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The biggest question which troubled me on my travels, though, was why anyone would buy a three-litre V6 Mondeo in the first place, especially when there's a superb range of diesels, such as the 128bhp 2.0 TDCI, with a six-speed box. You can put that on the road for £18,650, just under £5000 less than my test car and for my money - if I was spending it - a more responsive and fun engine.

I found the performance of the V6 disappointing. It was slow and sluggish from standstill - when I got away without a stall - and was decidedly lacklustre through the gears. There was none of the oomph I would have expected, and even on the motorway there was little of the effortless cruising which should have been there. I've always found the Ford diesels far more responsive and torquey and I would have happily exchanged this uninteresting unit for a smaller oil-burner.

What is in the Mondeo estate's favour is its vast carrying capacity. With the back seats down there's a concert hall of space and even with five people on board there's still enough space for all of them and their luggage for two weeks by the seaside.

As always it's the small things that are the most annoying. Most manufacturers are falling over themselves installing cupholders in their cars - what is this obsession with having a drink on the move? - and sensibly in this anti-smoking climate many have done away with the ashtray, while keeping the lighter but rebranding it as a power unit.

But in this Mondeo, while there was a premium telephone pack (basically a holder with wiring adding £300 to the price), there was a distinct lack of storage for bits and pieces such as a mobile phone. I hadn't planned to use it on the move - I just wanted to put it somewhere. I ended up leaving it on the passenger seat, only for it to be jettisoned on more than one occasion into the passenger footwell. So, Mr Ford, cut out the clever stuff and just give me a cubby hole.

Price: £23,050
Capacity: 2967cc
Power: 201bhp
0-62mph: 8 seconds
Maximum speed: 149mph
Economy: 37.7mpg extra urban, 27.4 mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 247g/km
Insurance: Group 16
Ford figures.

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