In the wet or the dry, it has similar front-end grip to the standard Estate. Snow and ice may be where the benefits lie, but we’ve previously found a set of winter tyres to be just as effective in these situations – and unlike full-fat 4x4 estates such as the Skoda Octavia Scout, there’s no extra ground clearance for occasional off-road use.
The biggest problem with opting for four-wheel drive on the Mondeo is weight. The system adds another 78kg to the Estate, and the current model doesn’t feel that light on its feet in the first place. Our base 2.0 TDCi struggles to pull the car along with much gusto and is hindered further by tall gearing.