Back in 1995, the Ford Mondeo was a big hit, at the time it was one of the top five best-selling cars on the market. Jump forward to today and the medium-range D-segment car competes in a very different landscape. Many of the customers that remain saloon fans, are financing premium badges yet the Mondeo is still here.
Large, comfortable and accommodating in the estate and hatch versions of the fourth-generation (Mk5), that’s now been significantly improved, especially in its frugal hybrid form. The Mondeo has always been a car with a very advanced set of driving dynamics, sophisticated enough to be involving only when you want it to be. You could say it still is though you’d also have to qualify that statement by referencing the way that in fourth-generation form the Mondeo has grown up becoming a little more mature, with slightly softer edges and a whole lot more refined.
For the improved version of this fourth generation model, Ford has introduced a more efficient and responsive 2 litre EcoBoost and is the only engine in the range to get the brand’s latest 8-speed auto gearbox. If you choose the 190 PS model you will be offered the option of the brand’s clever intelligent all wheel drive system. The petrol units continue on with the older 6-speed box. Also there is a manual gearbox option with a base 1.5 litre EcoBoost 165 PS power plant. Most petrol Mondeo’s will be fitted out with a self charging hybrid engine.
The 2 litre CVT petrol unit is mated to an 88 kilowatt electric motor and a 1.4 kilowatt hour lithium ion battery that both sit at the back of the car but drive the front wheels via a power split 6-speed automatic transmission.
That auto box decides at any given time where the power should come from, the engine, the electric motor, both at once or neither. The whole setup isn’t especially responsive to your right foot which dilutes this Ford’s inherently engineered sense of driving pleasure but it is quite economical if driven with restraint. Up to 50 2.3 mpg on the WLTP combined cycle is possible with 98 g/km of co2.
If there’s one thing that’s defined Mondeo design over the years, it’s that it’s become bigger and more upmarket with each passing generation. This current fourth-generation design is no exception to that rule of evolution but needs an extra layer of polish to justify the sums being asked for plusher variants.
As ever the range is primarily built around two body styles, this estate or a five-door hatch. If you opt for the hybrid engine tested here then your choice is between this estate or a four-door saloon. Changes have been made to trim and dashboard architecture plus automatic versions of conventional models now feature a circular gear selector otherwise things are much as they were when the mark four was launched back in 2014.
Eco blue diesel technology has brought the running cost back into the black and this car is back on the pace in terms of safety and technology. Value is as it always was, a Mondeo strong point across the range. The variant fitted with the 2-litre EcoBoost diesel engine would best emphasize that attribute. In summary, the bottom line is that the Mondeo has evolved, it has matured but it still has plenty to offer.