New Mondeo is revealed to be a 'big brother' to Focus, adopting 'new edge' styling cues. Ian McAllister, Ford of Britain chairman and managing director, said: 'It redefines the standards in its class, as Focus did before it.

Mr McAllister said he was sure Mondeo's design, equipment, safety features and driving quality would make it the top car in its sector.

Ford is content to retain the name of the model which made a debut in 1993 when it was the first in its class to have a standard driver airbag.

Service intervals are raised to 12,500 miles and low cost of ownership was a priority in the two-year design programme.