FORD is set to redefine the upper medium fleet car sector with the launch in early November of the new Mondeo. Just as the Ford Focus set the conservative lower medium sector on fire two years ago with its radical styling, so the all-new Mondeo is expected to appeal to both job need and user-chooser company car drivers with its upmarket image and market-leading interior space.

'The design brings an executive-look to the upper medium sector,' said Ford fleet operations director Mike Wear. 'New Mondeo complements the remainder of the Ford family of models including Volvo and Jaguar.'

If top priority is ensuring the new Mondeo is a car of substance amid a battlefield of new upper medium sector models, then equally important are wholelife costs - and fleet industry cost data providers have met with Ford bosses already.

'Over the years we have been pleased with the way Mondeo has performed, but we are looking for significant movement with this car,' he said. Improved fuel efficiency, longer service intervals and reduced repair bills are all part of the equation but the biggest issue is depreciation,' said Wear. 'The key to wholelife cost success is to get the balance as far as residual values are concerned right.'

Using a combination of Ford Direct - the manufacturer's remarketing arm which sells vehicles up to four years old to its franchised dealers - and traditional auctions, Wear pledged: 'One of the keys to managing the success of new Mondeo will be the absolute consciousness that residuals are key.'

  • Read our first impressions of new Mondeo in the Roadtests section.