The Ford Mondeo is a ubiquitous family and fleet car that was once famously heralded by the ex-prime minister Tony Blair as representing the aspirations of the ordinary man in the street, whom he christened ‘Mondeo Man’.
The first Mondeo appeared in 1993 when it was launched in three formats: a four door saloon; a five door estate; and a five door hatchback. It was designed to be a straight replacement of the Ford Sierra, though the Sierra was rear wheel drive and the Mondeo is front wheel drive.
The cost of developing the Mondeo was substantial and it began to appear that Ford had put a huge number of eggs into the Mondeo basket and the future fortunes of the company depended on it being a success.
The car was very different from those that it replaced and it was a substantial improvement over the Sierra. The chassis was derived from Volvo and the suspension system was excellent. Safety was a top priority both in terms of the car and its marketing. Also, the car employed the latest Ford Zetec petrol engine technology with a turbo diesel option.
The second generation Mondeo was launched in 1996. This was essentially a face lifted first generation though it became the third best selling car in the UK, but it failed to maintain that position and in particular it lost out to the Vauxhall Vectra. The engines included a nice 2.5 litre V6 unit.
The third generation was launched in 2000 with the Zetec engine replaced by 1.8 litre and 2.0 litre Duratec engines though the V^ was retained. In 2003 there was a facelift and some components that cold fail seriously were replaced. (all 1.8 and 2 litre Mondeo cars produced from 2000 to 2003 are suspect).
The current Mondeo is the fourth generation which was released in 2007. There is a large choice of trim levels and engines and the car is a little more upmarket and a lot of car for the money. It is also quite economical for a car of its size.