New 07 Mondeo - Up Close and Personal

[Dshibi]

I had the fortune of seeing the new Mondeo up close and personal, in the flesh today at Darling Harbour. Ford had put up a small display of three cars, the Mondeo was the 'feature', with an LS Focus Sedan behind it, alongside a BF II Falcon Fairmont. The Mondeo example was grabbing all the attention in hatchback form it looked awesome!

First observations, this car looks as good as it's photos, if not better in reality! Stunning attention to detail, the interior looks and feels quality, the car feels solid. Pedals have good feel, the gearshift has good feel too... Layout and display are all nice, the key doesn't actually have a 'key' part to it, it's totally electronic, you only need to have the key on your person, and you can start the car. Very weird, but kinda cool? The ignition barrel doesn't actually exist! Of course there's a starter button tho, nice computer display on the dash, the leather seats were comfy too, and the rear was roomy as well... the boot was MASSIVE! Perfect for a huge audio system, or luggage, or shopping etc...

Though the rims are 18s, they look smaller. They're a similar style to the XR5T, but just don't look big, probably because of the 235/45 tyres. Head and taillight details were nice, the mesh for the front grills is ok (if I had to pick something I didn't like tho, that's it). Twin exhaust out the back, in tiny dump pipes tho.

The Ford Rep believes there'll be plenty Mondeo's to check out at Sydney's Motor Show in October, pricing is (by his estimate) to be between $30,000 and $40,000 - but these prices have no weight or validity.

Enough of my babblings, I'm sure you want to see the photos...

See larger ones here.

The New Mondeo (It even stopped raining for us to get a good look at it!)


Duratec I-5 (The Ford rep counted, yep, 5 cylinders in this one...)


The Cockpit (Nice display, though the UK website hints that this is only available in Titanium X models)


The Interior (Very nice, a great place to be!)


Rims (Hmm... nice enough I guess? 5x108 stud pattern if you want to change them)


The Boot (Spacious)


The Rear (Hatch obviously, but looks almost as good from this angle too!)


Dan

[Polyal]

Thats hot! And a hatch/sedan thing that looks good! Im hanging for the ST/XR model thats for sure.

[photn]

Nice.. has duel exhausts..... well i know what ma next car will be!

[Martyvan]

Mmmmmm. Thats all I can say, Bring on the wagon!

But, is that the non turbo I5 out of the Volvo?

I thought they were using a variation on the 2.3 I4 that is Mazda sourced? Using a Ford Diesel, and a Volvo sourced Turbo I5 ?

[DirtyHarry]

That car looks beautiful. Only downside - i suspect it may cannibalise some sales from Orion. I would certainly compare the two very closely.


And doesn't it just crap all over Epica?

Pig ugly wheels would have to go,though.

[Miyagi]

Cheers for the pics and write up Abraxas.

DH is on the money i wreckon... it'll take buyers away from the Orion but at least it'll keep buyers in the Ford family.

[Piotr]

It will take some sales away from the Orion but there will always be those bogans with the "Zomg its FWD = Death trap" mentality that will keep the falcon afloat.

Great car

[Martyvan]

There will be sales taken away from Falcon. But that will be smaller than the number of sales that are taken away from the VW Passat and potentially Camry, I think the Mondeo is actually bigger than the Camry... in fact, Camry would be where the biggest draw of customers is, Tier 2 Camry customers.... Although the grey army dont even notice any other brands....

[Ives]

Originally Posted by Martyvan

Mmmmmm. Thats all I can say, Bring on the wagon!

But, is that the non turbo I5 out of the Volvo?

It's a SLIGHTLY detuned engine that's in the XR5T.

MONDEO
2.5l Duratec I5

162kW @ 5000rpm
320Nw @ 1500-4800rpm



FOCUS XR5T
2.5l Duratec I5

166kW @ 6000rpm
320Nw @ 1600-4000rpm



However someone said that it might just be the exact same engine but different exhaust system/setup that makes the numbers vary a bit.