Ford's new Mondeo up close - On the road

Ford promises that the driving qualities which have always been one of the Mondeo’s core strengths haven’t been forgotten. It also promises the car’s refinement will more than live up to the promise of a top-quality car, too, but our verdict will have to wait until we get to drive the car in the spring.

Full technical details won’t be released for a few weeks, but we know that the engines come from the S-Max and Galaxy, and that there’s no longer a V6 – an option chosen by only a handful of buyers because of its effect on company car tax.

Instead, the high-performance Mondeo will have the 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo engine used in the Focus ST and S-Max. A 1.6 petrol engine kicks off the line-up, and there’s also a 2.0 and a 2.3, plus 1.8 and 2.0 diesels with varying outputs.