The name's Bond, the car's Mondeo

In a shock to film and motor fans everywhere, legendary secret agent James Bond may have finally lost his uber-cool image by trading in style for practicality and taking the wheel of a Ford Mondeo in the latest Bond film Casino Royale.

But a Barclays Motor Insurance survey reveals that whilst the Mondeo might be a more practical choice in terms of insurance premiums, it does not top polls amongst the film-going public. Less than one in five people (18%) believe that the Mondeo is a suitable car for James Bond and the majority would prefer that Bond stuck to his Aston Martin, or a similarly slick sports car such as a Jaguar or Ferrari.

In fact James Bond’s Aston Martins have emerged as clear favourites amongst the British public. The Barclays Motor Insurance survey also saw the Aston Martin DB5, as featured in Goldfinger and Thunderball, voted the coolest Bond car ever. Second in the poll was its stable mate the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish from Die Another Day with the DBS from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service voted third. Only the Lotus Espirit from The Spy Who Loved Me could break the stronghold of the Aston Martins.

The Barclays Motor Insurance survey also asked for the all time coolest film or TV car and the Aston Martin DB5 once again topped the list beating off stiff competition from Kitt, David Hasslehoff’s trusty sidekick in Knightrider. Michael Caine and his team’s classic British Mini Coopers from The Italian Job came third in the poll followed by De Lorean, the DNC 12 from the Back to the Future trilogy.

Mark Till, marketing director for Barclays Insurance, said: “It may be a shock to see someone as cool as James Bond driving something as practical as a Ford Mondeo, but for all those wannabe Bonds out there the change away from the typical Aston Martins is good news. The more expensive your car the higher your insurance costs so the Ford Mondeo will therefore make a substantial difference to your bank account, typically around a third of the annual cost of insuring an Aston Martin – that’s a lot of vodka martinis!”

Fans will be relieved to know that the Ford Mondeo features only as a cameo car in Casino Royale – the nation’s favourite spy is safely back in an Aston Martin for the majority of the film.

If James Bond does want to save a few pounds on his insurance costs, he could do worse than get a quote from Barclays who are currently offering to beat your renewal quote or if they don’t they’ll lower their price by up to £100 and give you £50 when you switch. For more details and a quote on your car, be it a Ford Mondeo or Aston Martin, go to barclays.co.uk/insurance.