Being the last car into a market is sometimes a good thing. It allows manufacturers to bring in their latest product, fine-tune it, load it with the best options, and slot it into an acceptable price-band. But does the new Opel Vectra hold enough trumps to make it the best luxury car?

Opel has tasted only limited success in India. Though successful in elevating the Opel brand in the eyes of Indian customers, GM India can hardly lay claim to having fulfilled their sales potential. Big daddy GM however has aggressive plans for the sub continent, with no less than four carefully chosen and well targeted models headed in our direction. First in is the new Vectra that goes on sale this month.

GM India had originally planned to bring in the earlier-generation Vectra but this move was stalled with a sudden hike in customs duty rates in early 2001. And with the new-generation Vectra on the horizon, GM India wisely decided to wait for the latest model.

However, it was the earlier Vectra that forced Opel to up the ante. In Europe, its main market, the car was perceived as being too bland and boring especially in comparison to its exciting arch-rival, the Ford Mondeo.

Opel had to come up with something and the result is the all-new Vectra, which comes with a seachange in character. It's been lavished with the resources of the world's largest car company that has spent billions of Euros and many years developing a model that is a quantum leap ahead of the previous one.

After its international debut in February 2002, the all-new Vectra comes to our shores. It is the latest and most contemporary car in our fast expanding luxury car segment. With the Indian customer now spoilt rotten with no less than six impressive cars to choose from, the Vectra is up against some serious competition.

For starters, it will have to deliver the best combination of refinement, comfort and luxury.

It will need ample performance, nimble and sure handling, and enough visual and brand appeal to keep customers delighted.