Available in a choice of seven trim levels; Design, Design Nav, SRI, SRI Nav, SRI VX-Line, Tech Line, and Elite; petrol power comes from the same 1.5-litre turbo engine used in the new Chevrolet Cruze, with respective outputs of 103 kW or 121 kW. A six-speed manual is the sole gearbox offering on both.
Moving one up, the Elite spec only 2.0-litre Turbo punches out 191 kW and 400 N.m of torque, with drive going to all four wheels as standard via a brand-new eight-speed automatic gearbox. On the oil burner side, the so-called 1.6-litre CDTI whisper diesel is rated at either 81 kW or 100 kW both linked to six-speed manual, while the bigger 2.0-litre CDTI churns 125 kW with the option of the manual box or similar ratio automatic.
Pricing for the Grand Sport starts at £17 115 (R275 150) for the 1.5 Design and ends at £27 710 (R445 481) for the 2.0T Elite AWD, while the Sports Tourer kicks off at £18 615 (R299 265) for the Design before topping out at £29 210 (R469 596) for the Elite.
As a comparison, prices for the Opel Insignia Grand Sport in Germany start at €25 590 (R352 831) for the base Business and ends at €31 530 (R434 731) for the flagship Innovation, while the Sports Tourer retails for between €26 690 (R367 998) and €32 530 (R448 519).
Sadly, like the first generation model and indeed the preceding Vectra, don't expect the Insignia Grand Sport or Sports Tourer to arrive in South Africa anytime soon.
