Mondeo - Time for a new name?

[martin84]

The Ford Mondeo is a brilliant car, im sure most would agree with that. However its now being outsold by the Vauxhall Insignia, BMW 3 Series and most depressingly of all the Nissan Qashqai. Most of them on the road are probably fleet cars, being a Ford it depreciates like hell and as good a car as the mk4 is i dont think its struck a chord like previous ones did. Nobody goes 'oh i'd love one of those Mondeo's!!' do they?

Is Mondeo-Man yesterdays man? Is the current Mondeo too big? (Bigger than the old Scorpio). Ford's flagship rep/family motor has never really had 100% approval since the Cortina went out of production in 1982. People were so-so about the Sierra and i think the Mondeo is dropping off the map.

Is it time for Ford to put the Mondeo to bed and make something else?

[Chicharito]

Nothing wrong with the name - everything to do with the car being dull and uninspiring to both look at and drive.

Ford's lunatic pricing policy hasn't helped - last time I checked our fleet car choices, a Mondeo 2.0TDCI Zetec attracted an employee contribution, yet a Passat 2.0TDI Sport was 'free' - and that's before you take into account list prices and company car tax.

[martin84]

The price is bonkers i must admit and why is there no 2.5 model with full leather interior like the old Ghia X's?

Ford confuse me these days generally as i still cant see why you'd buy a Focus over the cheaper 5 door Fiesta now.

[Matt UK]

Chicharito said:

Nothing wrong with the name - everything to do with the car being dull and uninspiring to both look at and drive.

Ford's lunatic pricing policy hasn't helped - last time I checked our fleet car choices, a Mondeo 2.0TDCI Zetec attracted an employee contribution, yet a Passat 2.0TDI Sport was 'free' - and that's before you take into account list prices and company car tax.

Agreed - at my work the reps take the 3 series as the 'cheap option'

[T84]

It will probably be gone soon.

Ford have standardised the Focus for the US and EU markets, and the Mondeo doesn't exist in the US, so I imagine they will remove the Mondeo and make the USA sedan the EU version as well.

[martin84]

Good point with the Focus. The Focus and Fiesta are now 'World' cars and the Mondeo isnt sold in the US, it used to be sold as the 'Contour' but sales were poor. The UK has always been the Mondeo's main market and the UK doesnt want it anymore.

[Chicharito]

martin84 said:

Ford confuse me these days generally as i still cant see why you'd buy a Focus over the cheaper 5 door Fiesta now.

The Fiesta is a horrid little car with tiny boot and no rear legroom.

[martin84]

Chicharito said:

The Fiesta is a horrid little car with tiny boot and no rear legroom.

Like a Focus...

[gsfrontera]

martin84 said:

Nobody goes 'oh i'd love one of those Mondeo's!!' do they?

I did when I got rid of my last car, all I wanted was an ST Mondeo. Got one now, had it nearly 3 years and love it

[jbi]

too expensive...

Bring in a top of the range saloon like the ford taurus and price the "middle of the range" mondeo accordingly

[Negative Creep]

The problem, at least in this country, is that people would far rather be seen in a "premium" A4 or 3 Series. I haven't checked the figures but going by what I see on the roads, the current model appears to have been a bit of a flop

[xrv]

martin84 said:

why is there no 2.5 model with full leather interior like the old Ghia X's?

You not looked at the range recently? Full leather is available on the Titanium X. And we're only just starting to see the potential in the 2.0 Ecoboost engine. The 240PS version is fantastic.

[Piepiepie]

Because theres no hot version and it looks like a depressed rat.

[sjg]

Much as I like the Mondeo, especially in estate form, I can't think of any circumstances where I'd buy one over an S-Max. If you're buying a big (family and/or load-lugging) car with loads of space, why wouldn't you go for one that's a bit taller, a bit shorter and narrower yet can carry more stuff and take an extra couple of people on occasion?

[bluebear]

I quite liked all incarnations of the Mondeo. Had a ST24,ST200 and a ST220. Could not fault the ST220. The ST24 was a bit ho hum though. But yes i do agree the latest mondeo should be the last. If Ford wants to compete with the rest of the world in this sector of car,it needs to adopted the world car ethos like the Focus. Model for model i can think of any Ford in there current line up i would take over a competitors offering.
KA -> FIAT 500
FIESTA -> Citroën DS3
FOCUS -> Alfa Romeo Giulietta
C-MAX -> Citroen DS4
KUGA -> 2011 Kia Sportage Crossover
S-MAX -> Mercedes R-Class
Yes i know ther may be a small price difference with some. But they would be well worth the small increase in monthly payment

[AndrewW-G]

Years ago Ford offered sporty variants of their cars that undercut their competitors, were visualy appealing and provided a bit of a halo effect on the more humdrum products in their range . . . . . now bar the odd special edition, it's just a trim level that can be applied accros the range

Today I'd struggle to justify buying one of their products over one of their primary competitors, something that’s reinforced every time I drive a Ford hire car and multiplied when I see the list price. . . . . . .Ford seem to overprice everything on paper, then discount the buggery out of the things to shift them on the sales floor.

[sparks_E39]

It's such a design fail over the previous one.

[Chicharito]

bluebear said:

I quite liked all incarnations of the Mondeo. Had a ST24,ST200 and a ST220. Could not fault the ST220. The ST24 was a bit ho hum though. But yes i do agree the latest mondeo should be the last. If Ford wants to compete with the rest of the world in this sector of car,it needs to adopted the world car ethos like the Focus. Model for model i can think of any Ford in there current line up i would take over a competitors offering.
KA -> FIAT 500
FIESTA -> Citroën DS3
FOCUS -> Alfa Romeo Giulietta
C-MAX -> Citroen DS4
KUGA -> 2011 Kia Sportage Crossover
S-MAX -> Mercedes R-Class
Yes i know ther may be a small price difference with some. But they would be well worth the small increase in monthly payment

Well, I think you've got it wrong, at least in terms of competitors:

Ka: Panda is more practical and cheaper, despite being largely the same platform.

Fiesta: Polo is significantly better.

Focus: Mk6 Golf is still the undisputed king of the class.

C-Max: Grande Scenic wipes the floor with it.

Kuga: Who cares. If pushed Tiguan. Although the Kia mentioned is a bloody good car.

S-Max: No real competitor. But who really wants an MPV with a 6 inch roof chop?

[Matt UK]

bluebear said:

S-MAX -> Mercedes R-Class
Yes i know ther may be a small price difference with some. But they would be well worth the small increase in monthly payment

Small price difference?

The comparison list was pretty up until this one

[martin84]

Ive had three Mondeo's. A mk1 1.8 GLX, mk2 2.5 V6 Ghia and mk2 2.0 Zetec but i just didnt like the styling of the mk3 despite liking the Focus which is similar and i like the exterior of the new one but inside is a let down.

Ive driven one of the new Fiesta's and i do like that, thats a nice little car but even used they're still going for 5k and the way my mind works means i'll always find more car for that amount of money elsewhere and come home with an S-Class or something.