Ford Mondeo

Production of the stylish family car has now begun at the blue oval's Genk factory in Belgium. Incredibly, the four-door saloon, five-door hatch and load-lugging estate variants are all built on the same busy production line - alongside the Ford S-MAX people carrier and Galaxy MPV.

Ford plans to make nearly 1,200 of the three types of car every day when the Genk facility is up to full operating capacity. The roadgoing Mondeo made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show last month, and all three bodystyles will hit British dealers in June.

Prices have yet to be announced, but entry-level variants are expected to start from £16,000, with estates set to command a £1,000 premium. A broad line-up of petrol and diesel engines will be offered. The first version of the new family model to come off the line was a silver estate.