FAREWELL TO MONDEO MAN
By Andrew Roberts |
26th March, 2021
Yesterday Ford announced the end to production in 2022 of the Mondeo - bringing to end a nearly thirty-year tradition. It is quite bizarre to think that little over 11 years separates the launch of the first models from the last of the Cortinas, and some readers will remember how in 1982, the debut of the Sierra caused shock-waves amongst Ford traditionalists. Indeed, some had not yet recovered when they heard rumours of an FWD replacement.
Plans for the Mondeo had commenced as early as 1985, shortly after the launch of the Granada/Scorpio Mk. III. Ford intended Project CDW to compete with the best cars in the market which, by 1988, were the third-generation Honda Accord, the Peugeot 405, the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk. III/Opel Vectra A, the Volkswagen Passat B3 and the Toyota Camry V20. Two years later, the Nissan Primera became another intended rival.
The development costs for the future Mondeo were said to exceed £3 billion. The styling was smart but conservative; Ford did not wish for a repeat of the controversy regarding the Sierra’s appearance. Buyers could choose from a four or five door saloon or an estate, with 1.6-litre, 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre engines. The trim levels were CLX, GLX, and Si, plus the flagship Ghia for the ambitious software sales executive.
Sales of the car that possessed ‘Beauty with inner strength’ commenced on 22nd March 1993. Nearly two months earlier, Autocar and Motor’s front cover proclaimed ‘Mondeo is King; Brilliant new Ford is best family car’. What Car was equally impressed, stating that the Mondeo embodied ‘all the virtues missing in mainstream Fords for so long’.
Meanwhile, Car evaluated the 2.0 GLX opposite the very formidable opposition of the BMW 318i, the Citroën Xenia and the Rover 600. They concluded, ‘You want the best-value car here? You buy the Ford and save £3,000. No question about it’. Motor Sport found the Mondeo ‘pleasant, rather than revolutionary’ but with ‘an outstanding front drive chassis and brakes’ However, the cabin was ‘let down by a shortage of rear headroom’.
Fortunately, none of these issues prevented the Mondeo from becoming COTY 1994, ahead of the Xantia and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The Mk. II replaced the first-generation versions in 1996, and perhaps the most interesting assessment of those pioneer models is from Top Gear. Here, a remarkably young Jeremy Clarkson, sporting a slightly retro-mullet, gives a fascinating insight into the world of the early 1990s fleet motorist.
More recently, Andrew English wrote ‘The Mondeo was the car that taught the public that steering integrity, low noise and vibration and top-notch ride and handling do matter, even if they couldn’t single them out for market researchers’. Or, in other words, “Mondeo Man” really did have excellent taste...
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