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These spy shots show a completely undisguised version of the new Vauxhall Insignia hatchback.
Expected to account for as much as 75 per cent of Insignia sales in Europe, the hatchback variant of Vauxhall’s Mondeo rival looks very similar to its saloon sibling.
These shots show that the hatch can be differentiated only by its more angled D-pillar and some subtly different shutlines.
The...Read the full article

I'm baffled. Looks like a Toyota Avensis.. like a confused tin can.. awful !!

An Avensis is at least coherently dull. There's something very strange about the styling of this car, especially in profile. Somehow the three 'boxes' don't seem to join up properly. The bonnet is quite flat, I think it jars with the rising window line, making the car look as if it's bent about the base of the A-pillars. There's certainly something not quite right about it. Then the rear is tall and dumpy all at once.

I suspect it would look better if the front and rear overhangs weren't so long, and the rear wheels in particular didn't look so lost under the rear bodywork. Perhaps the white paint doesn't help but compared to the new Mondeo with its pumped-up wheelarches, it looks like it's on castors.
 

Oh dear, Vauxhall have gone an done it yet again.  What's with the huge rear overhang?  I know most cars from now on will have large front overhangs just in case some idiot of a pedestrian decides to step out in front of you into the road, but why the rear one?  It looks like a flabby Mazda 6, which isn't the best looking car to begin with.  They may have changed the name but everybody is going to associate this with the Vectra.  Yes it looks different, but it still looks rubbish and still has a Vauxhall badge on the front.

And just a general question too... will there ever be a time when a new model is not considerably larger than it's predecessor?  If this carries on your average rep-mobile will be the size of the current S-Class Merc in a couple of generations. 

 

Perhaps new smaller models will come in at the bottom end to fill the gaps? For example the Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo despite both having 'small' cars in the 206/7 and Yaris.

oaffie:

It looks like a flabby Mazda 6, which isn't the best looking car to begin with.

 

Too right! The journos seem to love the look of the new 6. The old one wasn't necessarily the best car in its class but at least it looked great.

Very few cars on the market these days look athletic. Hopefully the new Ford Fiesta (maybe) and the Mazda 2 (less weight than before) are trying to buck the trend.

The Insignia? Vauxhall have another hole in their foot where they shot it!

The huge front and rear overhangs is probably a giveaway of cost savings.. they've based a saloon on a hatchbacks wheelbase to save the pennies.. check the wheelbase against a Vectra, there could be a 'similarity vectra alignment measurement'

The saloon photos made the Insignia look best-in-class. Can an hatchback make so much difference? I think not, and blame the white paint. The bulge on the bonnet has become part of the profile, the bumpers have contributed badly to the perception of overhang. The saloon looked taut and muscular, this looks massive. People who are mildly overweight are always advised not to wear white, unless they want to draw attention to their size. Vauxhall should take heed.

Not only have Vauxhall gone and "done it again", they seem to have regressed in to the far reaches of Kia and Chevrolet/Daewoo - what is going on?! The publicity photos doe the saloon some justice but have obviously been taken from the most flattering angles. I've been looking closely at the new Mazda 6 and it is so much better than this Toyota Avensis/Crown monstrosity. Vauxhall have never made a good looking mid-range car vis. the Cavaliers and Vectras - why can't they seem to apply the lessons of the new Corsa?

Thank you GM - I always said you had a sense of humour!  The thought of all those autoexecs sitting around the table slapping each other on the back and telling themselves how this car will save GM's bacon makes me weep with laughter.

They say that those whom the gods wish to destroy they first make mad - and if this is not a late April fools joke then GM have surely gone mad.  Barking, staring, raving mad - if they truly think this monstrosity will sell.  I sort of quite liked the saloon, but the hatch is utterly ridiculous.  For your own sakes GM, redesign the thing now or go bust.

When my current model SRi hatch goes back in Jan it will definately NOT be replaced by this automotive joke.  OK - so buy the more sensible looking saloon - but if I wanted a saloon I'd buy a BMW or an Alfa etc.  Why do car makers make such monstrosities and expect the punters to part with hard earned cash for them - don't they care, are their designers so inept, do they have a death wish?  Still, I see no competition from Renault - the new Laguna is almost as ridiculous looking.  Has anyone seen a C5 up close?  Do you, like me,  think it is an utter mess?  If this is Citroen's idea of German, then I expect the Germans will either be hugely insulted or in hysterics.  What on earth is happening with D segment car design????  Would it be impossible to design a body like a Maserati Quattroporte and plonk it on a GM chassis and engine?  It might just make a beautiful car with affordable mechanicals that real people might just want to buy instead of having to put up with dross.  For my Vectra replacement?  I can feel a rekindling of an old love affair with Alfa coming on.