It’s often said these days that there are no bad cars. And given that I probably try more than 100 different cars a year, I can see how that might be given credence.

Most cars these days are very good indeed.

Which makes me wonder why when a model is revised, that grounds there might be for making some changes other than for the sake of change.

Take the Ford Mondeo, for example. Some important changes were made to its engine line-up in

April 2010 before the model range was revised in October 2010.

I’m still driving around in the pre-facelift version with the latest 163bhp 2.0-litre diesel and new-to-Mondeo-in-April-2010 Powershift six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

It has performed an exemplary job over the last 16,000 miles, and while I’ve now driven the revised model a few times, some of the changes are a little puzzling.

A few years ago, the marketing people at mainstream car manufacturers often told us that high-gloss black plastic trim elements – often called ‘piano black – gave car interiors a more upmarket feel.

Our Mondeo has this around the sat-nav screen in the dashboard centre, and it looks quite smart. For the latest Mondeo, Ford has chosen to replace it with a matte finish dark grey plastic.

Some of the switches have a different finish from our car, which doesn’t necessarily make them any better, but just makes them different.

But to be fair, when cars are revised, it helps to have these little changes to help traders spot that it’s the newer version at remarketing time

Minor changes at facelift time usually help protect the used values of the earlier version, which is good news for our car.