Having become more familiar with it I find it easy to drive and to position on the road. the seats I find comfortable. The technology was a considerable jump from a 14 year old Mondeo and there are still a few areas which are not yet instinctive.

Like:
• Large choice of options so I could configure the base model without getting large diameter bling wheels and over-chromed interior.
• Power seats and mirrors with memory linked to key fobs.
• Speed limit recognition.
• Speed limiter.
• Rear view camera.
• Led Headlights.
• Auto Dip function
• Flat boot floor with rear seats down.
• Light interior.
• Variable sweep frequency of wipers on auto setting.

Dislike:
Active Cruise Control

I got a good deal which resulted in only a small price difference from quotes for nominally cheaper crossovers to a similar spec and which often offered only packaged options with unwanted inclusions. I tried the Mercedes B Class but didn’t like the seats or the stepped boot floor and found the interior too dark. The Audi A2 seating range didn’t suit my wife who also disliked the grill dominated front aspect and the Mini styling was definite No! I was also put off by reports of problems with the VAG DSG Auto Box when out of warranty, which also ruled out VW Golf variants. Most also had less scope to pick and choose individual options.

Post retirement with an annual mileage <10000 petrol was the obvious choice. Sharing a car with my wife, (me 6 ft 2 long legs, she 5 ft 7 long body) the powered driver’s seat and door mirrors linked to the two key fobs are a boon, particularly on long journeys with regular driver swaps. Light coloured upholstery and panoramic sunroof make for a pleasant interior. Compensating for the wide A pillars has not proved too difficult.

The Active Cruise Control I found not suitable for busy UK motorways; unsurprisingly when an overtaking vehicle pulls in the brakes are applied even when the separation distance is increasing. Perhaps it will be better on less crowded continental autoroutes. The Speed Limiter, on the other hand, I find an excellent substitute although the surge when it is overridden can be disconcerting to passengers. The speed limit detector is good when the signs are clear, useful in higher workload situations.

The Led headlights I find excellent with a sharp cut-off just below the rear window line of preceding cars and it will be nice not to have to fit beam diverters when holidaying abroad. The auto dipping function is also very good. The instrument panel is not automatically illuminated when the ignition and running lights are on unlike purely digital displays which I assume is the reason for seeing newer cars with no rear lights at night.

Although the nearside wiper arm cannot be lifted and left when in the parked position with the bonnet closed, the wipers can be parked in the vertical position to allow this. On auto the repetition rate can be varied which is useful.

The built in satnav in common with most of its type does not display gps derived speed, presumably because it would conflict with the speedometer which, at 70 mph, under reads by 2 to 3 mph compared to the gps speed on level ground. It displays the next piece of route information in the instrument binnacle which is good. My Wife doesn't like the satnav display as she finds it has insufficient contrast between the route colour and the surrounding roads. We both prefer our Tomtom for traffic information and diversions.The displayed fuel consumption figures are about 3% optimistic based on gps derived distance measurements and brim to brim readings. The mileage recorder is about 1% optimistic by the same measure..