Widely acknowledged as the sector-leading mainstream family car, the Ford Mondeo is facing increasing pressure from newcomers like the Citroën C5, Honda Accord, Toyota Avensis and, most notably, the recently crowned European Car of the Year Vauxhall Insignia.

It continues to comfortably hold its own. Interior quality is high with supportive seats plus lumbar support, stylish dash layout, luxurious soft-touch plastics and smart black surround on our range-topping Titanium X (although I prefer the aluminium version).

There’s plenty of room front and back and a massive boot; functionality is a key selling point.

To drive, this latest generation Mondeo has grown up. It’s more mature and pampered and doesn’t have the raw sportiness of its predecessor. That’s not to say it isn’t still an engaging drive.

One measure of the Mondeo’s leap in quality is the ease with which dealers have been selling higher trim levels – Ghias and Titaniums are common sights.

It’s not perfect though, and niggles include a design flaw with the rear spoiler. When it rains, water collects on the spoiler – when you open the boot it pours through the gap, giving you an unwanted, drenching. 

The boot on our car is also very heavy; we intend to have the pneumatics looked at by our local dealer.