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Posted on: Jun 08 2007

Ford Mondeo

When Ford launches the Mondeo in early December, the last thing it can expect is tepid competition. The Mondeo will join the battle for honours in the newly emerging 'D'-segment against a fresh crop of luxury cars. The Merc C-class, Accord and Sonata are already here and it looks like the Octavia will finally be out soon after Diwali. However, with the Mondeo, Ford has just the right tool for the job. It bowled us over when we drove it on British roads a couple of months ago.

But, will the Mondeo perform just as well in the Indian environment? After all, Ford is importing the Mondeo directly from Europe, which completely rules out any possibility of making 'India-spec' engineering changes to it. Ford says that its Mondeo has been conceived for global markets and can thrive under any conditions, India included.

Design & Engineering
Though the Mondeo looks like it has been designed by a bunch of hijacked Volkswagen/Audi designers, it still echoes Ford's much vaunted 'New Edge' design philosophy, with its smooth and heavily milled look. The grille, prominent wheel arches and distinctiveheadlights clearly carry the family look and when viewed from head-on there's no mistaking it for anything other than a Ford.

It's only when you look at the Mondeo from the side and rear-quarter that you realise there is a distinct similarity to the VW Passat. But the point is that it is an extremely sharp looking and modern design which is what matters. Though it has an understated simplicity, we were surprised by the number of heads it turned. The general consensus to the Mondeo's styling is that it looks appealing, though not beautiful. We suspect more will fall for the Sonata's striking looks which, dripping with chrome, seem to be more in tune with Indian tastes.

For the Indian market, only the notchback body style will be offered since the trend here is for luxury cars to have a separate boot. The Mondeo's 500-litre boot is however disappointing in relation to the size of the car. Though the boot is deep, it lacks sufficient height to stack two large suitcases one on top of the other. The suspension adheres to the theory that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The basic MacPherson strut front and four-link rear suspension has largely been carried over from the earlier Mondeo, which is not a bad thing since the Mondeo launched back in 1993 set a new benchmark as far as handling and ride were concerned. To further improve dynamics, Ford has carried out a number of tweaks in virtually all areas of the suspension. Significantly, wheel travel of the Mondeo has also been increased in an effort to improve the new Mondeo's performance over rough terrain, important as far as India is concerned. The standard wheel size is 16 inch to accommodate larger discs all around.

Interiors
The driving position, visibility and feeling of space is what sets the Mondeo apart from both the Accord and the Sonata. Ergonomically it's hard to find fault, with all the controls and switches being in the right place. The only glitch we found was that the remote hi-fi controls mounted on the steering column are too far away for the fingertips. The front seats are nice and soft but could have been more supportive for better long distance comfort. However the driving position is spot on, aided by an electrically-adjustable seat and steering wheel that adjusts for rake and reach.

So whatever your size, you'll be facing a dashboard madeof high quality materials whose layout and overall feel have definite overtones of an expensive German saloon. Just look at the air vents, the rotary headlight switch and the door trims for proof. There's a wonderful damped feel when you prod or turn a switch that just smacks of quality. There is a lot of fine detailing too like the classy looking aluminium highlights on the steering wheel spokes and gear lever. The oval clock on the dashboard is a Ford trademark we know from the Escort. At the rear things get better. The Mondeo is more spacious than both the Sonata and Accord especially where legroom is concerned. Besides, Ford has also laid considerable amount of stress on the design and comfort of the rear bench. Ingress and egress have been made easier and the H or hip-point has been raised by 15mm, making the rear seat more comfortable. However, this has cut into headroom and six-plus footers could find their heads brushing the roof lining.

There is genuine room for three adults to sit comfortably in the rear. Even the centre passenger in the rear seat has been catered for with a seatbelt and a centre headrest that whichdisappears into the bench when not needed to improve rear vision. The Mondeo we tested came in Ghia trim, packed with features somenot found on its rivals. There is an in-dash six-CD changer (a world first), front fog lamps, smart alloys and thoughtful details like one-touch operation for all power windows and courtesy lights that come on when you unlock the car. Powerful Xenon lamps are also standard. The safety box gets a full set of ticks with eight airbags and ABS as standard.

