Bigger, better looking, more refined and hugely improved in terms of perceived quality, this generation Ford Mondeo has stepped upmarket but kept prices low. The diesels are the most attractive engines and even if it is no longer the sharpest drive in the sector, it's certainly the best all-round offering.

It speaks volumes about the enormous step change that this car represents that Ford was seriously considering calling it something other than Mondeo. Drive one and it's easy to see why. This generation car has very little in common with its predecessor. Where the old car majored on being sharp to drive and in offering a reasonable quality of finish, this generation Mondeo has become bigger and plusher. This is understandable given that the premium brands have all but decimated the traditional family saloon, hatch and estate markets. Why not beat them at their own game?

Jump in and expect the same dynamics as the old Mondeo and it's possible you could come away disappointed. The front end of the car never feels quite so 'pointy' and you'll always feel that there's a lot of car around you. Four diesel engines are offered. There are 1.8-litre 100bhp and 125bhp entry-level units and then a pair of 2.0-litre Duratorq powerplants in either 130 or 140bhp guises. All three are carried over and mildly modified from either the old Mondeo or Focus line ups but the massive improvements in refinement make these diesel models feel completely different to the old car.

"?this generation Mondeo has become bigger and plusher"

The Mondeo feels a quality product. The slick steering, the weighting of the pedals and gearchange and the excellent damping are reminiscent of Lexus rather than Ford. Minus points would include rather poor visibility due to the chunky pillars and some terrible reflections in the rear window caused by the air conditioning vents in the four-door car. Performance from the 2.0-litre TDCi 140 engine I tried was certainly enough to dispatch dawdling traffic, the hatchback version recording a sprint to 60mph in just 9.3 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. Once you learn to trust the front end, handling is excellent with a very clever ESP stability control system. Given the car's roadholding levels, the wide front seats lack a little in terms of lateral support.

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 dashboard is clear and the major controls for the electronics systems largely intuitive although the wood veneer finishes fitted to the Ghia models will have anybody under the age of 50 recoiling in horror.

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. I'm 6'4" and I was easily able to fit comfortably in the back seat behind a front seat virtually all the way back on its runner. The Galaxy and S-MAX tie-in isn't coincidental as the Mondeo runs on the same chassis as these models and is built in the same factory. Ford is confident it can handle capacity issues and cites a flexible manufacturing process that can rapidly switch from model to model to meet demand.

Just as Ford has changed the way the car is built, the way it drives and the way it feels, there are also some fundamental changes going on with the way the latest generation Mondeo is being sold. The old 'pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap' tactic has been replaced with a more responsible approach that safeguards residual values. Whereas the old car was initially offered at a relatively high price but with plenty of scope for negotiation, this time round Ford has slashed list prices by £300 or so model for model but wants to keep a cap on discounting. The company also wants to avoid sullying the car's image by selling thousands to operators like hire car companies.

The range consists of five trim levels, Edge, Zetec, Ghia, Titanium and Titanium X. As you'd expect, all the usual features are in place. Even the basic Edge variant gets 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. Zetec trim is recognizable by 16-inch alloys and front fog lights. 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 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.

Fuel economy is naturally very good, all three diesels getting figures that belie the car's Scorpio-like dimensions. The claimed economy for the 2.0-litre TDCi 140 I drove is 47.9mpg and even on a hilly test route, the car was averaging more than 40mpg. Given that some manufacturer economy claims seem outlandish in the extreme, this is very good going. Emissions are within sensible scope of business car user choosers too and Ford estimates that fully 70 per cent of all Mondeo sales will be accounted for by these three oil burners, with the hatchback in turn accounting for 70 per cent of those sales.

The upshot of all this is that the Mondeo has shifted focus from something that the enthusiast would turn to first to a car with a rather fuzzier agenda. Who is the new Mondeo TDCi buyer? As much as Ford would want to scalp a few sales from the premium sector, it's hard to see that happening, no matter how good this car is. After all the hard work, I suspect that sales will return to a similar fleet-biased situation. Photocopier salesmen the length and breadth of the country have cause for celebration.

TOP 5 MONDEO DEALS

The results below show the top MONDEO deals on buyacar

	Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £280	Saving £4,452	Price £15,898
	Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Ghia 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £281	Saving £4,452	Price £15,898
	Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £297	Saving £4,749	Price £16,851
	Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Ghia 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £298	Saving £4,749	Price £16,851
	Ford Mondeo 1.8 TDCi Zetec 5dr [6] Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £252	Saving £3,989	Price £14,411

typical 10.47% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000