Overall rating:

Good points: as competent and entertaining as ever, this run-out Mondeo is loaded with hi-tech kit
Not so good: nearing the end of its life in this guise, some questionable cabin plastics, expensive

Key Facts

Model tested: Ford Mondeo Titanium X Business Edition Estate 2.0 TDCi 163
Pricing: £29,490 (Mondeo Estate range starts at £17,245)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: five-door estate
Rivals: BMW 3 Series Touring, Mazda6 Tourer, Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer
CO₂ emissions: 120g/km (18% BIK, Band C for £30 per annum tax)
Combined economy: 61.4mpg
Top speed: 134mph
0-62mph: 9.1 seconds
Power: 163hp at 4,000rpm
Torque: 340Nm at 2,000rpm

Our view:

Ford has decided to give the fourth-generation Mondeo one final hurrah by flinging practically every optional extra it can at the top-level Titanium X model and tacking on the epithet 'Business Edition'. This should give you an idea of the prospective custodian of this particular range in the months to come - namely, company car drivers. It's highly unlikely any private owners are going to sink the best part of thirty grand into something that's due to be killed off in 2014.

The Mondeo is six years old in its current guise, but is also celebrating 20 years of being at the forefront of the D-segment since it burst onto the post-Sierra scene in 1993. Over those two decades, it has evolved into a premium, handsome machine; perennially underrated by badge snobs, the Mondeo has always been a good car but this current model still feels a long way ahead of the old MkIII in terms of quality and general prestige. The problem is, rivals have moved on too - and there are areas where the Ford is feeling its age.

Nowhere is this more evident than the interior. It's all well put together in here, and this Titanium X Business Edition spec is dripping with options. We've got a touchscreen navigation system, DAB radio, cruise control, climate control, leather interior - in fact, this particular example has a further £4,445 of kit loaded into it, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Alert and Hill Start Assist (£800), pearlescent Ice White paint (£795), a power sunroof (£525), additional goodies on the satnav system such as a USB slot and Rear View Camera (£450) and Driver Assistance Pack 1 (£525) including Blind Spot Information and Lane Departure Warning. A £600 detachable tow bar and no-cost leather and Alcantara trim rounds off a Mondeo wagon, which is a sizeable £29,490.

So you won't be wanting for toys in here, that's for sure. No, it's more the plastics around the centre console that disappoints. They're looking a bit dated now, especially the silver and black surround for the satnav housing. On the plus side, the Mondeo remains a very capacious machine, easily capable of seating five adults and swallowing all their clobber in a huge boot to which the adjective cavernous might be something of a slight. Therefore, if you can live with the faintly cheap looking plastics, you'll be happy with the ergonomics.

The engine is underwhelming, though. It's perfectly smooth and muscular, but not really as quick as many will expect from a 163hp diesel with 340Nm backing it up. Knowing there's a 2.2 unit (albeit you'd have to have Titanium X Sport spec for that) for more oomph and a 140hp version of the 2.0-litre for parsimony, it leaves the 163 lump a little bit in no man's land. However, the economy and emissions of this particular set-up deliver good figures for finances - it'll be £30 a year road tax and the annual benefit in kind costs are £833 and £1,666 for 20 per cent and 40 per cent tax bands respectively.

However, there are no complaints regarding the refinement or dynamic abilities of the Mondeo. It remains blessed with a wonderfully fluid front-wheel drive chassis that would be the envy of any of its rivals, a chassis which is as happy smoothing out imperfections in the road as it is offering high levels of grip when pushing on. There's barely any wind or road noise when cruising at 70mph, the steering is weighty and informative enough for a car that will probably spend most of its life pounding motorways anyway, while the brakes and gearbox are fine.

It still looks a handsome thing too, especially in estate format and wearing the 17-inch 5x2-spoke (Ford's words, not mine) alloys of this example. We're not too sure about the Ice White paint, which is almost baby blue in some lights, but the design has certainly lasted well since it first appeared in 2007.

Overall, it remains - in isolation - a very good car, and if you were given one as a company motor, you'd be more than pleased. But there's no hiding the fact the MkIV is nearing the end of its life now, and the cost of securing one with a spec equivalent to this if you're a private buyer just doesn't make long-term financial sense. We think it's best to wait for examples of the Business Edition to appear on the used market next year, when depreciation will make this very capable package much more appealing.

Alternatives:

BMW 3 Series Touring: you'll pay a lot more for an equivalently specified Three, but it will feel a class above the Mondeo, no matter how well specified.

Mazda6 Tourer: recent 2.2 twin-turbo diesel and much sharper styling has made the Mazda6 a very strong contender in this segment - for now, we think it just has the edge on the outgoing Mondeo.

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer: a good looker in estate guise but perhaps not as accomplished in the chassis department as the Mondeo.