Four, wheel and drive. Those
three little words are what save the new Vauxhall Insignia VXR, for the simple
reason that they banish all thoughts of the torque-steering monstrosity that
was the Vectra VXR to the dark recesses of your mind.

Because despite producing 321bhp
and 321lb ft from a 2.8-litre V6 turbo, the Insignia VXR doesn't suffer from
any sort of torque steer at all. Those three words also sum up neatly the
attitude shift of VXR - gone is the chav factor, replaced here by something
more civilised. Less Burberry cap, more company rep with tie at a jaunty angle.

‘Useable performance' is the
buzz phrase now, even ‘subtle' styling. Thank goodness for that, as VXR was in
danger of becoming an antiquated performance brand only four years after it
launched.

Step into this Insignia VXR and
there are still performance brand touches, but it's a classier place to be and
less in-your-face. The seats are Recaro and illustrate this best - yes, they're
racing seats, all-in-one things with no separate head-rest, but they're
comfortable not just supportive. Long journeys won't be a problem in this car.
The gearstick no longer has the rough stitching on it. The dials are more
subdued. It's all improved.

The same goes for driving. The
first thing that strikes you about it is how well it rides. The car we drove
came on enormous 20-inch alloys, which look fantastic if a bit big on the
Insignia, and the tyres are seriously low-profile. It also has stiffer
suspension all round and the whole car is 10mm lower. But drive through town
and you don't feel like you're about to compress your spine by three inches.
It's firm, of course, but there's exceptional compliance here. Drive through a
pot-hole and it doesn't crash, it doesn't shake the whole car. Even at higher
speeds you don't have to fight it too much to keep it on the black stuff
because the car doesn't fidget over bumps, in normal mode at least.

There are two ‘sport' buttons on
the VXR, one marked ‘Sport' and the other ‘VXR'. Hmmm. Their originality knows
no bounds. The former just tightens the damping, but press the latter and you
get stiffer suspension, more direct steering and a sharper throttle. Oh, and
the dials turn a shade of dark red.

This button is a throwback to
the Vectra VXR, as if the ghost of that car can't quite be banished. It doesn't
make the car any faster, doesn't release any more power, it just makes the
Insignia feel skittish and over the top. If it suddenly turned the car into a
fun performance hatch, I could understand. But all it does is remove any
finesse from the package. Take the throttle for instance. In VXR mode, it's far
too sharp, so that when you're mid-corner and a bump makes your foot nudge the
accelerator, you get an annoying squirt of power from the engine. It's jerky
and not what you want. Smooth driving is tricky with that VXR button lit.

The engine has its
contradictions as well. It's quick (0-60mph in 5.6 seconds), smooth (far
silkier than the Vectra's old four-pot) and very responsive over 2,500rpm.
Sixth gear isn't massively long so you can sit in that cog quite happily over
B-roads without having to change down all the time.

But, there's an annoying exhaust
boom at about 2,000rpm that makes longer journeys more tiring than they need
be. In the old Vectra VXR, you would have accepted that as part of the
in-yer-face attitude of the thing. But it doesn't suit the character of this
new car - it just feels weird. Fine to make it sound loud when you really rev
it, but this car will do a lot of motorway miles and for that any sort of boom
is bad. The irony is that the noisiest revs equate to 70mph in sixth - only at
85mph do they disappear.

This is a pity because grip
levels and lack of body roll are seriously impressive on the VXR. Turn in and
there's absolutely no hesitation, it just fires you around the corner. As part
of the VXR tweaks to the Insignia, Vauxhall has fitted a limited slip rear
differential. Doubtless this might make a difference on the track, but I never
got to a circuit and I certainly couldn't feel anything noticeable on the road.

The steering doesn't help
either. It's too light and over-assisted. Lightness isn't necessarily a problem
if there's feedback there too, but that's not the case here. The Insignia feels
like Vauxhall has bolted too big an electric motor to the steering rack so you
don't get any sense of adjustability. Minute changes at the wheel don't bring
minute front-wheel changes. Fine for your motorway cruise, but not so good for
the B-road. Other cars make that compromise better.This illustrates the biggest
problem with the Insignia VXR. On the one hand, it's far, far better than the
Vectra and on most levels is a good car. It also has this sector pretty much to
itself - an Audi S4 is only about £4,000 more, but Audis and Vauxhalls rarely
mix. Though their performance is similar, badge snobs will still steer away
from Vauxhall.

The plus points don't stop
there. The Insignia does what most people require of it perfectly acceptably,
like the motorway cruise, and the B-road blast. The problem is that it doesn't
excel at either. It doesn't seem entirely happy in its own skin.