Ford Mondeo Reviews

The traditional prestige players are priced beyond the means of most of us -- but the qualitative difference separating the business class and the topline versions of the rest has diminished to the point of non-existence. All right, you'll look better in the car park comparison stakes if you drive the exxier choices listed here, but you're by no means always driving the better car.WAGONSOne's a classy Volkswagen Group sport wagon with a direct injection turbo petrol engine with the option of a cutting-edge transmission. And so's the Audi.The Czech-made Skoda is essentially a bigger in the body, more discreet, better riding and cheaper VW Golf GTI, the car that more than any other blurs the distinction between the prestige pack and the rest.The handling-enhancing electronic diff of the new GTI is on its way to the RS, so while the twin clutch DSG adds $2300, the generous standard kit (including tasty 18s) and skinny options list means there's not a lot more to spend. Rare is the Audi of which that can be said.The output of the front-wheel-drive Avant's turbo four is similar (132kW/320Nm plays Skoda's 147kW/280Nm), limited for its continuously variable transmission. Quattro and the full-fat engine sets you back another $13,000 -- and the premium is already just a bit silly.SEDANSOne's a perfectly balanced, rear-wheel-drive, inline petrol six with great steering and a six-speed ZF automatic. And so's the BMW.All right, we're comparing a big tarted-up Aussie taxi with a thoroughbred mid-size Bavarian sport sedan here, but what of it? Priced $33K south, this Falcon is probably the best-value car in the country on a metal for money basis and that price difference buys a lot of basic unleaded petrol for that 4.0-litre atmo six with its whacking 195kW/391Nm. If there's a quickish car that rides as well as the Falcon, it's known not unto us.As to the Bimmer, well, you'd go there if you could, even if the peerless handling comes at the price of run-flat tyres and an options list to make your eyes bleed.DIESELSOne's a European-built front-wheel-drive with a sophisticated turbodiesel engine and bank-vault build quality. And so's the Volvo. Now the first prestige Euro to be owned by a Chinese company, Volvo did rather well out of its association with Ford (certainly better than Saab did out of GM). But the years of proximity invite comparison.Long the choice of UK sales reps and families, the Mondeo's marriage of the diesel with an auto and capable dynamics give it a comfortable niche position at this level of the market. The Titanium edition gives the long Ford the trim and kit to compare with the premium brigade.Despite its more potent five-cylinder engine and Swedish aura of invulnerability, we just can't see the extra spend in the stolid Volvo.SUVSOne's the best-driving compact SUV and... uh, that's the BMW, actually. We've often said that if BMW made front-wheel-drive family cars they'd handle like Mazdas, so the two brands' respective four-wheel-drives should logically be even closer.Not quite, but not to the extent that the X3 is nigh-on $20K better. The X3's only real advantage in Australia's restricted conditions is its standard six-speed auto. Stop us if you're tired of hearing this, Mazda doesn't yet have a slusher for its diesel.While the Mazda's engine is slightly bigger and more potent than the BMW diesel, it has to haul a nearly two-tonne kerb weight. The X3 is 250kg lighter but, within, it's also the most dated Bimmer.How much is that badge worth, again?

