What do you love about the car you drive?

This post is sponsored by Ford Mondeo and written by our Top Gear correspondent and Site Manager, Lana.

I never thought I’d ever be asked to write a car review, or even pay attention to the details of a car and its features, but this Ford Mondeo, it spoke to me.  Literally. And I loved it.  Getting to drive a new car is a real perk of the job, and I did not take my lucky break lightly.  In fact I hardly slept for days before I went to pick it up… but I was fine to drive.  Promise.

The car was beautiful.  Easy to drive, good to be seen in and well, it made me feel quite spoilt.  I can’t tell you about the engine size or the diesel consumption (but I do know the model I drove was diesel ) but I can tell you about the things that made me fall in love

Voice activated commands

Sitting in the luxurious surrounds of the Ford Mondeo, all I had to do was push a little button on the indicator wand  and speak.  And the car listened to me and spoke back politely.  This made me insanely happy because there are very few people who listen to me and almost no-one who speaks politely.  Now, not only did the car “listen” but it acted on my command, like a butler but more unobtrusive and requiring less upkeep.   The Ford Mondeo “listens” to and responds to 6

commands – phone, radio, cd changer, climate, external devices (like an ipod) and help.  So you can literally shout at the car to change the radio station or even just tell it to phone a friend.  There are no hassles talking and driving because of the integrated blue tooth system that delivers the audio through your speakers (and instantly turns off any background music) and you just talk back and the bluetooth picks it up.  And, if any of your calls gets heated just call out “climate control” and you can adjust the heating with just your voice.  You never need to remove your hands from the steering wheel.

My iPod and iPhone on hand and in synch

My iphone and  ipod connected straight with the car like they were long last soul mates so the Mondeo had all my songs and all my contact numbers ready and easy to use.  When I had my son in the car he could play DJ on the console with the ridiculous songs that he has installed on my iPod and when he wasn’t in the car I could listen to decent music which I could control on the steering wheel.  All the time dancing in the spot on a very warm seat (yup there are seat warmers on the front seats).

Keyless entry and ignition

But perhaps the most amazing thing to me (and my friends and family to  whom I showed off relentlessly) was the keyless entry and driving.  Now when I say keyless I mean key. less.  There is no key required to drive or to enter.   The nifty device pictured here contains a sensor so that when you approach the car the door automatically unlocks.  Picture me laden with shopping bags in one hand, child’s hand in the other whilst still trying to push a trolley as I simply appoach the car and enter in a most unflustered manner  because I did not have to rummage through my bag for the keys.  The car starts at a simple push of a button WHILE YOUR KEYS ARE STILL IN YOUR BAG .  Safety?  Ford has that covered.  You have to have your foot on the brake to start the car (so kids can’t do it) .  Do you have any idea of how liberating it was not to have to find my keys at the bottom of my bag every time I went out? Liberating enough to make me want to buy the car!

Wednesday morning was my last day with the car (cue violin music and tears) and also the biggest test for the car’s boot capacity. Wednesday is the day I take 4 children and their school bags to gym, then I do a bit of shopping, take the shopping home, pick the kids up from the gym and then take them to school (consequently I sleep most of Wednesday).   This week – I piled the shopping and the bags into the boot and there was still space for the boys to pile up in for a photo (the girls were too camera shy) .

I won’t bore you with the technical details and specifications (not because they are boring but because  I really don’t know them) but you can, and you should, check them out here.  I would even suggest going to your Ford dealer if you are in the market for a new car and taking the Mondeo for a run.  You’ll love it.  The only hard part will be returning it to the dealer.  Trust me, I know.

So what is the best feature in the car you drive,  the part of your car that you love the most? And if you don’t have one – what feature would you install to make your driving experience that much more enjoyable.

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