Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi: It's surely a sign of a car's popularity when it lends its name to the caricature of a social grouping, even if it is less than complimentary.
Perhaps it's the power of the Ford brand, but 'White van man' invariably drove a Ford Transit, the Ford Capri became the ultimate 'wallymobile' in the 1980s while an entire generation of sales reps have been cursed with the one caricature: "Mondeo man".
The car that followed in the footsteps of the Cortina and Sierra was always going to make its mark on the motoring world. Even if it turned out to be a complete heap, it was always sure to be remembered. And the Mondeo has been nothing of the sort.
In fairness, it never deserved its sales rep stigma. The stereotyping of its owners as cheap-suited bores whose idea of stimulating conversation ranges from a three-hour diatribe on what's wrong with the M50 to hot tips on how to get a second full Irish breakfast for free at the B&B in Athlone does a disservice to the car. There's more to the Mondeo than simply being a cargo bus for 'Dustmatic' sales men and women.
Recently we got word that a new Mondeo was being launched. Could this be the long-awaited replacement ahead of schedule? Surely that's not out until the end of next year.
Alas it is apparently new only to the extent that a couple of tweaks have been made to the exterior and a few adjustments to the engine line-up. The most obvious is the new chrome mesh grille and minor adjustments to the light clusters.
Some mention has been made of adjusting the brakes for a better feel, but to be honest we still felt they were a bit woolly for our liking. After that we can't find much new with this car.
Yet that's not a bad thing. It may have been marketing spin but it caught us off-guard and we agreed to take the Mondeo for yet another test run. What this achieved was to remind us why the ageing Ford is still one of the best mid-range cars on the market.
It's spacious, comfortable, surprisingly well made - given Ford's questionable build quality in the past - and a lot more fun to drive than many of its competitors.
The Mondeo may be the straight-laced workhorse of the fleet market, but underneath it has a far more racy soul. Despite its age, it still meets all the practical criteria required for a car in its class.
Sure, the rising stars in every company can't wait to get out of the Mondeo and into a Beemer or Audi. That's about street cred and status, and even with the barn-storming ST220 version of the Mondeo, we all knew it would only a appeal to the avid car fans. As far as the nosy neighbourhood watch status police are concerned, it's still a repmobile and if Jimmy drives a spoiler-clad Mondeo while Tommy next door has the Audi A4, then Tommy's the high-flyer. So what if Jimmy drives around with a permanent smile on his face.
It's time to accept the inevitable: the family-focussed Ford is never going to change these perceptions.
Yet in its own class and up against the likes of the Vectra, Avensis and current Passat, it still looks sharp and can hold its own without showing its age.
While our test car didn't have the raw power of the ST220, it featured the new 2.2-litre 153bhp TDCi diesel engine. Ford has never really led the way on diesels but this tuned version is a noteworthy addition to the ranks.
A 0-100km/h time of 8.3 seconds belies the incredible surge of acceleration at low revs, throwing you down the road as you pull away from traffic lights and leaving the others seemingly standing in your wake.
Like all diesels it requires a little more gearshifting to retain the momentum, but the engine has enough low-rev grunt to get you moving from a standing start even in third gear and pulls along at 50km/h in fifth.
Our test car was the upcoming Titanium specification, not on full release next year, but the 2.2-litre TDCi is available in Ghia format.
All 150 horses are pounding out through the front wheels, and that means there's a certain degree of torque steer kicking back through the steering wheel when power is added on an uneven surface, but this is fast becoming a trait of higher-powered Fords. The sooner the bosses at its Dearborn headquarters realise that it needs to start considering rear-wheel-drive for such cars the better.
Despite the torque steer, it's in the handling and ride that the Mondeo has always excelled.
Ford has long managed to get the weight balance just right.
That's why the Focus has long been favourite of motoring correspondents, even if in design terms the new model falls flat compared to others.
The Mondeo evokes a confidence in the driver, without any of the awkward body roll or harshness of some others. It gets the mix right between sportiness and comfort, setting the standard in its class.
There remains some minor niggles with the interior, such as the low-set radio that can't be seen properly in direct sunlight and the oval clock that looks particularly dated. But otherwise, it's very functional, particularly in hatchback format. With the rear seats down, it swallowed two large bookcases without a problem.
The Mondeo may be flagging in terms of sales when compared to the stellar performance of the Toyota Avensis.
Yet behind the wheel the blue oval has a lot more to offer. It also remains in the top three despite its age. When the new version finally comes along next year, expect it to put up a real fight for top spot.
For now, the biggest problem with our test car was that at ?38,850, this version is well out of the range of 'Mondeo man's' car allowance and into BMW and Audi territory.
And yet if you overcame the brand snobbery, you'd be ending up with a very good buy. Sadly, in our label-conscious society, it's an unlikely proposition.
Instead the Mondeo's main battle ground will remain in the mid-range family car market, where it's deserving of more consideration even by those wowed by several good looking newcomers.
