Ford says the Mondeo showcases its Kinetic Design language, which will eventually be featured on all Ford models. And it has worked to good effect, because Mondeo looks handsome and modern, and its sheer size gives it plenty of road presence. But is it a little unadventurous, a tad uninteresting? That said, cars in this segment are designed to be inoffensive, rather than exciting. Mondeo is highly impressive on the roads, exhibiting loads of grip, brilliant body control, a swift turn-in, assured road-holding and excellent resistance to understeer. Adding to confidence is the well-weighted, accurate and responsive steering. Even more remarkable is the well-judged chassis that finds the ideal balance between handling and comfort. This is a car that rides and handles better than all others in its class, and some rivals in the more expensive compact luxury segment. Like Ford Focus, its smaller sibling, Mondeo boasts a compliant, well-controlled ride that puts the ride quality of certain premium rivals to shame. Refinement is yet another strong point, as the cabin insulation keeps out most of the wind and road noise. The logical dash design lays everything out in clear, plain sight, ensuring controls can be easily read and operated. The multitude of seating and steering adjustments is further complemented by big, supportive front seats. But given the size of the car, judging the extremities could be a handful. Ford has spent considerable effort on constructing a cabin benchmarked against the very best in the business—Audi A4's. While it falls short, Mondeo's cabin does sit at the top of the class for quality and tactility. Soft-touch plastics cover most of the cabin, while the fit-and-finish are as faultless as it gets in the segment. Moreover, the modern instrumentation is appropriately accompanied by controls that work with slickness. The high-gloss centre console coatings and slightly flimsy glovebox lid are about all the minuses you can find. Mondeo's underlying mechanicals have been in used for years now, and till now, there have been no major reports calling for concern. Mated to the Durashift six-speed automatic gearbox with Sports mode is Ford's 2.3-litre Duratec HE 16-valve engine that generates 159 bhp at 6500 rpm and 208 Nm at 4000 rpm. What appears decent on paper is in fact disappointing on the roads: The engine lacks the necessary urge to really move along Mondeo's substantial mass, with the meat of the performance requiring plenty of revs. Overtaking is therefore a laboured affair, while the engine note is also a little too loud for comfort. To top it off, the gearbox is reluctant to kick-down. Mondeo is once again class-leading in the roominess aspect, unsurprising considering its size. The amounts of head- and legroom on offer are impressive for both front and rear. Shoulder room is readily available for three adults at the back, too. Cabin storage spaces are never lacking, and the huge, well-shaped boot can be further extended via the 60/40 split-fold rear seats, which fold completely flat. Official fuel economy stands at 10.8 km/litre, although having to work the engine hard most of the time will dent the economy further. Servicing and repair costs should be competitive by segment standards. Depreciation, on the other hand, might not fare that well—the Ford brand does not enjoy the kind of premium that the Toyota and Honda brands do, in Malaysia at least, which translates into weaker resale values. Never mind the brilliance of the car; The brand makes the key difference. Mondeo deserves the reputation it has built up since its launch: impressive through bends, comfortable over ruts, quality and massive on the inside, and very well-equipped. And in the areas where it excels, Mondeo proves to be class-leading. Non-premium brand and unadventurous styling aside, Mondeo could win over a number of buyers from the compact luxury segment, especially when it boasts the necessary sophistication at a much lower price. However, against Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, Mondeo lacks the brand recognition and ownership proposition to really go mainstream, despite its many brilliance. Standard equipments include 17-inch alloy wheels, front/rear fog lights, dual-zone automatic climate control, leather steering wheel with audio controls, leather gear knob, leather seats, 8-way electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, cruise control, remote keyless entry, and 8-speaker audio system with in-dash 6-disc CD changer and MP3 playback ability. In addition to the 5-star Euro NCAP rating, safety features include ABS with EBD, Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), seven airbags (driver/front passenger/side/curtain/driver’s knee), seat-belt pretensioners, and two ISOFIX mounting points for child seats. Carbon dioxide emissions of 223 grams/km and fuel economy of 10.8 km/litre are really the bottom line for cars in the large sedan segment by modern standards. That said, we are not sure if Mondeo can achieve these figures at all, as the engine's relatively poor drivability requires plenty of revs to make up for. Which inevitably means worse emissions and fuel consumption.