The Mondeo hatchback gained a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating and a place among the safest cars you can buy so it’s no surprise that the level of safety equipment is impressive. Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) is standard on every car plus there are also seatbelt pre-tensioners, dual front, side, curtain and knee airbags, a collapsible steering column and ABS.

Keyless entry is available on some models too – this means you can leave the key in a pocket or bag and the car will sense you approach and unlock the car. After that it’s just a case of pressing a button on the dash to start the engine. Safety on the2010 Mondeo has been enhanced. Optional extras on the new car include includes 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.

The Mondeo estate’s boot space is bigger than in the previous version of the car, with a minimum of 542 litres up to the window level. With the rear seats folded there is a huge 1733 litres of space available up to roof height. This isn’t quite as much as the Vauxhall Vectra estate, but it’s still cavernous while a huge square opening and the absence of a boot lip makes it easy to load large or heavy objects.

A load protection net is an optional extra, as is a sliding loading floor, but both are well worth the extra if you frequently use the boot space. The most ingenious feature is one of the simplest – the fuel filler. Not only does the Mondeo do away with a conventional cap (it’s fixed permanently to the flap, which means you don’t get petrol or diesel on your hands), but it’s impossible to fill it with the wrong fuel – it will only allow the right nozzle into the fuel pipe, so you won’t become one of the 250,000 people who each year mis-fuel their car.