When Ford launched the first Mondeo in 1993 it was, in its own discreet way, one of the most impressive cars of its era.

Not only was it comfortably the best car in one of the most important classes, but the car it replaced – the Sierra – was arguably the worst. By abandoning its policy of peddling slickly marketed mediocrity and instead producing a car worth driving and owning, Ford figured out what companies like BMW had known for years: make a product worth buying and it will sell; the Mondeo did just that, in its millions. In its heyday its ubiquity gave rise to the concept of Mondeo Man – shorthand for middle England.

But the world has since changed and the fickle finger of fashion now dictates that large conventionally proportioned family cars wearing blue-collar badges are the avocado bathroom suites of the new-car world.

Their once stellar sales have plummeted, and even the Mondeo, consistently the most desirable car in its class since its inception, is now regularly outsold by cars such as the BMW 3-series. And you can see why: you might spend a little more to buy the BMW, but you’ll get a whole lot more back when it’s time to sell it, and you enjoy driving around in a car with a posh badge; that’s something that matters in the real world.

So it must be with some trepidation that Ford introduces this third generation of Mondeo. Before it has even set a wheel on the road, Ford knows the likelihood of it earning the same place in British hearts as the original model is similar to the chances of Michael Jackson’s next album outselling Thriller.

As you may have glimpsed from its carefully placed cameo appearance in Casino Royale, it is fluently styled but entirely conventional in execution. As usual it is available in saloon, estate and hatchback form, and as you would expect, the powertrain options include everything from frugal four-cylinder diesels to a punchy five-cylinder turbo petrol engine.

But the one most Mondeo drivers will have foisted on them as their next company car will come with a 2 litre 140bhp diesel beneath its bonnet. Priced from £17,395 to £22,895 according to body style and trim, it will be in the vanguard of the Mondeo’s campaign to recover at least some of the ground lost over the years, not only to premium German brands but also to makers of those many crossover SUVs that have become the darlings of the family-oriented owner/driver.

Ford has some reason to be confident, though. The new Mondeo looks good, and beneath those smart lines we find the underpinnings of the S-Max MPV – by far the most deserving recipient of the European Car of the Year award of recent times.

And there’s no doubting how hard Ford has tried to adapt the Mondeo to the new market forces that so threaten its success. It can’t do much to make the badge feel more upmarket, but at least the newcomer’s cabin feels airy and appears to have taken a big step forward in quality. There’s room for five adults on board, which is more than you can say for any 3-series BMW ever built, and when you fire it up you notice that the engine is surprisingly refined for something with only four cylinders and diesel fuel for blood.

Once it’s under way you’ll find it rides with the usual Ford excellence, handles as well as anything in its class, and even while driving vast distances puts remarkably little strain on its driver. So far, so good. But the problem with Ford’s admirable quest to give the Mondeo the big, heavy feel of a quality car is that the result feels, well . . . big and heavy. Which is fine if you have limitless power under the bonnet, but not when there are only 140 seemingly emaciated horses tasked with providing the motive force.

Ford says the Mondeo will hit 62mph in 9.5sec and reach 130mph, but the one I drove felt slower than that and lost an impromptu race that broke out between it and a 2 litre VW Passat diesel, despite the VW having inferior on-paper performance. Perhaps this particular Mondeo is not quite as fast as it should be.

And there are other problems. If you prod around the cabin you soon realise that much of what appears to be classy brushed metal is in fact no more than silvered plastic. Over-the-shoulder visibility is not great, which means that manoeuvring in town is trickier than it should be. And there isn’t enough storage space in the front of the cabin.

But despite these niggles, the Mondeo and I parted company on good terms. If Ford set out to build a civilised and capable car of good quality with the ability to cover vast distances effortlessly and provide a frisson of fun when the right road presents itself, it has succeeded.

But it isn’t a rival for the BMW 3-series, and nor is Ford suggesting as much. It will be happy if its customers settle for regarding the Mondeo as a strong opponent to a mainstream machine such as a VW Passat or a Honda Accord.

This it undoubtedly is, but whether Mondeo Man will return to the fold remains to be seen.

Vital statistics

Model Ford Mondeo 2.0TDCi

Engine type 1998cc, four cylinders

Power/Torque 140bhp @ 4000rpm / 236 lb ft @ 1750rpm

Transmission Six-speed manual

Fuel/CO2 47.9mpg / 156g/km

Performance 0-62mph: 9.5sec / Top speed: 130mph

Price £18,395

Verdict No revolution, but a worthwhile improvement

Rating

Date of release June

The opposition

Model Honda Accord 2.2 i-CTDi Sport £19,355

For Ultra-refined diesel engine, good fun

Against Stiff ride, expensive

Model VW Passat 2.0 SE TDI £18,955

For Good looks inside and out, frugal engine

Against Boring to drive, some cheap cabin fittings