Surviving family test

We thought we’d find out by subjecting the Cortina’s modernday successor, the Mondeo, to our long term test treatment. Or more specifically, to the Crouch family treatment in this case. Giving over any car to my wife and three small children is, in my view, as tough an automotive test as has yet been devised. As I’ve remarked before in these pages, the combined efforts of Amy (2), Ellie (6) and Caris (9) with the remains of the post-school pick-up packed lunches can reduce the interior of any given car to slum proportions within minutes. Subject any car to day upon day of this kind of sticky-fingered treatment and only the best designs really survive the test.

And make no mistake. The latest generation Mondeo is one of the best designs available, if in our 2.5T test guise rather more orientated to the needs of high mileage business people than school run mums. We should of course have specified the far more sensible TDCi diesel version but when the time came to choose, we just couldn’t resist the pull of the turbocharged 2.5-litre 217bhp Volvo-derived flagship petrol engine.

OK, so we’ve paid for this at the pumps but this engine really is the perfect complement to a car that remains one of the finest handlers in its class. It shines brighter than any other medium range offering whether you’re attaching a set of sweeping bends or a marathon motorway trip. The suspension is extremely well judged, giving the firmness and control you want for spirited driving but without crossing over into the harshness that makes mundane trips a chore. The car is a pleasure to use on longer journeys where wind and road noise are never intrusive and the engine idles away meekly in the background until called upon to deliver the goods.

We had the chance during our test to also try a Mondeo fitted with Ford’s top 2.0 TDCI diesel engine. The 138bhp output gives this car a muscular turn of speed for overtaking and firing up those motorway on ramps. The hefty torque delivery gives an effortless quality to the driving experience and with 47.9mpg possible, there’s no great penalty at the pumps. The CO2 emissions rating is low as well, at 156g/km. In terms of running costs, there isn’t a huge difference between the diesel Mondeos but the performance benefit of the bigger engines does make itself felt. The message is go for the most powerful TDCI you can afford.

But I digress: we are, after all, supposed to be talking about the car’s performance when it comes to family duties here. Well, let’s start with the boot: it’s enormous. Press the release and the tailgate of our hatchback model yawns open to leave you teetering on the precipice of a veritable pit of practicality. Family holidays, business trips or the weekend DIY blitz - the Mondeo will accommodate more stuff than you’d credit in any number of situations. When it is time to load up and run for the sun, there should be little complaint from back seat passengers either, with exemplary head and legroom right across the rear bench.

The downside of all this space on the inside is that the Mondeo is a seriously big car outside, bigger than the old Ford Scorpio executive saloon. It feels substantial and extremely solid on the road but the sheer size becomes a real issue in tight situations and when parking. Get the Mondeo out in the open and all this is forgotten.

And the kids daily packed lunch blitz? No problem. After all, the surfaces are easy to wipe clean and the carpets show no ill effects from constant hoovering. We’ve had to keep the young ones away from the silver-trimmed surfaces on the dashboard however as these look as if they would scratch very easily. The rear doors openly widely, which is a boon for getting Amy’s chilod seat in and out. And there’s no real boot lip over which heavy bags of shopping might otherwise have to be lugged.

Our car came with Ford’s clever and intuitive ‘Convers+’ sat nav information system, which proved invaluable when I nabbed the car one day for a business trip to South London. It was constantly able to correct the route based on ongoing traffic conditions. Not that this stopped me from being late anyway….. Knew I should have taken the train….

Most Mondeos are priced predominantly in the 16,500 to 21,000 bracket. The car we’ve been testing however, comes in at nearly 24,000 which puts it dangerously close to some decent compact executive metal. As I’ve suggested however, it did come fully-loaded, however, with Titanium X trim that gives you beautifully-trimmed leather seats and electric almost everything.

Overall? Well the latest Mondeo has impressed us consistently. I always thought that a family of less than four children really doesn’t have much need of a people carrying MPV and ownership of this car has reinforced that notion. Not only is it practically impressive but it’s a car that edges extremely close to the best compact executive models in terms of interior ambience and build quality, while setting new standards for its medium range contemporaries.