Ford Mondeo | Video Review | CarsIreland.ie

Published on 6 December, 2017

If you’re one of the few hardcore D-segment fans remaining, you could do a lot worse than the trusty Mondeo

Overview

Overview

The Mondeo is a Ford that Irish people are very fond of. It has acres of space in every direction, and comes with a really good level of standard kit. It may be starting to look a little dated in the cabin, but thanks to an excellent chassis, you'll be hard pressed to find a more engaging and comfortable car to drive in this category.

Interior Gallery

If you like your cars big and muscley, the Mondeo is both. It’s got some serious road presence, and not just because of that sweeping roofline, and bold Aston-Martin-esque grille; it physically occupies a lot of space on the pavement.

You can take full advantage of that space inside. The cabin is one of the roomiest in the class. You sit so far away from your front seat passenger, you might even struggle to hear them. Same goes for the back – there’s acres of leg and headroom and a usable middle seat.

It's remarkably comfortable to sit into, with  big bolstered seats that provide plenty of support, and good quality materials give the cabin a high-end look and feel, with lots of usable space to stash your roadtrip essentials.

It might have saloon-y type looks, but the boot has the massive advantage of opening like a hatchback, and when it does it offers a colossal 550 litres of bootspace. That is not quite as big as it’s deadliest rival, the Passat, but because of the way it opens, it is a lot easier to load.

The Mondeo range starts with the Zetec, which gets 17 Alloy wheels, Parking sensors, Keyless go, cruise control, and heated seats and steering wheel. You can upgrade that to Titanium which adds an 8 inch touchscreen with Ford SYNC 3, automatic lights and wipers, and additional safety features, like lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition. Or you can have the sporty ST line which gets 18 inch wheels, sports pedals, sports seats, sports suspension and a sporty bodykit.

As for infotainment, Ford SYNC 3 is better than Ford SYNC 1 and 2 but it’s still not quite to the same standard as what’s being offered in some of its competitors. It does its job quite well – phone syncing is painless, the SatNav is a particularly nice one to use, and the Sony soundsystem it’s attached to makes a pretty impressive din in the cabin. But in terms of graphics and responsiveness, it’s simply not as good as other rivals in the class, the most obvious example being the Volkswagen Passat.

As mentioned previously, it’s a pretty big car. Which makes it all the more impressive when you look at the fuel economy figures. The engine line up is diesel heavy, as is to be expected – these cars are made for high mileage and long journeys. There is a 1.5 litre petrol available, and a 1.5 diesel, but the main source of power for most Mondeos will be the 2.0l TDCi unit. It’s available in power outputs between 150 and 210 PS. The one in our test car sits in the middle at 180 which gives it a nice bit of life, yet uses just 4.5l of fuel per 100km.

That great Mondeo drive quality prevails, and despite the size it offers some pretty tight handling. It’s a great road holder, it corners well, and there’s a nice sporty feel to the steering. It’s very refined out on the open road, it’s got that great comfortable big car feel, and it’s exceptionally quiet in the cabin. This being the ST-line model it does come with a sports suspension which can be just a little bit on the too-firm side of firm at times, it can get a bit crashy, especially over bumpy backroads, but that’s not going to be a major concern for those who spend most of their time on the Mondeo’s spiritual home – which is the motorway.

The Mondeo is based on a tried and tested formula, so reliability shouldn't be an issue. Parts tend to be cheap and easy to source if anything does go wrong.

Given the space and kit on offer, the starting price of about €27,500 puts it in a good place on the market. Sales may be dropping off lately but that’s more a reflection of the huge swing toward SUVs, than the car itself. If you’re one of the few hardcore D-segment fans remaining, you could do a lot worse than the trusty Mondeo.

Facts & Figures

Sinead McCann

Sinéad is our resident car tester who has the unenviable (-ok, slightly enviable) task of reviewing all the latest new cars to hit the market. You can follow her on Twitter @smcani and on Instagram @whatshedrives