TRADITIONAL saloons like the Ford Mondeo held sway in the large family car class for many years, belittling the sales of more reasonable and smaller models.

It was the quintessential company car for many and also sold in huge numbers as family transport with big interior space and a huge boot.

But the meteoric rise of the SUV eclipsed it and other traditional models in a very short time, with Ford's own offerings like the Kuga, Nissan's Qashqai and Vauxhall's Crossland taking the sales.

However, the Mondeo still makes a deal of sense as a secondhand buy, not least because it's cheaper than those competitors since it's not so sought after.

It was available until 2022 as hatch, saloon and estate, and the hatch and estate are the obvious choices for family use.

For this appraisal, I'll concentrate on the hatchback, but the details apply to all three variations

In the past - before this model came out - Mondeos had been lauded for their excellent handling and roadholding.

But this one was given a softer suspension setup to give an excellent ride over all surfaces. It is slightly less agile through the corners, but most drivers would only notice the difference in the more accomplished ride.

Petrol, diesel andhybridengines have been available, but the major sellers were diesels throughout the models life, since those were the ones with the lowest emissions and cost company car drivers the least in personal tax.

The hybrid doesn't come as a hatchback, only the four door, and some engines are only available with upper trim levels.

There are 1.6 and 1.5-litre diesels plus three different power outputs from a 2.0-litre. The 1.5 TDCI, which replaced the 1.6, has 118bhp and covers the 0 to 60 miles an hour sprint in 11.3 seconds while managing a very best of no less than 78 miles per gallon.

The 2.0-litre starts with 147bhp, which is enough for a sprint of 9.1 seconds and economy of 68mpg, and next up is a 177bhp version that can do 62mpg and reaches 60 in 8 seconds.

Finally, there's a 207bhp model with a standard automatic gearbox. This covers the sprint in 7.6 seconds and is capable of 56mpg.

Petrol power starts with the company's 1.0-litre Ecoboost turbo with 123bhp. It's capable of 55mpg and reaches 60 in 11.6 seconds.

Then there is a 1.5 Ecoboost with 157bhp and it gets to 60 in 8.9 seconds while being rated at 48mpg.

Finally comes a 2.0-litre with no less than 236bhp. It covers the sprint in 7.6 and has economy of 38mpg.

Despite the hatchback's sloping roof, there's good space for five inside, and the 650 litre boot increases to 1,445 litres with the seats folded - enough to give some SUVs a run for their money.

There's plenty of adjustment for the seats and steering column, while the fairly light steering works well, and all outside noises are well suppressed.

Added safety is very good so that as well as seven airbags, all have lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, cruise control and traction control.

Standard equipment is fair, but there is a wide range of further kit on the extras list and previous owners are likely to have added some of it.

Titanium trim brings sports seats, lumbar support for the driver's seat, alarm, remote locking, climate control and sat nav.

Pay about £11,850 for a '19 19-reg 1.5 TDCI Zetec Edition, or £24,600 for a '21 21-reg 2.0-litre 190ps diesel ST-Line auto with four wheel drive.