All,

I see Ford have announced the release of the Mondeo on steroids - the Ford Vignale. I am prompted to write as my daily drive is a Ford Taurus.

The Vignale and the Taurus look so alike.

I have the 3.5 litre V6 coupled to an auto box around 290bhp.

Comfort and economy are ok, but not great, the car is the replacement for the Ford Crown Victoria, an american barge much liked by US Police and Saudi Police here in Riyadh.

I am sure that cosmtically the Vignale will look good, like the Ford Cortina 1600E. But it will not stand up to anything of similar price that hails from Germany, or Japans Lexus.

The build quality I believe will be superficial, and after a few years the cracks will appear. Driving the Taurus is fine, it is heavy and feels very safe, but spirited handling is not a strong point, and the rocker switch to manually change gear in the sports mode is pointless, the switch is placed awkwardly on the gear selector.

Boot space is great, headroom not generous if your + 6 foot. The finish on the Ford Taurus is better than Hyundai and that genre, I doubt the durability is good though.

Avoid the Vignale, and when they bring out the more basic version, stay clear.

As aside we have a version of the Ford Taurus named the SHO with turbocharged engine, fierce, expensive and the US Police use an Interceptor version, don't, you can do better.

Michaly