The Ford Mondeo's reputation as one of the best load-lugging estates continues with the 2007 model, only now it is even more capable. Elegant styling disguises even greater carrying capacity than before while the quality feel of the interior has been improved substantially with top grade materials and soft touch plastics. Despite the increase in size and weight it's as good to drive as the hatchback version and looks just as good. Perhaps the only problem is the confusion stemming from whether an Edge is better than a Zetec or a Ghia is better than a Titanium.
In 2010 the Mondeo has received a little cosmetic surgery, the most noticeable part of this refresh it the new nose-job. The front-end has had a complete overhaul, this includes an enlarged lower grille and a smaller upper grille, while the rear receives new LED tail-lights, an all-new bumper, a reshaped valance and an integrated rear spoiler. The interior has also had a little nip/tuck.
There is now a one-piece central console, it is soft to touch and the plastics are of a higher quality. More kit is offered as standard including blind-spot alerts, lane-departure steering-wheel vibrators, an alertness assessor, a rear-view camera, automatic headlight dipping speed limiter and LED daytime running lights.
A broad range of engines should satisfy anyone needing a large estate with frugal diesel engines, plus there are also high performance versions. The 100bhp 1.8-litre diesel estate is quick and feels lively on the road with all the extra pulling power available from the diesel engine. The 2.0-litre engine feels fairly frisky, while people choosing an automatic transmission are offered the 161bhp 2.3-litre petrol model.
The 220bhp 2.5T offers a genuine high-performance feel (the engine is borrowed from the Focus ST) along with a sporty engine note. However, if you want much of the speed of this engine, but acceptable running costs, a 2.2 TDCi was launched in May 2008. It produces 175bhp and has huge reserves of pulling power - as a result it's only a second slower from 0-62mph than the 2.5T, and on the move feels rapid and refined. In 2010 Ford added two new engines to its line-up - a new 237bhp version of the 2.0-litre turbo petrol EcoBoost engine and a new 197bhp 2.2-litre TDCi diesel.
Air Conditioning, Traction Control, ABS, Immobiliser, Cruise Control, MP3 Ready, Tinted Glass, Radio/CD Player, Remote Central Locking, Electric Windows, Power Assisted Steering.