Ford Mondeo: mid-sizer aspires to the top

At the beginning of this decade the middle class was on the verge of extinction but the Mondeo Zetec is back and more competitive than ever.

It wasn't so much that buyers couldn't see the wisdom of downscaling from fat Australian sedans and reaping the benefits of better economy and infinitely better quality.

No, it was more that the motors then available for the money were anonymous to the point of invisibility. One of them was Ford Europe's Mondeo, a car the Blue Oval's local operatives didn't really know what to do with; as opposed to Holden, which initially did quite nicely out of its more or less equivalent Vectra.

The arrival of the Mazda6 in 2002 acted on the mid-size segment like a dose of lightning through Frankenstein. By that time, though, the Mondeo had died here and Holden was well on the way to stuffing up sales of the second-generation Vectra by pricing it miles north of its worth.

Today, excellent Japanese models such as the soon to be superseded Mazda and Honda's Accord Euro are the segment's benchmarks, though the volume seller remains a Toyota that's as much middle-of-the-road as middle-sized.

The field has a UN quality, with entrants from Volkswagen, Renault, Chrysler and Dodge. The most recent is Czech; Skoda's Octavia, which comes in either wagon or liftback-style sedan.

While Holden is reduced to fielding yet another Daewoo in disguise (the Epica is the most profoundly ordinary new car of 2007), Ford did not have a true mid-sizer until last month.

Like the Fiesta and Focus, the new-generation Mondeo is Belgian-built and receives the same sort of fervid reception from the Pommy press.

It's gradually dawned on Ford Australia that it is no longer enough to merely build a car to have the people buy it. So the good news is that the Mondeo is a competitive mid-sizer.

Indeed, in isolation it's compelling. But competition is tougher only in the Golf/Mazda3 segment, so is being good quite good enough?

The Mondeo comes in two petrol and two diesel iterations. Our test model was a Zetec hatch, the 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol model with six-speed auto that will likely be the best seller.

Seen in the metal for the first time, it looks every bit as bracing as when punted along by Daniel Craig in the latest James Bond flick.

As a 4 1/2-person family car, it has all the room you could reasonably want, with the added facility of the hinged hatch roof and fold-flat rear seats.

It's big in there. Tardis-like. At this point, you begin to wonder if there is any point strolling further up the dealer's lot towards the Falcons, especially as the Mondeo's $34,990 asking price is about par. Except we're not comparing Fords here and that ask is $2000 more than a Mazda6 Sport Hatch. And this is where the Mondeo's prospects start to dim. Not only is there a bigger, and what looks to be even better, new 6 coming here in May, the Ford's flat out being competitive next to the outgoing model. Visibility is blighted wherever you sit. Behind the wheel, the elephant's leg-thick A-pillars and Dumbo-like wing mirrors eat peripheral vision. The high waist and tall tail render the parking sensor a barely adequate precaution. And it's no bargain in the back.

While you don't lack for room, the view out ain't great and the lack of flow-through air contributes to claustrophobia. The active and passive safety package gets top marks, though, with seven airbags and DSC standard. Invariably, big dynamic claims are made for the Mondeo.

The 16-valve four-potter moves the car along adequately without moving it to the front of its class, with its 118kW less than the current Mazda6 of identical capacity. The 208Nm top torque comes late at 4200rpm. When the open-road going gets hilly, the six-speed slusher needs to be shifted manually back into fifth and even fourth. Combined consumption of 9.5L/100km is claimed. We did that on the freeway.

Then, with a porky 1537kg kerb weight, that's not altogether surprising. More than once we wondered if our colleagues who strongly advocate the diesel variants mightn't have a point. But then no front-wheel-drive oiler is likely to keep up with the Zetec when the road goes winding. This is where this particular Mondeo goes toward the head of its class, with a sharp turn in and balance served by lightly, but evenly weighted, steering. The car's heft actually works for it here.

Indeed, so adroit and assured does it feel when so deployed; and this is the conventionally suspended model riding on standard 16-inch rubber, that something a bit special can be expected of the more rarefied XR5. For its humbler sibling, however, any verdict has got to be subject to some serious caveats. Yes, Ford finally has itself a sound and serious contender in the class. It is just that it is receiving it at a time when the middle class is upwardly mobile.

The bottom line

Very good but no better than the Mazda6.

Snapshot

Ford Mondeo Zetec

Price: $34,990

Engine: 2.3L/4-cylinder; 118kW/208Nm

Economy: 9.5L/100km (claimed)

Transmission: 6-speed auto

The rivals

Mazda6 Sport Hatch

Price: $32,990

Engine: 2.3L/4-cylinder; 122kW/207m

Economy: 9.5L/100km

Transmission: 5-speed auto

Honda Accord Euro sedan

Price: $35,990

Engine: 2.4L/4-cylinder; 140kW/223Nm

Economy: 9.2L/100km

Transmission: 5-speed auto

Skoda Octavia sedan/hatch

Price: $33,290

Engine: 2.0L/4-cylinder; 110kW/200Nm

Economy: 8.6L/100km

Transmission: 6-speed auto