Twenty years ago , Ford went on sale, which quite possibly saved the European division of the American automaker. The Mondeo mid-class sedan , liftback or station wagon is celebrating a round birthday this year.
It all started back in 1986, when Ford started a project to replace the popular but slowly aging Sierra. Development took place simultaneously in the US and UK, and Ford pumped a staggering $6 billion into the entire project. This amount remains among the records even today. So the Mondeo had to succeed.
The first generation was presented at the Paris Motor Show in 1992 and compared to the Sierra model it represented a small revolution. New design, Zetec engines and especially front wheel drive. Under the hood, at the beginning of sales, in 1993, 5 units appeared – petrol 1.6 (95 hp), 1.8 (116 hp), 2.0 (136 hp) and 2.0 4×4 (132 hp), respectively a single diesel unit 1.8 TD ( 90k). Later, a petrol 2.5 with 177 horsepower was added.
In addition to the sedan, a liftback and a practical station wagon went on sale in 1993. The revolutionary concept of Mondeo was appreciated by European customers and especially by journalists – Mondeo won the title of European Car of the Year in 1994 . Sales in the USA, where the Mondeo was sold as the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, can thus be considered the only flop.
In 1996, the second generation , sometimes referred to as the first generation facelift, hit the market. The fact remains that there is not much left of the first Mondeo that was new at the time – only the roof, doors and trunk lid of the station wagon version are mentioned. The design was also completely new with a larger grille and headlights. The four-wheel drive version disappeared from the engine range, instead the sporty ST200 model was added.
The range of engines at the time included petrol units 1.6 (95 hp), 1.8 (116 hp), 2.0 (131 hp), 2.5 (177 hp) and 2.5 ST200 (205 hp). Those who wanted a diesel had to reach for the 1.8 TD (90 hp) again. Just like in the first generation, the second generation also had station wagon and liftback versions. Production took place in Genk, Belgium until 2000.
Mondeo with serial number 3 was presented at the Paris Motor Show. It was designed in the brand's new New Edge design language (Focus or Ka), which brought far sharper lines than the generation before it. The third Mondeo also became the first to be officially unavailable for purchase in North America. The offer included station wagon and liftback versions, production of course took place in Genk. Jaguar even used this Mondeo as a basis for the creation of the X-Type model .
Under the hood, there were far more engines than usual. Of the petrol engines, they were Duratec units with a volume of 1.8 (110, 125 or 131 hp), 2.0 (145 hp), 2.5 (170 hp), 3.0 V6 (204 hp) and 3.0 V6 (226 hp) in the top version of the ST220. The big change was the offer of 2.0 (90, 116 or 131 hp) and 2.2 (155 hp) Duratorq diesel engines . It is worth mentioning the facelift of the third Mondeo, which took place in 2003 and was shown in the world premiere at the Brno Motor Show.
The fourth generation of the Mondeo was heralded by a concept from 2006, which was subsequently followed by a production model that first appeared in the Bond movie Casino Royal. Sales to regular customers started in 2007 in sedan, liftback and station wagon versions. The design was completely different from the previous generation. What Mondeo has completely won over customers is the interior space . The station wagon version in particular offers impressive space on the back seats and in the trunk.
Under the hood, many engines have changed over the course of six years. Of the petrol engines, there were naturally aspirated petrol units 1.6 Duratec (110, 120 and 125 hp), 2.0 (145 hp), 2.3 (161 hp) and 2.5 (220 hp) and turbocharged petrol units 1.6 EcoBoost (160 hp) and 2.0 EcoBoost (203 and 240 hp). There were also several diesels – 1.6 TDCi (115 hp), 1.8 TDCi (100 and 125 hp), 2.0 TDCi (115, 130, 140 and 163 hp) and 2.2 TDCi (175 and 200 hp). In its lifetime, the fourth Mondeo has received only one modernization in 2010.
The latest, fifth generation Mondeo wants to be global again. For the first time since the second generation, you can buy it in the USA (like the Ford Fusion) and for the first time since the first generation, it will not be produced in Genk, but in Valencia. European customers saw the Mondeo for the first time last year at the Paris Motor Show, but due to quality problems, we won't see the first cars until next year .
Under the hood, mainly units with a small volume will appear. We can therefore expect the award-winning three-cylinder EcoBoost engine, the 1.5 TDCi diesel engine and, for the first time, a hybrid variant. The return of all-wheel drive is also not excluded.
Source: Ford, autoevolution.com