But the really important question is: what do women want in a car?Finding the answer keeps carmakers tossing and turning at night, because they are well aware that women choose more than half the vehicles sold in Australia. There are all the ones they buy for themselves, as well as the deciding vote on most of the ones bought by households.Sorry, fellas. It’s true. No matter how much you want that souped-up sports car, unless the head of household finances agrees you may as well back away from the vehicle now.One of the earliest attempts to deliver a car for women was the mid-1950s Dodge La Femme. It was actually a 1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer under the skin, but the Detroit designers camouflaged that skin as thoroughly as a make-up artist doing Vogue covers.The car was decked out in pink paint, with an interior covered in pink vinyl, set off by pink rosebud tapestry. And to show that this was not merely a cynical marketing exercise, Dodge kitted the car with accessories they thought reflected the growing independence of post-World War II women moving into meaningful career paths - a pink handbag complete with office essentials like a matching powder compact, lipstick case and comb.Sales estimates run as low as less than 1000 cars. And the pink panderer was quickly dropped from the Dodge range at the end of the following year.Australia’s own Carla Zampatti tweaked a Ford specifically for women in the 1980s, but whether it won women - with accessories including a hanging hook for handbags - is still open to question.However, Dodge and Ford weren’t completely on the wrong track. Women want a car to be stylish, but also practical. Luckily, these days there are quite a few vehicles that fit the bill – without playing the pink paint card. These are the best style picks for women today, from a woman's perspective, with the figures for the basic car.Don’t agree with these? Let us know what YOU think women want in a car in our poll at left.LIGHTMazda2Price: from $16,030Engine: 76kW/137Nm 1.5-litre petrolTransmission: manualEconomy: 6.4L/kmEmissions: 152g/kmThe baby 2 has cute and slightly edgy looks, is compact with usable space, and the long doors make it easy to get in the back seat. The auto will be preferred by most, but it adds to the weight of the little car.Close calls: Ford Fiesta from $16,990; Peugeot 207 from $22,490.SMALLBMW 1-SeriesPrice: from $38,900Engine: 160kW/270Nm 2.0-litre petrolTransmission: manualEconomy: 8.2L/kmEmissions: 190g/kmA pocket-sized entry in German prestige – without breaking the pocket. Looks stunning, an amazing amount of room, and great to drive.Close calls: Mazda3 from $21,330; Hyundai i30 from $20,390.MEDIUMFord MondeoPrice: from $31,990Engine: 118kW/208Nm 2.3-litre petrolTransmission: manualEconomy: 9.5L/kmEmissions: 227g/kmThe best thing Ford has brought to Australia in … ever, possibly. Enough space to make you wonder if you’ll ever need a larger car, elegant design and well built.Close calls: Mazda6 from $31,834; Audi A5 Sportback from $78,400.LARGEAudi A6Price: from $74,500Engine: 125kW/350Nm 2.0-litre petrolTransmission: automaticEconomy: 5.8L/kmEmissions: 153g/kmThere’s not a high chic quotient in this class - where the homegrown Falcon and Commodore lean more to aggressive styling - so the Audi’s restrained elegance makes it a clear winner.Close calls: Honda Accord from $36,381Mercedes-Benz E-Class from $80,900.PEOPLE MOVERHonda OdysseyPrice: from $46,166Engine: 132kW/218Nm 2.5-litre petrolTransmission: manualEconomy: 8.9L/kmEmissions: 212g/kmIn a class that’s dominated by lumpy boxes, the Odyssey is a sleek stand-out. It's low-slung, car-like and leading with a fashionable face.Close calls: Citroen C4 Grand Picasso from $39,990; Chrysler Voyager $60,990.SPORTYBMW Mini Cooper ClubmanPrice: from $36,600Engine: 88kW/160Nm 1.6-litre petrolTransmission: automaticEconomy: 6.8L/kmEmissions: 163g/kmA bonsai wagon with go-kart street cred and revamped retro lines, this one will get admiring glances from everybody.Close calls: Kia Cerato Koup from $23,690; Audi S3 from $69,100.CONVERTIBLEVolkswagen EosPrice: from $47,990Engine: 103kW/320Nm dieselTransmission: automaticEconomy: 6.0L/kmEmissions: 158g/kmThe EOS is streamlined and sophisticated, looks equally good with the roof open or closed – and has enough room in the back to get a couple of extra friends in for short trips.Close calls: BMW Z4 from $86,200; Lexus IS250C from $80,150. SUVHyundai ix35Price: from $26,990Engine: 122kW/197Nm petrolTransmission: manualEconomy: 8.5L/kmEmissions: 201g/kmThere’s heaps of practicality but precious little style in the SUV paddocks. But Hyundai’s new compact ix35 proves you can have both. Ultra-modern lines, trim shape and space to spare.Close calls: Jeep Wrangler (medium) from $31,590; Land Rover Range Rover Sport (large) from $99,900.

It's been seven years since Ford had a Mondeo in its line up; the last one was a flop, but this latest - and innovative - version comes with impeccable credentials.

