasuringly quick off the mark for a car of its size, with 0-62 in around 11 seconds, and turned it steady acceleration through the manual gearbox.

With a top speed of nearly 109mph, the +2 is adept at motorway driving but didn’t struggle on the streets. Steering is firm, even a little heavy, but its soft suspension and big tyres simply soaked up anything the streets of Wearside could throw at it, relegating even the deepest potholes to a distant shudder.

The +2 is also adept at blocking out engine and wind noise, and the car provides a smooth, protected ride.

The high driving position allows the driver a good view of the proceedings and visability all round is good, although there are chunky pillars at the rear.

This lofty position has its drawbacks though, and there is an amount of roll when cornering. Grip is excellent, though, which helps things along.

Inside the cab things are comfortable, with numerous ways to adjust the steering wheel, and the dials and the dashboard are laid out simply and attractively.

Nissan has used some quality materials all around, and things look like theyre build to last.

This extra size and two more seats are obviously going to cost, and the +2 comes in at £15,600 for the entry level model rising to up to £23,200. This compaires with an entry level £14,200 for the Quashqai, but its expected that the +2 will depreciate slowly in value.

There are three trim levels -enty level Visia, Acent and top of the range Tekna.

But you do get a fiar amount of kit as standard on all models coming with air con, alloys, cd player, all round powered windows and rear privacy glass.

My Acenta test car came with climate control, a cd autochanger, parking sensors, cruise control and automatic headlamps and wipers.

Tekna spec has additional leather, heated seats and keyless entry.

On the safety side of things, all Qashqai 2 get front, side and curtain airbags but stability control is an extra on the the Visia.

Its a refined ride and ultra smooth and loads of kit as standard, and will no doubt be capitalising on the success of its smaller sibling.

Nissan Qashqai +2
2-litre diesel manual Acenta
0-62: 10.9secs
Top Speed: 118mph
Combined mpg: 42.2mpg
OTR Price: From £15,600

Seat is celebrating the 25th Aniversary of the car that put them firmly on the map and is still a best seller for the Spanish Marque - SEAT.

Although it was founded 49 years ago - May 9, 1950 to be exact - SEAT didn’t stir the small car world too much until the Ibiza appeared in 1984.

SEAT - pronounced “Say-at” and now owned by the Volkswagen group - opened a rich vein of supermini success with that first petrol engined model, which enjoyed a nine year production run.

There were some physical refurbishments of Ibiza Mark I in 1991, but those early models are best know for Porsche’s input to the powertrain, which saw models carry system Porsche badging.

Mark II SEAT Ibiza came along in 1993, on the back of 1.3 million-plus sales - a hard act to follow. But with an ultra modern production facility at Martorell, in Spain, to back its launch, and diesel engines being added to the heady mix of small, sporty engines, sales gains came fairly easily.

This Ibiza became the first model in its class to get an 88bhp turbo-diesel engine, and in 1996, a more potent 108bhp oil burner was added, which segment rivals were unable to match.

But the real SEAT Sport story began with 1996’s introduction of the Cupra version, a 2-0 litre, 147bhp master blaster that quickly drew an army of hot hatch amirers.

The Cupra’s Launch came on the back of SEAT’s Victory in the 2.0 litre category of the FIA World Rally Championship, a title it would go on to win again in 1997 and 1998.

Another breakthrough for the Ibiza followed in 2000 when it became the first supermini to be sold with electronic stability.

Eventually, Mark II went on to outstrip the first version’s total sales, pulling in more than 1.5million buyers by 2002.

The model for the new millennium, Ibiza Mark III, came with a far more attractive shape.

And, although Mark IV was launched last year, the third-generation Ibiza proved so popular in Spain that it is still available over there.

So here we are in 2009, with new styling, a Sport Coupé model added, and a wide choice of environmentally friendly petrol and diesel engines. But the story doesn’t end there, because the latest Ibiza range is growing all the time.

Due in the UK soon are new versions such as the fast and furious Cupra and FR models. And they will be followed a little later on by a real head-turner: the Ibiza Cupra Bocanegra.

The Bocanegra will be equipped with a twin-charged 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine, either in 147 or 177bhp form. It will also have a state-of-the-art seven-speed auto gearbox with wheel-mounted paddle shifts.

Indeed, thanks to its dramatic and dynamic styling, it could easily eclipse sales of the popular Cupra.

On the other side of the spectrum, there’s the ultra-green Ibiza Ecomotive 1.4-litre diesel.

Under the UK Government’s bangers-for-cash offer, it can be had for as little as £9605.

The £2,000 incentive shrinks its price form £11,605 to £9,605. The Ibiza Ecomotive can be ordered now in time for early summer delivery, it returns 76.3mpg and emits CO2 at a rate of just 98g/km.