Ford Mondeo wins What Car? towcar title

• Mondeo 2.0 TDCi takes top spot
• Beats all of the 53 cars tested
• Excels in all areas

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The Ford Mondeo Estate has come out on top in this year's What Car? Towcar Awards 2008, beating a field of no fewer than 53 cars.

The awards are co-hosted with Practical Caravan and the Camping and Caravanning Club.

All areas of a car's performance are assessed, including practicality, low- and high-speed stability, braking and acceleration and hill-starting, and the cars were separated into categories by their kerbweight.

The cars' running costs and buying and owning attributes were also taken into consideration.

There was one clear winner - the Ford Mondeo Estate 2.0 TDCi Titanium auto. It was praised especially highly for its stability and its ability to tackle the steep 1-in-6 hill-start test - even though it's a front-wheel-drive car.

Its immense interior space, low running costs (39.8mpg, even with an automatic transmission) and five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating for occupant protection also helped the car take top spot.

Category winners
• Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Titanium (up to 1425kg);
• VW Golf Estate 2.0 TDi SE (1425-1574kg);
• Ford Mondeo Estate 2.0 TDCi Titanium auto (1575-1724kg);
• Jaguar XJ 2.7 TDVi Sport Premium (1725-1899kg);
• Land Rover Discovery 2.7 TDV6 HSE (1900kg and above).