Time changes everything in the car business.The latest example is the Ford Mondeo, withdrawn from sales here in 2000 when company president Tom Gorman said it was important to concentrate on volume sellers, not “rats and mice”.Now the rat is back as a far different creature from the dowdy mid-sizer that failed at its first try here in the days when Ford was the Falcon motor company.Gorman now says the move away from big cars and the boom in small and medium-car sales makes the Mondeo a must.“The growth in this mid-size segment, the growth in four-cylinders, has been significant and we had to respond to that,” he says.“If that hadn't happened, if oil prices hadn't moved and petrol prices hadn't moved correspondingly, I don't think we would have been in the position to say we can make good solid business sense of this.”Ford is making a conservative sales forecast of 500 Mondeo deliveries a month, with a sedan and hatch priced from $29,990.But that could easily be beaten.“Nearly everything in the Mondeo's segment, except (sales leader) Camry, is doing low volume,” he says.“But if you look at Toyota's numbers, they're making the numbers by flogging rental cars. If you look at what they do with Corolla and Camry, and even Aurion, it's a ton of rental cars."“We're trying to get into a better space and get more private buyers.”The European-built Mondeo has plenty of cabin space, a good spread of powertrains including a diesel, generous equipment, a strategic price that should avoid the pitfall that undermined Holden's Vectra, which shoppers saw as being too close in price to the Commodore; and fantastic looks.The four models start with the $29,990 sedan-only LX. It has a 118kW/208Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder Duratech engine mated to a six-speed automatic with sport and simulated manual modes.And it has an impressive safety kit, including stability control, traction assist to stop the wheels spinning on take-off, and anti-skid brakes with emergency brake assist and brakeforce distribution.In case of a crash, it has seven airbags, twin front, side, full-length curtain and driver's knee and retracting pedals.Available across the range is a clever 'Human Machine Interface' or, in other words, extra information controls on the steering wheel. It also has a cap-less fuel filler, MP3 jack on the audio, and lumbar adjustment for the driver. But you wind the back windows by hand and the wheels are 16-inch steel.The $34,990 Zetec gets the same powertrain as a sedan and hatch, but picks up power to the rear windows and adds some body trim, 17-inch alloy wheels (with a steel spare) foglamps, dual-zone climate-controlled airconditioning, cruise nanny, driver-height adjustment, premium six-stack audio, touches of leather, cruise control and parking sensors.Another $3000 buys the TDCi with the same body choices and equipment list, but with the auto box joined to a 96kW/320Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel.Topping the range is the $41,990 XR5 Turbo sedan with a six-speed manual and the same Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre Duratech five-cylinder used in the Focus XR5, though detuned by 4kW to 162kW and 320Nm.The XR5 gets everything from the Zetec/TDCi level, plus 18-inch alloys, alcantara and leather upholstery, heated front seats with more adjustment, ambient lighting, sportier body kit, lowered suspension, push-button start and a 15cm colour screen in the instrument cluster.Options include a $450 Bluetooth voice control that allows you to play with the phone, radio, airconditioning and audio system, though the female voice is firm in not allowing any shades of meaning in the commands.Ford says both petrol engines post fuel figures of 9.5 litres for 100km and the diesel comes in at 7.3. On the roadThe Mondeo is close to the Falcon in interior size and feel; and the cabin design makes a successful stab at quality and attractiveness levels that could appeal to premium buyers.However, there are some annoyances, like a dash-top vent that reflects noticeably on to the windscreen and a couple of plastic accents that stumble between sporty and tacky.But there is no mistaking the excellent build and solidity.And the Mondeo feels like it might be breaking out of the mid-size segment as far as road behaviour is concerned.The broad footprint adds balance that helps blot out some of the downsides of other front-wheel drives; the car feels nicely balanced and poised, and the steering sharp and well-weighted.The smaller petrol engine is a reasonably smart performer, but can be a little lacklustre if left to snooze with the transmission in full auto.Thankfully, the Sport auto mode produces such a noticeable change in response that the quick-shifting simulated manual gate is almost superfluous unless you want to play during a bit of cornering.Keen drivers will choose the XR5 with its flat spread of torque and tauter suspension and the nicely defined feel of the manual shift.However, the TDCi is the pick of the Mondeo powertrains and its slightly agricultural start-up sound is soon forgotten as you tap into the strong reserves of torque.Ford expects the Zetec to be the main seller, with 50 per cent of Australian deliveries, followed by the TDCi and LX, 20 per cent each, and the XR5, with the remaining 10. Inside viewFord MondeoPrices: from $29,990 (LX sedan) to $41,990 (XR5 hatch)Body: Four-door sedan and five-door hatchEngines: 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel; 2.3-litre four-cylinder petrol; 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged petrolPower: 96kW (2.0); 118kW (2.3); 162kW (2.5)Torque: 320Nm (2.0); 208Nm (2.3); 320Nm (2.5)Transmissions: Six-speed automatic or six-speed manual (2.5 only)