The new Ford Mondeo has been voted Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2008 by the Irish Motoring Writers Association. Ford's latest Mondeo, which incorporates a host of major new developments over the previous model, was well ahead of the field that started with a long list of 42 possible entrants.

The new Ford Mondeo has been awarded the coveted title of Semperit Irish Car of the Year 2008 having been voted so by the 28 voting members of the Irish Motoring Writers Association.

This is the second time that Ford has won the award with the Mondeo. This time around the car is even a more worthy winner. The new Mondeo has been developed to incorporate a host of safety features as standard.

Ford has pushed the safety competition with seven airbags as standard, including a new knee airbag for all Mondeo models. Ford has also set a lead in offering all models with Electronic Stability Programme (ESP). This feature has been proven to save lives and I believe that Ford deserves full credit for fitting it to the Mondeo models as standard well ahead of the proposed EU requirement date of 2012.

The Mondeo has standard and useful features, including the Ford Easyfuel capless re-fuelling with fuel inhibitor to prevent mis-fuelling; 'follow-me-home' lights; trip computer; air conditioning; and an auxiliary audio input socket located in the glove box for external audio device connection. That sets the Mondeo as a leader in terms of specification and well ahead of the Mondeo of the past.

The entry price of €24,995 gives the Mondeo as a real value for money option in the D segment of the market. That's only marginally dearer that the outgoing 1.8 litre model, while offering much more in terms of economy and features.

The results were as follows:

1. Ford Mondeo - 122 points
2. Kia Cee'd - 104 points
3. Nissan Qashqai - 86 points
4. Renault Laguna - 66 points
5. Fiat Bravo - 42 points

The 28 members of Irish Motoring Writers Association awarded points on the basis of criteria ranging from innovation and safety to space, comfort, build quality, driving quality and value for money. The new Ford Mondeo has shown that it has a lot to offer, including style, great interior space, impressive safety features and competitive pricing.

What's especially attractive about this car is that the space and safety features now common across the new Mondeo range are standard and that's at a value price. That sums up the reason why I gave the Mondeo my number 1 vote in the awards this year.

Presenting the award to Eddie Murphy, Managing Director of Ford Ireland, Paddy Murphy of Semperit Ireland commented: "The key task for the Motoring Writers is to identify the best new car for the Irish market and the Ford Mondeo is a worthy winner of this title, following in the footsteps of the original Mondeo in the mid-90s. Once again a broad spread of cars was represented in the shortlist, indicating the diversity in the marketplace."

The Ford Mondeo succeeds the Honda Civic, which took the title last year.

Following the announcement, Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director, Ford Ireland said, "It's great to have the acclaim the Mondeo has been receiving made official with this prestigious award. Given the wide criteria involved, any winner has to be an all-rounder and we believe the Mondeo does triumph on this score. Style, performance, comfort, safety, space and value all come together in this car.

"We have great expectations for this model on the 2008 market, with predicted volumes in excess of 7,000 units. This award will no doubt provide a significant boost to this end."

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