The Econetic Mondeo Estate drives well but can't match its rivals

ECONETIC is to Ford what Bluemotion is to Volkswagen. They are the high economy models with low carbon dioxide emissions. On test here is Ford's Mondeo Estate two-litre diesel with the economy tweaks such as easy-rolling tyres on lowered sports suspension to reduce wind resistance. The engine is detuned to give 113.4 bhp so it is no firecracker.

The 0-62mph time is 11.1 seconds and a top speed of 118mph is comparatively slow. There is a moderate thwack of 236 lb ft of torque and, with a six-speed manual gearbox, Ford quotes 42.8mpg urban, 64.2mpg extra urban and 54.3mpg overall.

The carbon figure is a friendly 139g/km or 120 a year in road tax. It comes in at 23,133 with the kit you would expect: air con, cruise control, and Ford's idiot-proof system to prevent you filling it with petrol: you can not get a petrol nozzle into the filler neck.

With a potential range of more than 600 miles, you can avoid fuel stations. The price also includes the electrically heated windscreen, which is a boon in freezing weather. During the test drive, it thawed a coat of frost in two minutes.

The demo car looked funereal in "panther black" metallic. That was an extra on the bill, as was the navigation, front and rear parking sensors and bright finish roof rails. The 16in alloys were in lieu of the standard steel rims.

It drove well enough but even with a prompting gear-change arrow on the dash, I got nowhere near Ford's economy figures.

In general mileage it showed 44.4mpg, or 10mpg under Ford's official combined average. In some slow running on wintry roads for 65 miles it returned 43mpg, which I thought was acceptable.

High gearing helps economy and relaxation, with 70mph at just below 2,000rpm in sixth gear. The consequence is that you will need to use the gearbox to get it moving and, for example, it will not run smoothly at 30mph in fourth gear but is happy in third gear.

Ford gives you the initially confusing choice of a more powerful 1.8 litre diesel Econetic, which costs 22,622. It produces 123bhp and 251 lb ft and, with a five-speed gearbox, records an average 52.3mpg and 142g/km CO2. Also, it is faster, posting 123mph and 0-62 in 10.6 seconds. So, it is quicker, almost as economical and 500 cheaper. Its annual road tax bill is only a fiver more than the 2-litre model. Interesting?

The other "interesting" contender is Vauxhall's Insignia Sport Tourer (an estate) in Vauxhall's green mantle, called Ecoflex. The 2-litre diesel punches out nearly 158bhp, 258 lb ft of torque and, with a six-speed gearbox, delivers an official average of 53.3mpg and 139g/km CO2. It can reach 134mph, whip through the 0-62 sprint in 9.3 seconds and costs from 21,565 with climate control and cruise control. Hmm. You can see which is the most fun to drive without even getting in them. In fact, Ford dealers would have to do some serious discounting to persuade me to keep out of the Vauxhall showroom.

Both cars are available as four-door saloons and five-door hatchbacks.

&149 The Econetic models have been impressing fleet users. The Mondeo is the most popular fleet car according to a FleetDirectory.co.uk poll.

The Mondeo took 20 per cent of the vote. In second place, came the BMW 3-Series on 14 per cent followed by the Audi A6 in third, with 13 per cent. It concludes: "The Mondeo has undeniable qualities working in its favour however, offering competitive pricing, class-leading safety specifications, low running and whole life costs as well as practical, internal dimensions. With such a huge range of Mondeo variants, there is a car to suit most needs, from the entry level 1.6 Edge to the Mondeo Titanium ECO 2.0. Aimed squarely at company car users, it combined two pressing business needs; improving fuel economy without compromising on specification."