First drive: Ford Mondeo

The new Ford Mondeo has been a long time coming. In fact, on a global view it's not that new at all, having been on sale in the US for two years or so. This car should have been on forecourts across Europe more than 18 months ago.

The delay was down to the decision to move Mondeo's European production from Genk, Belgium, to a new production line in Valencia, Spain. The wind-down of the Belgian operation meant that Ford could either produce both old and new Mondeos for a few months or simply stick it out with the old model until the Spanish plant was up and running and Genk was closed.

Probably correctly, Ford opted for the latter strategy, so we are getting the new Mondeo some time later than the US.

Better late than never, however, for the car arrives at the same time as its archrival, the Volkswagen Passat. (Read our review of the new VW Passat and watch our test drive at irishtimes.com/motors.) Both will go head to head for buyers in 2015.

So what’s the new car like? Well, the look is far more striking than in the past, dominated by the large front grille. Otherwise the silhouette remains largely the same, though the car does seem longer than before, particularly in the five-door version.

Inside, the Mondeo has had a significant revamp, with higher-spec models getting a large touchscreen system in the central console that means at least a dozen buttons and knobs have been removed. Powered by the latest Microsoft Sync system, the Ford 8in touchscreen not only offers tablet-like controls but leans heavily on a much-improved voice-control system.

Along with the regular voice commands, such as “radio, 2FM”, you can also use more general commands, such as, “I’m hungry, find me a nearby restaurant”. The system will not only offer you a choice of venues but will also programme the satnav to bring you to that destination or offer you the option of phoning the restaurant as well. Similar to Siri, it has the same kind of quirky commands and responses, and the same limitations. A lot of the technical information, such as lane assist, speed limit indicator and the latest pedestrian braking system, are all illustrated in the driver’s binnacle, which is a cluttered affair. There’s arguably too much information being given to the driver in this console.

Relatively simple interior

Aside from these new displays the rest of the Mondeo interior is relatively simple, if not as refined or stylish as that in the new Passat, for example. The plastics don’t have the tactile quality of other rivals, including the Hyundai i40.

There is better news on the road, where the Mondeo proves it’s still one of the most agile performers in the family-car market. In the test car, the ride quality seemed more tuned towards comfort than dynamic driving, but it still soaked up some poorly surfaced roads while keeping its poise when cornering at speed.

I would refrain from claiming that the Mondeo is still the family-car benchmark for ride and handling until I get a longer test, but it’s no slouch. This is the first car to be built on the firm’s latest midsize platform, and this first taster suggests something promising.

The test car was a two-litre, six-speed TDCi 180bhp diesel and it was impressively responsive. There is also a 150bhp version of this engine on offer, along with a 1.6-litre 115bhp diesel, which would seem small for such a sizable car. The 150bhp is a second slower than the 180bhp from 0km/h to 100km/h, while the 1.6-litre 115bhp takes a positively Buddhist approach to acceleration with a time of 12.1 seconds.

It’s a similar timescale for the one-litre ecoboost, while the emissions for it are 119g/km. It’s a fantastic little engine in the Fiesta and well able for the Focus platform, even in its estate format, but we reserve judgment on what it’s like in a Mondeo until we get a chance to drive it.

Ford is also introducing a petrol-electric hybrid version of the Mondeo, combining a two-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with a lithium-ion 1.4kWh battery pack. The end result claims a fuel economy of 4.2 l/100km (67.3mpg) and emissions of just 99g/km. Those are impressive figures for a car of this size, and our experience behind the wheel of the hybrid Mondeo showed it does make much of the battery power, even if it’s not a plug-in system, which would have been a boon. We managed to drive 17km of a 35km trip on electric-only, admittedly in traffic and with only a short burst of motorway driving.

Continuously variable

That said, Ford has opted for a continuously variable transmission, which is far from perfect for the car’s poise or refinement. It lets the two-litre engine rev far too high on the kickdown and is simply too slow to change, making a bit of a mockery of what should be a powerful petrol engine.

The big news on the powertrain front is that, as expected, Ford will offer the new Mondeo with its one-litre Ecoboost petrol engine. That’s a brave move, especially in a traditional market where engine size was historically a key factor.

Back to the new features: the Mondeo also gets active park assist, which includes perpendicular parking. This means that the car will parallel park for you automatically, and all you have to do is control the pedals for speed and braking (the car does the steering and turning, and gets the angles right). The system is on several other cars these days, so it’s not a first, but it’s one of the quicker, more intuitive self- parking systems we’ve tested.

The car also has Ford’s active city-stop system, which automatically applies the brakes at speeds up to 40km/h if a driver fails to respond to alerts that a collision, with another car or a pedestrian, is about to occur. It also has an industry first with its inflatable rear seatbelts. In an accident, the belt rapidly expands to disperse crash forces across a body area five times greater than that achieved by a conventional seatbelt.

So that's the new tech, but what about prices? Ford Ireland is playing coy about its pricing policy, but it will confirm that the car will start at €28,995, though that means little when you can't do a direct comparison with rivals.

The Mondeo retains its position as one of the most enjoyable family cars to drive, and the new Sync system means there is a certain tech excitement about a model that should have been on sale here two years ago. With cut-throat competition in this sector, both from family car rivals and the host of crossovers luring buyers to alternative formats, the success of the Mondeo depends on Ford getting its pricing right. We shall wait and see the results of that before making a final judgment call.

The lowdown: New Ford Mondeo

Engines:

Petrol: one-litre Ecoboost 125bhp: emissions 119g/km, fuel economy 5.1 l/100km.

1.5-litre EcoBoost 160bhp: emissions 134g/km, fuel economy 5.8 l/100km.

Two-litre EcoBoost 200bhp auto: emissions 146g/km, fuel economy 6.3 l/100km

Diesel: 1.6-litre TDCi ECOnetic 115bhp diesel: emissions 94g/km, fuel economy 3.6l/100km.

1.6-litre TDCI 115bhp diesel: emissions 109g/km, fuel economy 4.2 l/100km.

Two-litre TDCI 150bhp diesel: emissions 115g/km, fuel economy 4.4 l/100km.

Two-litre TDCI 180bhp diesel: emissions 115g/km, fuel economy 4.4 l/100km.

(Fuel and emissions figures for five-door version.)

Formats: Five-door or four-door saloon and estate version.

Specification on Mondeo for Ireland

Zetec includes: 16in alloy wheels; front fog lamps; quick-clear windscreen; daytime running lights; trip computer; MyKey; Sync; cruise control; leather steering wheel/gear lever; power front and rear windows; and auto start-stop.

Titanium features: 17in alloy wheels; chrome door-line; auto lights and wipers; power-fold mirrors; front and rear parking sensors; lane-keeping aid; traffic sign recognition; Sync Gen 2; 8in touchscreen; sport seats; and auto dimming mirror.

Arrives in Ireland: Start of next month (November)