Mercedes-Benz E300 vs Ford Mondeo

What's the difference?

It might not be as tribal as Ford vs Holden, but there’s a rivalry between BMW and Mercedes-Benz that occasionally becomes more obvious - the launch of the new Mercedes E-Class only months after the BMW 5 Series being one of those times.

But Mercedes has done something different. Instead of multiple variants and electric cars under the E-Class banner, Australia gets just one, the E300.

Is it enough to tackle the big Bavarian sedan in the sales race? We attended the Australian launch just north of Melbourne to find out.

Yes, this is a Ford Mondeo review in Anno Domini 2018.

This assumes, of course, that Ford even still sells the Mondeo, and despite the fact that it's the third best-selling car in the segment, Ford oddly doesn't seem keen to talk about it.

Why? Perhaps Ford doesn't want anybody to get overly attached to a sedan-y hatch that has a cloudy future in an ever-shrinking mid-size market. After all, there's still a rather vocal sect of the population feeling burned by the end of the Falcon dynasty.

You'd also be right to assume those numbers are padded out a fair bit by corporate leases. Salesmen in England were long referred to as Mondoe Men for a reason. I'll tell you this much, though, I'd be pretty stoked if I got one of these Mondeos as a lease.

As an FG Falcon owner, for most intents and purposes it would even be a half-way decent replacement for my large sedan. Stick with me as I explain why.