THE all-new Ford Mondeo makes its world debut at the 2006 Paris Motor Show at the end of this week.

Ford of Europe's stylish new flagship model is being previewed in its wagon (estate) bodystyle in near production specification, with launch scheduled across Europe from the second quarter of 2007.

John Fleming, president and CEO of Ford of Europe, said: "The new Mondeo is critical to the Ford of Europe business. The Ford Mondeo has always been a major player in the European C-D segment, and with more than four million owners looking for us to deliver something special, we have every intention of meeting their significant expectations with this all-new model."

New Mondeo will follow and build on the success of the new Ford S-Max and Ford Galaxy models, both of which have been launched to media and customer acclaim this year.

Ford says that to meet customer needs and wants, the 2007 Mondeo will deliver more comfort, more space, and more premium quality features, while remaining affordable.

Benefiting from Ford's shared technologies' initiative, new Mondeo shares much of its architecture and technology with S-Max and Galaxy, as well as a production line.

New Mondeo completes a 715m euro investment that has modernised Ford's Genk plant in Belgium and transformed it into a world-class, flexible manufacturing facility. Sharing the Galaxy and S-Max line gives tremendous flexibility and manufacturing efficiency to respond to market demands and fluctuations.

The new Mondeo is striking and unmistakably a member of the Ford family.

A comprehensive range of core bodystyles will be launched concurrently in the new range, but the Ford of Europe design team has chosen the new wagon as its Paris hero.

Martin Smith, Ford of Europe's design director, said: "The new Mondeo's wagon bodystyle really emphasizes the sporty, dynamic and premium appearance of the new range. Above all, we've managed to achieve this kinetic look without compromising luggage capacity.

"I believe new Mondeo will challenge everyone's perceptions of a big Ford car, and prove that we can once again deliver style with substance in a desirable form."

The new family face of Ford is further represented at the front end by a premium-feel, large upper grille opening, and an inverted trapezoidal lower grille.

Large and distinctive headlamps and lower fog lamps are a key design element, drawing the eye around the chamfered corners, disguising the volume required to meet the latest pedestrian protection requirements.

The design team has also paid great attention to interior detailing, and examples of this include new generation infotainment systems, plus the next generation of Ford's Human Machine Interface. This easy-to-use system features the same steering-wheel toggle switches seen on new Galaxy and S-Max, but introduces the availability of a large central LCD screen with full colour graphics situated between the main analogue instruments in front of the driver.

Rear seat headroom and legroom have also come in for scrutiny, and these have been maximized for occupant comfort and safety.

A wide range of dependable Ford powertrains will be offered, from the powerful and well-proven Ford Duratorq 2.0 litre TDCi diesel and a high-performance 2.5 litre turbocharged Duratec petrol engine derived from that fitted to the new S-Max, to efficient 1.6 litre Duratec petrol and 1.8 litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engines with outstanding fuel economy.

Full specifications for the new Mondeo range will be revealed early in the new year.