A forgotten hero in Singapore's market, Ford's Mondeo celebrates it's significant 20th birthday this year.

It helped pioneer standard airbags. Even James Bond took it for a spin.

The Ford Mondeo is celebrating its 20th anniversary and more than 4.5 million sales in Europe, including 1,400,000 in the UK alone. “Mondeo has a rich history and a bright future,” said Barb Samardzich, vice president Product Development, Ford of Europe. “Across two decades, Mondeo has stood for great driving dynamics, surprising technologies, excellent safety and outstanding fuel efficiency.”

The Mondeo was introduced in 1993 following a five-year, £3 billion development programme and was named UK's Car of the Year in 1994. Since then it has continued to set standards in its class for two decades, gaining awards from across Europe. Mondeo has made advanced features available and affordable for UK customers. The first generation provided a standard driver’s airbag, an optional passenger airbag and offered traction control, adaptive damping, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and power steering.

In 1996, a revised, restyled and lighter weight Mondeo delivered optional side airbags, which were standardised two years later together with four-channel ABS.

In 2000, Ford launched the second generation Mondeo with Ford’s Intelligent Protection System, which used a network of sensors to calculate the most effective safety features to deploy in an accident. This Mondeo made heated rear seats, automatic headlamps and rain-sensing wipers available for the first time. It was so popular it even became part of the English language, when Tony Blair coined the phrase “Mondeo Man” to define a new voting class in the early part of the last decade.

The dashing third generation Mondeo arrived in 2007 following a silver screen cameo as a Bond car in the movie “Casino Royale”, in 2006. The new model debuted advanced technologies such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Interactive Vehicle Dynamic Control and Ford Easy Fuel system to prevent misfuelling.

Mondeo was again updated in 2010, adding Ford EcoBoost petrol engine technology and safety and convenience features such as Lane Departure Warning, Driver Alert and Auto High Beam.

Class-leading driving dynamics have always been a cornerstone of the Mondeo experience, demonstrated by past performance models including the V6-powered ST24, ST200 and ST220 and current four-cylinder 197 bhp 2.2-litre Duratorq diesel and 237 bhp 2.0-litre EcoBoost petrol versions.

“The Mondeo’s future is very bright and at Ford Motor Company, we’re looking forward to delivering another 20 years of innovation for drivers across Europe,” added Samardzich.

The new Mondeo is expected to arrive next year.