(Fri 15 Aug 08)

Vauxhall has published the first official pictures of the Insignia estate car, which will make its public debut at the Paris Show in October.

The estate - or Sports Tourer as it will be called - will join the saloon and hatchback Insignias in the second quarter of 2009. Vauxhall has not yet confirmed its load capacity, but there is likely to be quite a lot of it, since the estate is 80mm longer than the other versions. The tailgate is large and extends down into the rear bumper, so putting large objects into the back shouldn't be a problem.

Engine options will be the same as for the saloon and hatch - including a 217bhp two-litre turbo petrol unit and a 256bhp 2.8-litre V6 - except that the estate will also have the range's most powerful turbo diesel and a small-capacity turbo petrol. A high-economy, low-CO2 version called ecoFLEX will be introduced shortly after the other Sports Tourers have gone on sale.

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