True, but then the Ford Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac was a pretty bang up to date car when first launched in 1952. Certainly compared to Austin and Morris.
I don't think it's an insult at any level to say that something was very old-fashioned. Ford knew this, which is why it had so many new models in the early 1960s. Even they couldn't get away with side-valve engines and vacuum wipers in some models for much longer! A polite way of saying it is of course "period".
It's actually interesting. This is my second P6, my first was in 1989, so almost as much time has elapsed since then as between when the car was launched and when I first owned one. It feels VERY different now, much smaller and narrower. Back in the 80s it felt "used" but not antiquated as such.
And of course when the Consul/Granada arrived in 1972 and then ditched the V4 in 1974, they too made the P6 look kind of silly and old fashioned in that class of vehicle.