Ford built its reputation in Britain on building medium range family saloons. Remember the Cortina? It's pretty rare to see one now though. Four-door versions of the company's current offering, the latest Mondeo, are rare indeed.

Still, the company has to develop a three-box version of this class-leading car. Sales in Southern European markets like Spain are mainly centred around it. Which means that British buyers continue to get the saloon option. It costs the same as the comparable hatch and in some ways looks sharper. It's also more versatile than you might think, offering 535 litres of bootspace, a figure that rises to 1,448 litres with the 60/40 split-folding rear seats down.

Otherwise, the recipe, as you would expect, is almost exactly the same as the five-door hatchback version. I say almost because, for some reason best known to Ford's marketeers, buyers of the top-specification Titanium and Titanium X variants don't get the option of the 145PS 2.0-litre petrol engine you'll find in comparable models using the hatchback bodyshape. You can have this unit in the saloon if you're prepared to compromise on kit and go for a Ghia, Zetec or Edge variant however.

At the other end of the saloon range, another difference is the absence of the 110PS 1.6i Duratec entry-level engine that you'll find in the most basic Hatch variant. Ford believe (rightly based on sales data) that four-door buyers don't really go for stripped-out entry-level models. It does however, mean that unlike the five-door, you can't have a Mondeo saloon at under the significant £15,000 price point (according to list prices anyway). Saloon prices start at £15,695 for the 125PS 1.6-litre 'Edge' version, the same as you'll pay for the equivalent 125PS Hatch variant.

Diesel buyers also lose the entry-level Mondeo-designated engine, in this case the 100PS 1.8 Duratorq TDCi unit that powers base diesel versions of the Hatch. Instead, the entry point to diesel-powered four-door Mondeo motoring is provided by the same engine in 125PS guise. Again, this means that you'll need to be a little careful in comparing bodyshapes with your budget and that diesel four-door Mondeo motoring prices start a little higher at £16,795.

"It's more versatile than you might think, offering 535 litres of bootspace .."

No Mondeo these days could really be described as 'stripped-out'. Even in basic 'Edge' trim, buyers get air-conditioning, cruise control, a leather steering wheel, a CD stereo with an MP3 connection socket, seven air-bags, ABS with Electronic Brake Assist (EBA), power front windows, remote central locking, a quick clear heated front windscreen, plus power and heated door mirrors.

Other features include Ford's Electronic Stability Program (ESP), a Thatcham Category 1 Alarm, ISOFIX child-seat fixings, steering wheel controls for the key vehicles technologies, a driver's knee airbag, 'follow me home' lighting and a feature unique to Ford - Easyfuel. This prevents drivers putting petrol into a diesel powered car or vice-versa. It is estimated this accidental mis-fueling affects over 150,000 UK drivers every year.

Zetec trim is what most buyers will opt for, recognizable by 16-inch alloys and front foglights. Prices range from £16,695 for the 1.6-litre 125PS variant to £19,495 for the 2.0-litre TDCi 130PS variant. Next up are the largely identically priced Ghia and Titanium trims. With the Ghia, you get larger alloys, automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers, power fold door mirrors, a Sony stereo with six CD in-dash auto-changer. The Titanium gives you a more luxurious feel with brushed metal interior trim, a different wheel design and sports front seats. At the top of the range, the Titanium X series aims to emphasise modern technology with a 'contemporary' interior further and costs from £21,245 for the 1.8-litre TDCi 125PS.

There's a big degree of carry-over of engines with the entry-level powerplant being the 125PS 1.6-litre petrol Duratec engine we mentioned earlier and the range-topper being the 2.5-litre turbocharged 222bhp unit that's seen in vehicles like the S-MAX and the Focus ST. Diesel engine provision is decent as well, with the aforementioned 125PS 1.8-litre Duratorq TDCi unit marking the first point of entry and the well-proven 2.0-litre Duratorq (in 130 and 140PS guises) also set to mop up a big percentage of Mondeo sales.

When I first saw this Mondeo, I was struck with an intense feeling of deja vu. The reason was quite simple. I'd driven to work that day in a Ford S-MAX MPV and the Mondeo's interior, its detailing, its exterior proportioning and most of its mechanicals are shared with that vehicle. Anybody who's driven an S-MAX will attest to the fact that this is no bad thing.

Take a seat inside the car and you'll notice high quality surfaces, materials and finishes. As with the outside, dynamic lines and styling curves are again evident, plus the low profile instrument panel provides very generous cabin space for front seat occupants. The flow-through centre console allows the gear shifter to be located high and within easy ergonomic reach of the driver.

The design team has also paid great attention to interior detailing, and examples of this include new generation infotainment systems, plus the next generation of Ford's Human Machine Interface (HMI). This easy to use system features the same steering-wheel toggle switches seen on new Galaxy and S-MAX, but introduces the availability of a large central LCD screen with full colour graphics situated between the main analogue instruments in front of the driver. Rear seat headroom and legroom have also come in for scrutiny by the Mondeo development team and these have been maximized for occupant comfort and safety.

The saloon bodyshape will account for only a tiny proportion of UK sales but that doesn't stop it being worth looking at if you don't need to convenience of a Hatch or simply because you want to be different. In fact, kit your four-door up carefully from the Ford options catalogue and it can actually look quite menacing. Suited and booted, as they say.