My brother just replaced his Frontera, as he wanted something a bit less thirsty. He found a Vauxhall Signum -not a car I'd want -but it was a 13 month old 3 litre V6 diesel Elite with all the toys for

Isn't the Signum the executive car in their range now ?

I like them I do

Even my local Vauhall dealer doesn't know why they produced it...seems a bit of a lost cause, and doesn't really fit in anywhere.

My folks (who had a LWB frontera) looked at a 8mth old 2.2CDTI - was about 11k I think... lot of car for the money, but very boxey interior with slight "vauxhall" build quality of plastics etc.

They bought a new L&K estate instead.. can't really question that judgement:D

IIRC, when it was launched, it was supposed to be a sort of cross-over between a 'lifestyle estate' and a hatchback. I think Vauxhall bosses saw the Renault Vel Satis, and thought 'we need something to match that'. Why they thought that is anyone's guess. Especially after Renault's previous 'executive' effort - the Avantime. Don't get me wrong: I'm quite fond of Renaults (my last car was a Megane coupe), but as Prince Charles might have it, car makers really should learn their station in life. An executive Vauxhall? More like a chaffeured taxi for top London civil servants. Not the same thing...

To be fair, the Superb hasn't caught on well here, either. Perhaps for the same reason - a large car from a shall we say 'less expensive' maker, being marketed as an alternative executive barge. The continent's a different matter. Over there, they appear to be marketed as taxis, and it works. Where the previous taxi of choice was the Mercedes C / E class, you can't move for Superbs, usually in a tasty shade of beige!

The Signum was meant to replace the Omega, but rather than a big interior with a big boot, it gets one or the other, which is no use to me. Sort of an odd compromise. The only good thing about the car is the V6 diesel engine, and the fact that it looks like something from a "Thunderbirds" episode!

Phil