This Mondeo was considerably larger than its predecessor, and although Ford abandoned its New Edge design theme for the second generation, it was their first vehicle to fully benefit from the Prodigy concept car.

The basic chassis and suspension design was carried over from the previous generation, which meant that the car continued its predecessor's reputation for class leading handling and ride.

Following the standard setting interior of the Volkswagen Passat (B5) in 1996, Ford paid a great deal of attention to the second generation Mondeo's interior and was the first major American manufacturer to react to the new standard set by Volkswagen.

Ford dispensed with the rounded American style interior of the first generation, and developed a more sober, sophisticated, 'Germanic' design, using more expensive materials.

However, Euro NCAP's testing of the 2000 to 2007 Mondeo found that it protected worse than most key rivals (Vauxhall Vectra, Citroën C5, Toyota Avensis, Volkswagen Passat), achieving a lower-end 4 star rating.

Ford redesigned part of the car and it was re-tested, but the higher-than-average risk of chest injury to the driver in the frontal impact remained because the first and second generation Mondeo were based on the relatively dated CDW27 platform which related to the Mazda GE platform designed in late 1980s.

This version of the Mondeo has never come higher than sixth in the SMMT's official list of the top selling cars in the UK each year.

There was a design flaw with the new 1.8 and 2.0 L petrol units with the butterfly valves in the inlet manifold, which could cause severe engine damage when they failed.

The plastic components of the butterfly valves wear out too quickly and when loose enough can result in them falling apart and releasing metal and plastic parts into the engine cylinders, potentially causing severe engine damage (How to Diagnose) The part was upgraded by Ford in late 2002 to early 2003 and this largely prevented the problem from occurring in later engines, though random failures have still been reported on even the upgraded parts.

[7] The archaic Endura-D 1.8 L turbodiesel engine was dropped, and replaced by a more sophisticated 2.0 L 16v Duratorq common rail (TDCi and TDDi) unit with a fixed or variable geometry turbine, this clever turbine system allows a certain amount of overboost, giving an extra 10% or so of torque for short periods.

In June 2003, the Mondeo was given a very mild upgrade, the new models being identifiable by the larger chrome honeycomb grille, redesigned fog lights, a new central dashboard made from higher quality materials, with electronic climate control, either a standard Ford radio, Sony radio, or a satellite navigation radio/CD player, which also has climate control built into the unit in lieu of the space taken up by the unit.

The redesign featured 17 inch alloys, 14 inch brake disks, a completely redesigned front end and restyled tail lamps, while the interior remained the same as the European model, featuring Nappa leather and the IP imported from Germany.

[9] The Ford Mondeo Metrostar in Taiwan was also exported to a few countries in east Asia including China and Vietnam.

[9] Only models sold in Continental Europe and the British Isles are shown, overseas territories often have different offerings.