Ford Mondeo

As you can see from the image, the booted version is differentiated only at the rear. The strong crease down the car's shoulder line lends itself easily to a saloon bodyshell. While the four-door may still look awkward from some angles, designers have managed to avoid a slabby appearance in profile.

Even if the saloon's styling can't match up to its Volkswagen Passat rival, the Ford won't be beaten for practicality. A massive 550-litre boot will swallow huge loads, and 60:40 split rear seats are a further boost to versatility. Otherwise, the cabin is identical to the rest of the Mondeo range.

The key to the saloon's practicality is its size. The longest model in the line-up, the four-door measures 4,844mm from nose to tail - 66mm ahead of the five-door and 14mm more than the estate. Given the cars' near executive-class size and otherwise generous equipment lists, it's odd that Ford hasn't made parking sensors standard on any model - they cost an extra £400.

Accounting for a tiny four per cent of predicted sales in the UK, the Mondeo saloon will sell in far greater numbers in other European markets. Meanwhile in Britain, the estate will form 24 per cent of the predicted 40,000 annual sales, leaving the five-door with the remaining 72 per cent - a clear majority.

The saloon is available with the same engines and trim levels as other Mondeo variants, with the exception of the low-powered 1.6-litre unit. Prices for the four-door start at £15,695 for the base-model Edge and rise to £22,945 for the five-cylinder flagship - which makes it exactly the same price as the five-door.

Despite its large load-carrying ability, the saloon is not available with self-levelling rear suspension. This £400 option is only offered on the estate, while the saloon shares the chassis and suspension set-up of the five-door Mondeo.