After three or so months as part of the family, the Mondeo
continues to impress.

The driving experience places this Ford in a class above its competitors.

But it has not all been smooth sailing. After covering just 2,000 miles, it was time to call Ford dealer TC Harrison after an oil service warning appeared. I assumed the oil level was low; it wasn’t – it actually indicated that the engine oil needed changing.

This gave me a chance to see what the service is like at our local dealer.

All seemed good – the car was booked in within a week and lifts were offered.

But the warning turned out to be no more than a software problem.

Now we have noticed that the ESP and traction assist systems, which are standard across the range, do not react when expected.

Deliberately spinning the front wheels on wet roads should bring these electronic angels into action.

But nothing happens when cornering, although in a straight line the system intervenes immediately. So it’s booked into TC Harrison again.

These issues aside, it is the Mondeo’s interior space that gets the family’s thumbs-up.

With the rear seats up, the boot can accommodate 528 litres of luggage – swallowing with ease the masses of baggage needed for a weekend away with baby twins and a dog.

But while access to the load area is conveniently flat, there is poor protection against scraping the bumper when heaving in hefty objects.

The resulting scratches are annoying in a car that is designed to eat luggage.

The space in the back is also impressive as even with two baby seats in place, an adult can still squeeze into the centre seat if needed.

And, with the front seats as far back as they will travel, the babies can still kick air while strapped in their Isofix child seats.

The rear dog guard, which arrived from Ford along with the child seats, became an essential after the hairy mutt leapt over the rear seats of another estate we were driving and on to one of the babies’ laps.

The guard is a Ford aftermarket accessory.

Fitting it was a simple and quick process.

It doesn’t rattle and it is as solid as if it were factory supplied and fitted.

The downside is that the cargo security cover cannot be used with the guard in place.

Not a problem as the rear windows have optional privacy glass in the test car, but it would be otherwise.