2009 Vauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX Car Review and Specs | 2009 Vauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX Car Wallpaper Pictures Pics

The new Insignia ecoFLEX, debuting at the Paris Motor Show (October 4 - 19),offers environmentally friendly driving without compromise. In contrast to manyother competitors, it is not a low-end model, but rather combines powerfulpropulsion and driving fun with highest efficiency. Vauxhall’s newestecoFLEX model features a powerful single turbo-diesel with 2.0-litredisplacement and output of160PS.

“We designed theInsignia as a particularly efficient car from the beginning. By making amultitude of detailed improvements to the powertrain and to the road and windresistance factors of the ecoFLEX model, our engineers are able to minimise fuelconsumption without affecting driving fun,” says Hans Demant, VicePresident of Global Engineering at General Motors Europe. “Though we arestill developing the new Insignia ecoFLEX with the 2.0 CDTi ECOTEC engine, weare confident it will emit CO2 gases well below 140g/km.”

Compared tocompetitor’s cars with similar fuel consumption, it is clear why theVauxhall Insignia ecoFLEX watchwords are economy without compromise. TheInsignia ecoFLEX sprints from zero to 62mph in 9.5 seconds and reaches a topspeed of up to 135mph. Ensuring excellent pulling power even at low rpm, themaximum torque of 350Nm is available from 1750rpm, and can be temporarilyincreased for 15 seconds to 380Nm via an ‘overboost’ function.

The new 2.0-litre common-railfour-cylinder unit uses the innovative Clean-Tech process to ensure the lowestpossible emissions are precisely maintained over its life span. This controlscombustion via an electronic closed-loop system, adapting fuel injection tocombustion development in real time. Piezo-resistive cylinder pressure sensorsintegrated in the glow plugs are used to measure combustion pressures as high as180 bar in each individual cylinder up to one million times per minute, withinan accuracy of ninety-eight percent. The data is sent to the central enginecontrol system, which adjusts the volume and timing of the fuel injectionsaccordingly. This closed loop system ensures the engine always operates withoptimum efficiency and minimal exhaust emissions. Over the entire lifecycle ofthe Insignia, it compensates for wear factors such as inaccuracies in the fuelmetering, component tolerances, varying fuel qualities and operating conditions.

Other factors contributing to thelow consumption and emission figures include the 10 mm lower body to reducethe car’s frontal area, and the fitting of low-resistance Primacy HP tiresfrom Michelin. Like all Insignia models, the new ecoFLEX variant is Euro 5certified and will be available as a hatchback and saloon in the second half of2009 with prices announced closer to the launch.

Further improvedaerodynamics

Thanks to theirstreamlined design, sporty roofline and finely-tuned details, the regularInsignia variants feature an exemplary drag factor of 0.27. The Insignia ecoFLEXundercuts this figure still further. Its drag co-efficient of CD 0.26makes it one of the most aerodynamic production saloons in the world and in thisrespect, the best Vauxhall saloon ever. As such, it requires less engine powerto overcome air resistance than considerably smaller cars. This is key, becausewhen doubling speed the engine power necessary to overcome aerodynamic dragincreases by a factor of eight. So if 13PS are necessary to overcome aerodynamicdrag at 50mph, 107PS are needed at100mph.

The aerodynamics experts atGME optimised the Insignia ecoFLEX in many areas using traditional methods likeadding paneling under the tank in front of the rear axle, which improves dragcoefficient and increases downforce. They also partially closed the radiatorgrille to send more head-wind around the body for betteraerodynamics.

The exterior mirror isa good example of the Insignia’s aerodynamic excellence: compared to itspredecessor, the Insignia’s wing-shaped exterior mirrors create 45 percent less aerodynamic drag. During numerous computer simulations and more than650 hours in the wind tunnel, numerous other details were fine-tuned for evenbetter aerodynamic performance, including:

adding a flexiblefront spoiler lip
rounding frontbumper corners
slightly changingthe windshield wiper position
rounding theA-pillar
ensuring roof airflows without separating
integrating the rearspoiler lip
integrating aseparation edge into the tail lights
separating the edgeon the rear bumper
optimising the shapeof the lower control arm in the rear suspension
adding a spoileredge at end of door sill in front of rear wheels and wheelcaps.

In the process,many of these modifications also benefited the Insignia’s aero-acoustics,resulting in an interior cabin that is quieter than any Vauxhall before.Engineers already focused on noise reduction during initial development,adopting a new method at this early stage: a completed 1:1 scale clay model wasused for noise measurement. The new Insignia also has additional door sealingcompared to past models. The side windows’ thickness was increased to 4.85mm, further contributing to the low noise level in the interior compartment.

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