21/03/08

• Price19,645
• We like...Superb to drive
• We don't...Too big

Latest Mondeo scores on all fronts. It's better than many a car that costs much moreLike a certain football manager, Ford’s Mondeo is the ‘special one’. Right from the off, the original set the mark for how family-size cars should drive. It also proved itself to be tough and cheap to run. Until now, though, it was never much to look at. But this fourth-generation Mondeo is a terrific drive and now a striking looker, too. Whether you like its style only you can decide, but you certainly won’t mistake it.

Though once one of Britain’s favourite cars, it can no longer hope for such glory. A generation of MPVs and small off-roaders now steal away plenty of buyers. Ford’s answer to a shrinking market is to add space, comfort, standard equipment and fuel economy.

And that makes the Ford Mondeo quite a piece of work. At almost 4.8m long, the hatchback model is 47mm longer than the old one and it’s 74mm wider. That mayn’t sound much but the previous Mondeo was already a pretty big beast and those extra millimetres for some just tip it towards ‘too big’.

If you don’t mind its size, then there’s huge space and comfort, even when there’s five aboard.

There’s plenty on our Ghia test car to keep everything as you’d like: two-zone climate controlled air conditioning, Bluetooth phone hook-up, airbags everywhere and lots of places to take your belongings. But the best value of the range comes if you step to the next cheaper model, the Zetec, which has most of what’s good about the Ghia but ds without the plastic-looking fake wood adorning the dash.

And how ds it drive? Just beautifully. It The Mondeo smoothes over the bumps but responds nimbly as you adjust the wheel or dab the brakes. Wheel, gears and pedals feel weighted just as you’d want them. It has the touch and responses you’d want from a prestige badge and, what’s more, you’ll hear remarkably little from the wind or road at speed.

Of the big range of engines Ford markets, the 2.0 diesel in ours is the one to have: thick with low-revs power. It’s growly from start-up, but is smooth and quiet once warmed.

Should you buy one? Or, more likely, should you let your company get you one? We’d say, yes. Definitely. Size aside, it’s darned near perfect.

Why not search for a used Ford on motors now! We have thousands of quality Fords to choose from covering all models.

• Engines2.0 TDCi
• Power138bhp
• 0-60 mph9.5sec
• Economy47.9mpg
• CO2g/km156
• Insurance groups9
• EuroNCAP
• Airbags7
• Seats5

Motors.co.uk value verdict: