15 Apr 08
Perhaps the most interesting thing about this entirely handsome new family workhorse is just how long we've had to wait for it...
The nice man at Ford discussed specification with me as long ago as last September, and the car didn't actually arrive until mid-March, giving me plenty of time to regret my idiotic decision to shun the offer of DVD screens built into the back of the front seat headrests. I had hoped that old fashioned games such as I-Spy and Pub Cricket would prove more than sufficient to entertain two youngsters under seven years old on even the longest journey. Wrong.
Never mind what it offers the children, Ratatouille on the move buys parents the one commodity precious above all others - the sound of silence. And don't think that stalling into McDonalds will do the trick (something we reserve for very special treats indeed, or simply because we can't stand the racket anymore). I don't know what they put in that stuff, but it has exactly the same sugar-rush effect as an entire bag of chocolate buttons.
The other immediate downside to the wait for the Mondeo Estate has been that, rather than being able to make an instant, up front appraisal of the merits of jumping straight from a hulking great 4x4 into a conventional car (having driven the Mercedes R-Class followed by the Land Rover Discovery), we've had to bridge the hungry gap of several months with a Ford Focus Estate. Problem is, the Focus is a seriously good car.
