The Insignia VXR was awarded the maximum five stars for adult safety by Euro NCAP along with four stars for child safety. All cars get six airbags, anti-lock brakes, Isofix child seat anchor points, an electronic stability programme, traction control and three-point seatbelts all round. It also comes with adaptive forward lighting which cleverly changes how the headlights work, according to the road and weather conditions.

The headlights also turn in the same direction as a corner, for extra visibility and can adapt to rainy or snowy conditions. Daytime running lights are fitted as standard. Elsewhere there are uprated brakes to cope with the extra power.

This VXR is available as a saloon, hatchback or an estate (Sports Tourer in Vauxhall terms), the latter useful for those who need extra practicality but still want the performance. The hatchback is the most popular version and comes with a good-sized boot with 530 litres of room – the same as standard Insignia models. However, the saloon Passat R36 actually offers more space.

But the flat folding seats add to the practicality and allow you to carry larger or bulky items. The saloon may not be as useful, but it still has a large boot (of 500 litres) and the opening is impressively large, making loading and unloading easy. The Sports Tourer is the obvious choice for larger families, but it actually has less space than the previous Vectra VXR estate.

That said, there’s still plenty of room with 540 litres of space behind the rear seats – considerably more than the Audi S4 Avant. A boot organiser pack (called FlexOrganiser) is available as an option to help keep items secure in the luggage compartment.