REVIEW
Gavin Foster Ford Mondeo 2,0 Ghia R183 000 The problem with being a car salesman today is that there are so few bad cars around. Many years ago buyers had limited choices, and the differences were clear cut. The guy who walked in through the door was a Ford man, or a Chev man, or a Mercedes-Benz man, and there wasnt much temptation to change.
Then things changed, and cars started becoming the same. Not only that, but the number of choices in this country increased by about 800%. And slowly, somewhere between then and now, Ford lost the plot a little. The blue oval blurred into a Mazda logo, and the brand lost much of its identity. Car lovers who used to argue the strengths of their Anglias and their Escorts and their Capris and their Sierras found it hard to be as passionate about their Lasers and their Fiestas. Good, reliable cars all, they just became well, mediocre. No worse than average, but no better either. But when the new Focus came along a year or two back Ford fans perked up a little. This seemed to be a true-blue Ford again. South Africans tried the new car for size and found that it fitted. The question was, could or would Ford keep it up, or was the Focus just a flash in the pan? Having enjoyed the R183 000 Ford Mondeo 2,0 Ghia the only version of the new Mondeo on offer at the moment for a week during which we covered nearly 500km, we believe that Ford is serious. Stylistically the Mondeo follows the cue of the Focus, with sharp creases rather than rounded curves along its flanks. But its in build quality and trim level that the real difference between these two and the companys offerings of the past few years differ. Sound proofing is better. Ride quality is in a different league to its predecessors. Trim fit is better than ever and equipment levels are as good as anybody else has to offer for the money. The new Mondeo is nearly 150mm longer than its less-inspiring predecessor of the same name, and a third of that is between the wheels, making for improved cabin space. Its also more powerful, with its new 1998cc twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder Duratec engine producing 107kW and 190Nm at 6 000rpm and 4 500rpm respectively. There are four wheel disc brakes with ABS, theres traction control, and theres an on-board computer. There are leather seats (electrically adjustable for the driver), a self-dipping interior mirror, and ISO-FIX child-seat attachment points. Theres a six-disc CD player, climate-control, electric windows, dual front airbags, side airbags and inflatable side curtains. Theres remote central locking, a hi-tech alarm system and immobiliser, and a cruise control with steering-wheel mounted controls. In short, theres not much left to wish for in terms of comfort or safety. From behind the wheel the initial impression is of class, and suddenly we start remembering just how much we enjoyed our Granadas and our Capris.
There is space aplenty, and for a car with a passenger airbag the cubby hole is a reasonable size for once. A small gripe is the lack of a footrest alongside the clutch pedal, but then the Cortina also had a few blemishes, remember?
Performance is lively. The engines extremely flexible, designed with a healthy midrange in mind, so its easy to drive fast and effortlessly. When you do need to change gear, though, the five-speed manual gearbox is a pleasure to operate. Accelerating from 0-100kph takes a shade under 10 seconds, and the top speed is around 215kph. Handling is sure-footed and planted, and the brakes are, as with just about every car these days, very good.
But back to our first impression the quietness and smoothness with which the Mondeo gets the job done lifts the companys image out of the rut of mediocrity into which so many Ford models have dragged it of late. It faces some pretty stiff opposition in its price range, and that raises about the only question still to be answered. Will the South African buyer be prepared to lay out roughly the same for a Ford Mondeo as he would for a BMW 318i or a Mercedes C180 Classic or an Audi A4 2,0 or a Volkswagen Passat 1,8 Turbo? We think its at least worth thinking about, which, considering the quality of the opposition, is not to damn it with faint praise.