2012 Opel Insignia Focuses on Efficiency with New Engines

Opel wants to emphasize economical engines while adding a few premium features in the 2012 Insignia. The mid-size sedan gets a new, smaller base engine and improvements to the car's infotainment system.

The major change for the 2012 Insignia is the turbocharged, 1.4 liter, four-cylinder petrol engine, which replaces the 1.8 liter four-cylinder in last year's model. The new 1.4 makes the same 140hp as the previous engine with torque improved to 200 Nm, but fuel consumption is reduced by two liters down to 5.7l/100km (5.9l/100km for the wagon). CO2 emissions are 134g/km. Opel claims that it is the most  efficient petrol engine in its class. 

The 2012 Insignia is capable of sprints to 100km/h in 10.9 seconds with a top speed of 205km/h.

It takes more than just an economical engine to get such a large improvement in fuel economy, so the 2012 Insignia also uses electric power steering, start/stop functionality, low rolling-resistance tires and under-body paneling to control air flow. 

Opel has also made improvements to the Insignia's optional 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that comes in the all-wheel drive version of the car. The horsepower is now 250hp with 400Nm of torque, improvements of 30hp and 50 Nm. Zero to 100km/h comes in 7.5 seconds with an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h. Despite the improvements in power, the engine is also more efficient. It uses 8.4l/100km of petrol and emits 197g of CO2 per kilometer.

The other big news coming from Opel are the changes being made to the Insignia's interior. For 2012, the Insignia will be getting two improved infotainment systems: the Nuvi 600 and Nuvi 900 Europa. Both of them use SD card-based storage with downloadable points-of-interest. The Nuvi 900 Europa adds voice recognition and log book functionality.