In my eyes, the Mondeo Estate is an elegant car. The shape is pleasing, and although I don't think the radiator grille design (which tradition obliges me to describe as "Aston Martin-like") works well on smaller Fords such as the Fiesta, it does seem to have been nicely integrated into the recently revised Mondeo.
But the elegance is not merely visual. Explore the car closely and you'll see what I mean. Note that, although the engine can't hide the fact that it's a diesel, its sound is very muffled, as if part of the update included stuffing a couple of sheepskin rugs under the bonnet. Observe that the gear change is one of the best Ford has come up with in several years, and the clutch action is so smooth that you would have to be trying to stall it if you did.
The Zetec specification includes 16-inch wheels, and while they look small in proportion to the rest of the car, the high-profile tyres fitted to them do a fantastic job of absorbing even the worst bumps. The only downside is that the front suspension isn't well enough damped, so you can find yourself bouncing gently along some country roads or even a not particularly smooth motorway. If Ford could get that sorted, this relatively humble car could easily stand comparison with several far more expensive premium and even luxury models as a long-distance cruiser.
Although it's written plainly on the spec sheet, I can't quite get my head round the fact that the engine is rated at just 114bhp. It feels like more than that, and the official 12.3 second 0-62mph time should be treated with scepticism. I never got the impression that this is a slow car, except when I let the engine speed drop to below 1,300rpm, when nothing happens at all and you have to change down a gear or two.
Amazingly for something so large - this being, after all, a car that can hold more than 1,600 litres' worth of luggage if you fold down the rear seats - it has a CO2 rating of just 99g/km, so you don't have to pay any Vehicle Excise Duty. Combined fuel economy on the EU tests is 74.3mpg, and that's going to be very difficult to achieve in real life, but I was pleased with the lack of thirst during this test.
According to the trip computer I averaged 52mpg, though measurements suggested that this Ford, like most others in my experience, slightly oversells itself. 50.5mpg seems nearer the truth. That's a very long way from 74.3, but here's some disclosure. For my first couple of days with the car I used it only for urban work, and that's no way to get a high economy figure.
Later, I spent a lot of time on motorways, at one point driving for more than 200 miles in such filthy weather that I half expected to see lorries being blown over and cars spinning into the central reservation after hitting huge puddles. In better conditions and with a higher proportion of out-of-town work I'd expect to be able to maintain a 60mpg average.
This is a roomy, comfortable, refined car with only one minor chassis problem and bags of room for luggage. And it costs £23,045, or £24,515 if, like the test car, it has the optional extras of metallic paint, DAB digital radio, satellite navigation (excellent graphics in this new generation, though I couldn't find a way of inputting a postcode), inflatable rear seatbelts and Active Park Assist.
Considering what else is available for similar money, this price could almost be described as a bargain.
