Vauxhall Insignia: The car that can see

Crave popped down to the British International Motor Show recently and among the new-fangled Jaguars and Ferraris, there was a new Vauxhall. No, don't run a way -- we're talking about the new Vauxhall Insignia, which is one of the most technologically-advanced cars in recent times.

It's the first car we've come across that can 'see'. It uses a system known as Opel Eye, which incorporates a built-in, forward-facing camera attached to its rear-view mirror. This recognises road signs and accidental, potentially dangerous lane drifting to help reduce the chances of a crash or a speeding fine.

The Insignia, which is a replacement for the ageing Vectra, also features second-generation Adaptive Front Lighting technology. Remember the headlights on the Ford Focus CC-3 that swivel left and right depending on which way you turn the wheel? Vauxhall's AFL is something like that, but better. It uses a camera to detect what type of area you're driving in and your speed and auto-selects one of nine lighting modes with different intensity and beam spread. Click through the following pages for more details.

The Insignia has all the regular in-car gadgetry you'd expect, too. There's a DVD-based sat-nav with a large display, FM and CD playback, plus connectivity for an external MP3 device. You'll be able to buy one later this year for a starting price of around £16,000, though you'll have to wait until 2009 for one that sports the Opel Eye technology.

Check out the pictures of its various gadgets over the following few pages, while we work on bringing you a full hands-on video. -Rory Reid

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