• Excellent cockpit design and driving position
• Soft-touch materials and comfortable seats
• Multimedia system due for update in 2019

Although the Ford Mondeo Estate’s interior is sober in style it has a different look to the angular dashboards fitted to some of the brand’s other ranges.

Many of the plastic mouldings are of the soft-touch variety, helping supress rattles and noise, and other surfaces feel resilient and pleasant to touch.

The centre console, dominated by an 8.0-inch touchscreen, has a lightly metallic finish, with switchgear new to Ford at the time, with a series of circular push buttons. They all look identical but they’re clearly labelled. The remaining switchgear feels solid and precise in its action.

Drivers new to in-car touchscreens are unlikely to have difficulty acclimatising to the Sync2 system. It’s clear, crisp graphics with complementary colour coding, ensure that it’s easy to navigate and quick to react to prodding fingers.

The split-screen sat-nav function works very effectively too, while higher-spec Titanium models also featured a combined analogue and digital instrumentation binnacle.

All-round visibility is good, the pillar-mounted exterior mirrors making for clear rearward views, we find the lack of standard parking sensors disappointing on a car where it’s not easy to judge the front extremities, while the thick union between the windscreen pillar and roof can create a blind spot for taller drivers.

Again, the best of the bunch in this respect is the Mondeo Vignale, with its high-level trims and seats.

Ford’s vastly improved Sync3 multimedia system will be available on the facelifted Mondeo during 2019, featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and advanced voice control.

Comfort

• In the main a comfortable machine
• Vignale cars fare best
• Watch out for larger wheels

At launch, the combination of high-quality interior materials, a solid standard of fit-and-finish and even more space for passengers than the hatchback meant the Ford Mondeo Estate’s comfort levels were high.

The downside of feeling more isolated from the outside environment is the Mondeo feels less satisfying to drive, but many will appreciate the additional refinement and luxurious feeling, particularly in the higher-end Titanium models.

It’s a composed car, maintaining a fine balance whether barrelling along a motorway or crawling through a choked-up city centre. While the suspension promotes comfort, more pronounced imperfections in the road surface are felt in the cabin but not sharply. Tackle corners with eagerness and bodyroll is kept to a minimum too.

Getting into a great driving position is easy in the Mondeo Estate, with lots of seat and steering column adjustment, ensuring pedals and gearlever feel ergonomically placed. The light steering means the large Ford is easy to drive.

The Estate has the same wheelbase as the hatchback so there’s no more legroom but the higher roof line means taller passengers in the back get more space.

All Mondeos feature effective dual-zone climate control, while the darkness of the upholstery can be made to feel lighter and airier with the large, fixed panoramic roof.

Depending on the surface, tyre noise can intrude a little, while the wing mirrors produce a little more wind noise than before too. Otherwise it’s a hushed interior, even with the echoing potential of the estate’s cargo bay, unless you crank up the volume of the excellent Sony stereo.

Ford Mondeo Estate Vignale comfort

Those after the most comfortable Mondeo should investigate the high-spec Vignale model, which is hand-finished in Valencia, Spain, and features active noise cancellation to keep the cabin insulated from exterior noise.

There’s also posher Windsor leather, which is the same type Bentley uses, comfier seats and lots of high-level kit.