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Ford Mondeo (From Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News)
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Ford Mondeo
4:25pm Thursday 12th November 2009
Overall
rating: 4 stars
This is the third generation Mondeo, and the best yet. Available as a five-door hatch, four-door saloon or an estate, this car is significantly larger than its predecessor, especially widthways, and provides more interior room as a result. But parking it will be harder, especially as it's not the easiest car to see rearwards from. Progress has been made on most fronts with this latest Mondeo - it's better finished inside, quieter (a weakness of the old model), comes with a much wider choice of electronic equipment that includes adaptive cruise control, voice-activated infotainment systems, collision mitigation equipment, adaptive damping and more. A particularly good feature is a fuel tank design that prevents the car from being incorrectly filled with petrol or diesel. But the essential character of the Mondeo is unchanged - it provides decent room for a family in a comfortable, convenient package that's economic to run, while preserving the excellent handling characteristics that have long made this Ford a good choice for keen drivers.
The petrol engine range starts with a 1.6 and includes 2.0 four cylinder and 2.3 and 2.5 five cylinder versions, while diesels include a 1.8 and 2.0 TDCi. Trim levels start with the Edge and work through to Zetec, Ghia and Titanium X. The best engine, is the 2.0 TDCi, whose combination of strong performance, decent economy and sound refinement provide a package that's not only makes financial sense, but also provides the zest to make the best of the Mondeo's handling panache. But the more affordable 1.8 TDCi and 1.6 petrol are more than acceptable. The new car's additional weight does slightly blunt their performance, however.
Though many will assume that being Ford-badged makes this a workaday and unexceptional car, the Mondeo is impressive for shading not only all its mainstream rivals like the Vauxhall Vectra, VW Passat and Peugeot 407, but also challenging premium models like the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4. These German cars might have the name and reputation, but in terms of capability this Ford has them beaten in many key areas - cabin space, ride quality and in many instances handling, to name but three - comes close to having a cabin that's not far short in terms of quality, and costs thousands less.
What's to like
1. Room and comfort for five
2. Excellent handling and ride
3. Wide range of equipment
What's not to like
1. Poor rear visibility
2. Unprogressive brakes of diesels
3. Bigger body makes it harder to manoeuvre
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Ford Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
Ford Mondeo
See also
Environment
rating: 3 stars
Styling
rating: 3 stars
It's handsome, contemporary - and a bit unimaginative, this Mondeo, looking remarkably similar to the VW Passat, for example. 'Kinetic' is the word Ford uses to describe its design style, but this is not as distinctive a sculptural style as the 'Edge' theme that brought us the Ford Ka and original Focus.
Handling
rating: 4 stars
It's almost worthy of five stars, so capable is this Mondeo. It's easy to handle (size notwithstanding in tight spots), stable, corners crisply and provides unusually precise steering. It also absorbs the bumps of difficult B roads with great aplomb, though less so if you order the sports suspension. It's also very safe at the edge of adhesion.
Comfort
rating: 4 stars
Generous cabin space is a good start, and comfortable seats all round complete an impressive picture. Road and engine noise are better damped than they were in the previous Mondeo, making this a pretty civilised car to travel in whether round town or on the motorway, especially as its is ride is above average, especially in standard, non-sport form.
Quality
rating: 4 stars
Ford has built up an excellent reputation for reliability over the past decade, and it's borne out by independent surveys. This Mondeo is fundamentally more robust than the outgoing model, and also benefits from the higher standards of trim material used inside, particularly for the dashboard assembly. It's not quite up to BMW standards, but it's not so far adrift. The likelihood is that this car will further build on Ford's improving reputation.
Performance
rating: 4 stars
With such a wide choice of engines it's harder to generalise, but within their class each of these power units delivers competitive performance, if without being exceptional, because this car is bigger and heavier than average.
Roominess
rating: 5 stars
The Mondeo offers exceptional cabin space for this class (though it should, given its size) and a big, well-shaped boot too. The rear seats fold easily to form a flat floor, the cushion providing a protective bulkhead, and there's slightly more space for dumping junk than is usual, including that rare thing, a space to leave your mobile phone.
Costs
rating: 4 stars
Ford is a specialist when it comes to paring back service and repair costs - it needs to, to win big fleet deals. An example of its attention to detail is found at the rear, where the part-plastic tailgate (or bootlid) makes light parking damage easier and cheaper to repair. The big question mark hangs over depreciation, which is usually the biggest cost of all - if the Mondeo is pumped out at big discounts, it will not be good.
Value
rating: 4 stars
If you buy at the bottom end of this range, you get a lot of car for your money, and even in its most basic form it comes with everything you'll need except sat nav - though the seat trim looks a bit cheap. Tempting though the high-end models might be, they are the biggest depreciation risk.
Stereo
rating: 4 stars
The standard stereo is perfectly acceptable, and can be usefully upgraded, while the optional sat nav is excellent, with a particularly intuitive set of easy-access controls on the steering wheel. But it's not a cheap option.
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stagg, says...
4:52pm Thu 11 Mar 10