Long-term test review: Ford Mondeo ~ station of gear

Ford Mondeo long-termer - first report header

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8 Jun, 2015 2:30pm Graham Hope

First report: False start hasn’t spoiled our enjoyment of classy Ford

And so I’ve become that most celebrated of nineties cultural icons, Mondeo Man. For those too young to remember, Mondeo Man was the aspirational everyman who was targeted for votes by the political parties at the 1997 General Election.

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The Mondeo of those days was the kind of car he might feasibly have owned. Fast forward 18 years, and I’d wager Mondeo Man might be slightly surprised at how significantly his car has changed. Because Ford has gone hi-tech, and a bit posh, too.

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The Mondeo that has just joined our fleet is a very plush bit of kit with genuine upmarket appeal, especially in our attractive Ruby Red special metallic paint (a £795).Mondeo Man might baulk at the price, too. A host of cutting-edge extras has hiked the cost up from £24,545 to a weighty £31,685.

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Among the highlights are a panoramic roof, Sony DAB nav with 12 speakers, safety systems including Active Park Assist, Active City Stop and blind-spot monitoring, plus a Titanium X Pack with LED headlamps, leather seats, keyless entry and privacy glass.

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It’s all very desirable. But there’s one extra that’s got my time with the Mondeo off to a false start. The inflatable seatbelts fitted to the rear of the car are a very clever idea that improve safety by spreading the impact of a crash over five times more body area than normal belts. They’re more comfortable to wear, too, due to the soft edges. But parents of young children need to make sure they read the small print before ordering – as they are not compatible with belt-fitted non-Isofix seats for the very young.

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The Mondeo brochure only highlights their compatibility with booster seats – rather than non-compatibility with others – so you’ll need to rely on dealers knowing their stuff if you order one in the showroom. Ordering online makes it clearer, but it’s still possible to miss the disclaimer. And I’d wager there will be plenty of people who buy and run this car for a while before falling pregnant who’ll be caught out by this anomaly.

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While my five-year-old daughter Isla’s Isofix booster is easily attached, the car seat I’ve been using for my two-and-a-half-year-old Erin – the swivelling MaxiCosi Axiss – isn’t compatible, so that’s rather curtailed my time in the Mondeo so far. And alternatives – well, Isofix, front-facing, swivelling ones – are thin on the ground. However, the good news is I now have a £400 Cybex Sirona on order that should fit the bill.

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When I have managed to get behind the wheel, the overriding impression is just how vast the Ford is. Not only has Mondeo Man grown up, but the car has, too. The drive is more mature than before – where once a Mondeo relished being hustled along a back road, it’s now more at ease on the motorway.

The 178bhp 2.0-litre TDCi engine provides adequate, if not startling, punch, while remaining impressively hushed, and Ford promises fuel economy in the region of 64.2mpg is achievable. We’ll be keeping an eye on how close we get to that.

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The feeling of vastness is exemplified by the boot, which at 541 litres – or 1,437 with the seats down – will be able to cope with all I could reasonably expect to carry. All in all, the Mondeo is shaping up to be a fine family car for the Hopes – once our new child seat arrives, of course, and I can actually take the tiniest member of the family with us…

*Insurance quote from AA (0800 107 0680) for a 42-year-old in Banbury, Oxon, with three points.

Anyone who hasn’t been in a Ford for a while might be taken aback at the Mondeo. It’s a big, serious car with a focus on refinement and an array of hi-tech kit. At over £31,000 for our model, though, it’s a long way from being the kind of car Mondeo Man once aspired to.

Model: Ford Mondeo Titanium 2.0 TDCi 180
Price new: £24,545
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl diesel, 178bhp
CO2/tax: 115g/km/£30
Options: Ruby Red metallic paint (£795), panoramic roof (£600), power tailgate (£400), rear unblinds (£125), Sony DAB touchscreen nav with 12 speakers (£450), inflatable rear seatbelts (£175), Active Park Assist (£545), Active City Stop (£200)

Options (cont.): Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Mitigation (£900), blind spot monitoring system (£500), rear view camera (£250), power adjustable and memory steering column (£200), Titanium X pack (£2,000)
Insurance*: Group: 27, Quote: £367
Mileage/mpg: 1,687/43.5mpg
Any problems?: None so far

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