Whether remembered fondly as treasured family transport, or barely remembered at all as transport home after a night out, it's safe to say that the Ford Mondeo will have featured, to a greater or lesser extent, in the life of nearly every Briton. Now, with the arrival of the fifth-generation model, it faces a struggle against the rising tide of more desirable premium-badged rivals. It wasn't always this way, though. When the first Mondeo replaced the Ford Sierra, it went straight to the top of every company car driver's wish list.