Engine, Gearbox & Performance
The first thing you notice about the 2.0-litre petrol engine is how refined it is. It feels turbine smooth throughout its rev range with just a hint of vibration at the 6500rpm redline. It's an amazingly quiet engine and as a result the car rarely feels as quick as it really is. The reality, however, is superb performance accompanied by a depth of mechanical refinement not even the Accord can match. The naked performance figures make impressive reading especially when you compare them to the bigger engined and more powerful Accord. The dash to 100kph comes up in a swift 10.36 seconds within a hair's breadth of the Accord (10.12sec). Both cars are capable of speeds beyond 200kph which, given our road conditions, are largely academic. The true test comes in judging the flexibility of the engine.

The 2.0-litre petrol Duratec has good reserves of low and mid-range torque. The engine's mechanical refinement has also allowed the engineers to run relatively short gearing which has the knock-on effect of increasing flexibility within the individual gears. The result is superb in-gear acceleration times - the run from 20-80kph is dispatched in 11 seconds which is much better than the Accord. However, where greater flexibility is needed for the 40-100kph run in fourth gear, the Accord has the legs on the Mondeo. Though the Mondeo's engine feels more refined, the Accord's 2.3-litre VTEC unit is decidedly more flexible, giving it a slight edge in outright performance and driveability.

The diesel Mondeo continued to astonish with breathtaking performance that will whip every diesel in the country this side of Merc's CDI E-class. In fact, it's right there with its petrol sibling registering a 0-100kph time of 11.15sec. But where it takes the petrol Mondeo, the Accord and even the Merc E-class and spits them out its exhaust is in the 40-100kph run in fourth gear, which it does in an amazing 14sec. This is a reflection of the bags of mid-range grunt this turbo-diesel comes with. There is lag, of course, you have to wait for the engine to wake up. Poke is little below 1800rpm and the engine won't rev past 4500rpm but the torque between these two points is so thick that it feels like you're riding a tidal wave of power. Drivers may find the non-linear power delivery of the diesel difficult to modulate in city traffic. That's because you tend to floor the throttle to get over the initial lag and suddenly the rush of power takes you right up to the bumper of the car in front, forcing you to brake suddenly. The bad news about this Duratorq engine concerns its refinement.

In the diesel Merc C-class, for example, you could drive for hundreds of kilometres without guessing what sort of fuel it uses but not in the Mondeo. It sounds like a diesel when you start it, when it's hot or cold, and retains that rough edge throughout its rev band. The irony is that the Mondeo which is so quiet in all other respects has accentuated the diesel engine's noise. The gearshift is delightfully crisp and very precise, despite a wide throw. The 'box works well in conjunction with the taut drivetrain.
  
Fuel Economy
The petrol Mondeo is pretty frugal for a 2.0-litre luxury car returning 7.9kpl in the city and 11.2kpl on the highway. The low and mid-range torque and a low set of gear ratios means that you can stick to a higher gear in town most of the time. Compared to the taller geared Accord, the Mondeo is slightly more thirsty on the highway .

The diesel is considerably more fuel efficient. Whilst the city cycle figure of 9kpl is pretty average for a two-litre turbo-diesel, the highway figure of 14.2kpl was superb. It's down to the very tall overdrive which allows for relaxed cruising with the engine barely turning over.

Verdict
Ford has spent an astonishing amount of time and money (Rs 13,000 crore) on perfecting the Mondeo and the end result is a very fine car indeed. However, it's not entirely perfect. The harsh low-speed ride, the result of the firm suspension not suited for India, and the clatter of the diesel engine are the only flaws we could find. In overall terms, there is little doubt that the Mondeo is the best car in its class, superior to even the Accord which will be its main rival. In fact, the Mondeo is so good that we believe it could even challenge the Merc C-class. Both petrol and diesel models excel in their own ways. The 2.0-litre petrol Mondeo with its refined power delivery is better for city use whilst the diesel with its explosive mid-range and tall overdrive makes a devastating highway car.

The understated Mondeo doesn't have the brand equity of the Accord nor the flash value of the Sonata, which buyers in this segment may be looking for. Which is why Ford needs to price the car sensibly. If Ford prices the car in the region of the Accord at Rs 15-16 lakh, the company has almost certainly got a winner on its hands.
Source: indiacar