Test Drive Ford Mondeo Sedan 2000 - 2003 Sedan

Change of political platform

Ford Motor Co. It does not boast of success in Western Europe - sales continue to fall. For example, by the end of the first half of 1999, the company had 11.5% of the market, and in a year - 10.3% (ACEA data). Sales decreased by 8.6% - to 849.365 cars. In 2000, the company was forced to close the plant in English Dagenhem and take a number of tough savings measures ...

Causes are not too a clear strategy for replacing models, lack of proposals in the rapidly growing sector of mini-control and inattention to gaining popularity of diesel engines. (We emphasize that the above concerns Europe only, in the US, the situation is different.)

Speaking in Paris, Nick Sile, Chairman of the Ford of Europe, admitted that the company is not in better form. And he said that there are plans to triple (SIC!) The frequency of release of new models and pay more attention to improving the company's image.

The premiere of the new Ford Mondeo is the first step towards fixing the situation. Actually, the premiere in Paris was the show of Mondeo-Universal (sedan and visually indistinguishable five-door hatchback debuted earlier).

In order to correctly assess the exceptional importance of a new model for Ford Motor Co., it is worth considering the historical perspective ...

The attractive idea of \u200b\u200bthe car for the whole world at one time, the company first tried to embody in the Ford Escort model. It did not come out: European cars - in order to sell them and in the United States, they had to redo themselves, and all the savings went to the rush.

The second attempt was Ford Mondeo (in the USA - Ford Contour / Mercury Mystique), which appeared in 1993. Trying to fix missiles with the Escort model, the company threatened to create Mondeo 8 years and $ 6 billion. Again it did not work out - for American buyers, the salon was not enough. ..

In general, Mondeo seemed to be earned - $ 6,014 billion (profit of 0.23%). And so a penny, and if we take into account the temporary factor, the economic downturn of the early 90s and the highest financial mathematics, it turns out that theoretical income in fact turned into serious practical losses. It's a shame - after all, the car was not bad (in vain, or her chassis, Jeki Stewart himself was engaged!).

Some advantages from this epic has yet learned. The main achievement is buried the idea of \u200b\u200ba global car. If the old Mondeo produced on both sides of the ocean, then the new will be made only in Europe (in Belgium), and in the USA are not going to sell. In addition, no extra time for the development did not spend - the whole family of cars was created for 13 months ...

What is the main thing in the universal (if it is not Alfa Romeo Sportwagon or Audi RS4)? Of course, internal volume. In this regard, Mondeo did not give up. Space for rear seat passengers - a record in class. Or take the trunk. Brand floor. Behind the backs of the rear seats - 540 l (to the waist line) or 830 l (to the ceiling). If the backs are folded - 1020 and 1700 liters, respectively. In the first case, the length of the cargo will be 1140 mm, in the second - 1982 mm. The distance between the wheeled arches, determining the width of the cargo being transported, is 1146 mm.

The door was made as wide as possible, the big glass provided good visibility, and the design of the rear lights turned out to be interesting.

Herrt Hoker Hechleter from Merkenich Design Studio in Kchull - Mondeo's chief designer - claims that the wagon was designed separately and is not a simple alteration of sedan: staying within the framework of the European C / D class, we created a universal that is perceived as a D-class car in terms of Its statics, capacity and opportunities.

The rear suspension is different from the sedan and hatchback - it is made on the levers of unequal length (as in the previous model). It is due to its compactness that the luggage compartment managed to make such a roomy. The rear suspension can be self-leveling (optional).

For the station wagon, three engines are offered, two of them are new. The 4-cylinder gasoline gamma DURATEC HE constitutes three motors with volumes of 1.8 liters (110 hp and 160 nm or 125 hp and 170 nm) and 2.0 liters (145 hp and 190 nm). The DuratorQ Di family includes two 2 liters of turbodiesel with direct injection (90 or 115 hp, the latter develops a torque of 280 nm at 1900 rpm.). The most powerful motor - 2.5 liters of Duratec V6 (170 hp and 220 nm) - borrowed from the previous model.

Depending on the engine (DURATEC HE - easier, DuratorQ di and Duratec V6 - Hazard) The car is equipped with a steering control with different gear ratios, which should provide the same handling ...

But back to the historical perspective. For seven years in 60 countries sold about 2.5 million Mondeo cars. The peak of European sales (350,000 cars) fell in 1994 - the first after the release. Nick shive expects to sell 285-300 thousand cars in 2001, and later to keep the bar at 250-275 thousand. These volumes will help hold prices (not yet announced) at a decent level - it is better to sell smaller, but earn more.

By the way, the expected fraction of the Mondeo-wagon in the total sales should be about 40%.

Mikhail Vasilyev
 

A source: Magazine Motor [№12 / 2000]