Our Ford Mondeo long-termer has become the vehicle of choice for long-distance journeys, and with good reason.

Both our head of production, Luke Neal, and web producer, Christopher Smith, opted for the Mondeo for drives to Amsterdam and Cornwall respectively, so when I was preparing to drive my parents to Dublin on a pre-Christmas visit, it seemed like a natural choice.

Both colleagues reported it was comfortable, roomy and refined – all attributes which I was looking for – but the clinching factor in my decision to follow suit was the Mondeo’s safety equipment.

Our test car is fitted with autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blindspot indicators, adaptive cruise control and Ford’s inflatable rear seatbelts.

While one of the purposes of the trip was to deliver Christmas presents to family, I wanted to ensure the  journey was as safe and stress-free for the car’s occupants as possible. And now, with the 662-mile round trip completed, I’m sure I made the right choice.

The Mondeo is a large car and in urban areas and during slow-speed manoeuvring you can feel its bulk. This was particularly noticeable when I parked on the 12th floor of a Peterborough multi-storey car park ahead of Christmas shopping: not an experience I’m keen to repeat.

However, it drives well and devours motorway miles, particularly when using the adaptive cruise control, which brakes and accelerates the car up to a pre-determined speed and distance behind the vehicle in front. The blindspot indicators make it easy to keep track of approaching traffic.

Also, the Mondeo’s spacious interior and supportive seats mean its cabin is a comfortable place to be for long periods, making it the ideal car to use for the journey.

Fuel economy over the round trip was 46.2mpg.  The official combined figure is 62.8mpg.