I left the Vauxhall Insignia on the drive overnight of some friends who have a very nice new BMW X3 (as well as plying me with copious amounts of splendid wine). When I collected it the next morning, they asked me what luxury car I had left sitting on their drive.

Would they have reacted the same way if they had known it was a Vauxhall?

I like the car. It’s spacious, poised and elegant. And the new Vauxhall Insignia will boost its company car kerbside appeal no end.

Talking to Paul Bulloch, boss of small fleet leasing company Concept Vehicle Alliance, one of his customers thinks the current car is motoring heaven already.

His client, Carl Starbuck, drives a Vauxhall Insignia SRi VX-Line Nav – read One Customer and his car. Carl is averaging 51mpg and describes the car as a ‘cracker’ – and that’s someone coming out of a Lexus company car.

The new Vauxhall Insignia should be even better. Let’s hope the pre-launch hype meets my expectations. But more importantly, let’s hope Vauxhall can drive more appeal into the brand itself.

With that in place, the new Vauxhall Insignia promises to be outstanding.