Ford Mondeo: Time to go

Six months in the Mondeo went far quicker than expected, but that's partly down to the Mondeo doing its job very well.

Apart from the electrical glitch with the instruments in December that was rectified quickly by a visit to our local dealer, the Mondeo never faltered, and covered a year's average annual mileage during the six months it stayed with us.

The market for these cars is rather different from when it arrived with us on July 31 2008. There was no hint then that the recession would hit us so dramatically, and that many people would decide not to change their cars until consumer confidence began to return.

Cars this size and larger have suffered and there has been genuine interest in downsizing among those people that have changed their cars.

I was surprised to learn that my Mondeo at six months old, despite costing nearly £26,000 before options fitted when now, would probably fetch around £13,000 as a trade-in.

This would be bad news for owners wanting to sell so early - £13,000 is a lot of cash to lose in a car in six months.

However, factoring in a reasonable dealer margin, it does mean that used car buyers can find a large, attractive and practical family car for around £15,000, with genuine luxury car features as well as being capable of well over 40mpg.

Current mileage: 11670

Average mpg: 48.0