A new Mondeo, a new dawn

You can say what you like about the shrinking family car segment, the launch of a new Ford Mondeo remains a hugely important event.

We have just such a stirring occasion on our hands at the Paris motor show, where Ford will unveil its new family motor.

The new Mondeo will be shown as an estate, largely because the wagon is the better seller across the whole of Europe, even if we British are keener on hatchbacks.

Based on the same platform as the S-Max and Galaxy, the new Mondeo promises a fine drive and will come with the same engines as used in the S-Max.

There will also be a 1.6-litre, 100bhp turbodiesel model aimed at company fleet drivers.

The Mondeo estate will have around 1,700 litres of cargo space, and Ford insiders tell us there's even more room for passengers than in the outgoing model.

After the Paris show, the new Mondeo goes on sale in the spring of 2007.

© Source: original article on topgear