Ford's improved MK4 model Mondeo looks to revive the flagging medium-range family hatch sector. Does it have what it takes to break the spell of the premium marques?
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The revised fourth generation Ford Mondeo pulls out all the stops in a bid to convince British buyers that the medium-range 'D'-segment family hatch isn't a thing of the past. With tight pricing, comfort-orientated drive dynamics, the sort of cabin tech you might expect to be the preserve of the premium German marques and the option of hybrid power, there looks to be life in the Mondeo yet.
Background
A lesser manufacturer than Ford might well have given up. After all, sales of mainstream 'D'-segment medium range family saloons and hatches have collapsed in recent years, falling to around a third what they once were as recently as ten years ago. The Mondeo had the unfortunate distinction of being a car that got markedly better with every consecutive generation but which was rewarded with progressively worse sales. Can this current improved MK4 model turn things around?
It has market conditions on its side. The economy has improved and the love affair with premium badges couldn't last forever. As the used market became flooded with BMWs and Audis, resale values crumbled. If Ford could step in with a genuinely convincing reason to buy something bigger and more luxurious, buyers might return to the fold. To that end, the Blue Oval has pulled out all the stops with this improved fourth generation model.
Driving Experience
Ford's has slimmed down the engine choices on offer. Most customers choose a 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine good for either 150PS or 190PS, both variants featuring single variable geometry turbocharger technology. The 150PS and 190PS diesels are available with Ford's Intelligent All-Wheel Drive system, which offers a seamless transition between front-wheel drive and all-wheel-drive performance to automatically enhance traction and road-holding when needed. There is also a 165PS 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol unit.
Buyers can alternatively opt for a Mondeo Hybrid. Unlike the hybrid option you get in a rival Volkswagen Passat, this set-up isn't one of the pricey plug-in sort, which means you don't get astonishing all-electric style fuel returns - but then you do without the Passat's outlandish asking price too. Instead, a Mondeo Hybrid has the more conventional type of petrol/electric set-up you'd find in a slightly cheaper but smaller and less powerful rival like Toyota's Prius where the engine cuts in and out to assist electric propulsion as and when required. In the Ford's case, that powerplant is a 187PS 2.0-litre unit whose efforts are supplemented by a 88kW electric motor driving the front wheels. There's another electric motor for regenerative charging only and a lithium-ion battery pack with an output of 35kW and a capacity of 1.4 kWh, the whole set-up operating via the kind of CVT auto gearbox that's a normal feature in hybrids of this sort.
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