THE Opel Insignia is the German marque’s flagship model, taking up the fight to mid-sized rivals in Europe, and now Australia.

Opel Australia has resisted the temptation to flood its showrooms with the vast array of Insignia models available on its home territory, instead opening the books with a simple line-up of a sedan and a wagon, with a choice of petrol or diesel four-cylinder turbo engines and a couple of equipment levels.

Opel’s designers have given the Insignia a sleek and up-market look, elevating it above the model it replaced, the Vectra.

On paper, it looks ready to at least match the likes of the Volkswagen Passat, Ford Mondeo and Mazda6, but can it beat them?