Following the trend...

Following the trend set by the Focus, the Mondeo will have a comprehensive line-up with a version to suit all tastes, needs and budgets. Despite offering improved practicality, the estate gets a sleeker, more stylish design than the model it replaces, with a sloping roofline and expansive glass area.

As you can see in this week"s mag, the face of the new Mondeo - first revealed by Auto Express back in Issue 848 - has its own unique appearance. Following criticism company designers were too conservative with the latest Focus, they have taken a more adventurous approach.

As with the current load-lugger, the all-new version will be immensely practical. It"s aiming to entice customers back from the buoyant MPV market, and an enormous load bay with flat folding rear seats will be key to the car"s capability. As with all its stablemates, the Mondeo estate will also represent a massive step forward in quality to help ensure it is still a great choice for both private and fleet buyers.

With the focus set firmly on value for money, insiders at Ford are keen to stress that the Mondeo won"t make the same shift into the premium sector taken by key rivals such as the Honda Accord and Volkswagen Passat. While quality will improve, prices are not expected to rise dramatically. A spokeswoman said: "If companies like Ford are bringing out extremely well built and technologically advanced cars, why would you want to pay extra for supposedly more upmarket competitors?"

All Mondeo variants will be built at Ford"s plant at Genk in Belgium, where the latest hi-tech manufacturing techniques will be employed to keep production costs down, while improving fit and finish at the same time. By carrying over engines from the current car, bosses will make further savings.

The first Ford to use the all-new Mondeo platform will be the next-generation Galaxy MPV. It will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and appear in UK dealers in the spring.

The smaller SAV Mondeo people carrier will be unveiled at the Geneva expo in March 2006. That will go on sale later next year, but the spotlight will soon shift to the Mondeo saloon, hatchback and estate, which will arrive in road-ready trim at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006. All three variants will then go on sale at the same time in the first half of 2007.