Ford will again present a wide range of versions of the Mondeo, from the tricuerpo sedan, the five-door “Estate” bicuerpo to a typical Station Wagon with design influences from the recent Ford S-Max.
The exterior design of the new Mondeo shows an obvious and intentional link with Volvo models, now belonging to Ford. The overall look delicately combines a sporty feel with the elegance expected in a sedan of this size and category. In this latter aspect it outstrips its competitor, the Vauxhall Vectra.
As far as engines are concerned, the 2008 Ford Mondeo has nafteros and diesel engines. Duratorq 4-cylinder engines are available in a variety of cylinders and power ranges between 1,800 and 2,000 cm3. But the highlight is a drive specially designed for sports performance, being a Duratec with 5 cylinders and 2,500 cm3 coupled to a manual six-speed Durashift gearbox.
The revamped Ford Mondeo features improvements to its platform. The increase in the troches and the new rear suspensions significantly improved maneuverability and dynamic stability. In general, in the rest of the components of the platform there are no major changes.
The interior has a combination of textile materials with metallic elements that give a sporty but rather elegant character. The dashboard features analog instruments combined with a large central LCD display (6 inches) in colors. The most important thing is the improvement in the quality of completion, a detail that Ford has been improving a lot in the Mondeo in recent years.
While Ford won't live up to the most exclusive compact sedans like Audi or like-minded, it's certainly a little higher than its then direct rivals, like the Vauxhall in Britain. The small advantage lies both in design details and in complexity and quality of equipment.
© Adrián Blanco 2007 - No full or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
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