Ford Mondeo 2.3 Sedan

Fords from Europe were once commonplace in Malaysia as that was where models like the Escort and Cortina came from, albeit in knocked-down form for assembly locally. But in the late 1970s, Ford decided that the 'Japanese wave’ that was sweeping through Southeast Asia was hard to challenge and in a strategically brilliant move, it decided to 'join’ the enemy, so to speak. It formed a partnership with Mazda where the two companies would share models in what was then known as 'badge engineering’ and today referred to as 'platform-sharing’. The models from this marriage – the Ford Laser and Mazda 323 and then the Ford Telstar and Mazda 626 – sold very well and allowed Ford to remain in the region.

The strategy was adopted because it was clear in the late 1970s that there was no way the European Fords could be sold at the sort of prices the Japanese were selling their cars at. The Japanese had become skilled at high-volume, low-cost manufacturing – with increasing quality – that Ford and other European companies just could not match. In the Ford-Mazda partnership, the idea was that Ford would provide engineering expertise and Mazda would provide the manufacturing efficiency by building the cars at its plants.

1979 Ford Granada	1997 Ford Telstar TX5

The move of course meant that Malaysians no longer got European Fords; models like the Sierra, Scorpio and Fiesta could never be priced attractively, especially as government protectionist policies bumped up import duties. While the Cortina was the last European Ford to be sold in large volumes locally because it was assembled here up till 1982, the last large Ford model was the 1979 Granada 2.8 (which was a notch above the Cortina) which was assembled here and in Singapore before assembly operations ceased in the Republic.

In the decades that followed, no large European Fords were officially sold here and between the 1980s and the late 1990s, the largest Ford model available to Malaysians was the Telstar. There were some attempts to sell big Fords like the 4-litre Explorer SUV in 1997 when Ford came back to be directly involved in marketing and distribution but that was a short-lived effort that was killed by the financial crisis of the late 1990s which weakened the ringgit substantially.

So it’s been 30 years since a big Ford sedan from Europe has been launched in Malaysia and today sees the return of the big European Ford in the form of the new Mondeo.  It’s obviously a very different world that exists today compared to 1979 with far greater emphasis on fuel economy, emission control and safety… all of which the new Mondeo satisfies with the latest automotive technologies. In Europe, the Mondeo has won a lot of accolades and some journalists have even declared it to be better than the BMW 3-Series, certainly a tremendous achievement for a Ford.

The version which is in the showrooms from today has the 2.3-litre Ford Duratec HE engine, a powerplant that is Ford’s own and not the 2.3-litre unit that is in the Escape (which is from the Mazda MZR family). This all-aluminium petrol engine produces 161 ps/118 kW of power at 6500 rpm and 208 Nm of torque at 4200 rpm. A 6-speed automatic transmission is standard and this has a Sportsmode which allows the driver to also shift manually when desired.

The platform is not shared with Mazda at all and, like the engine, is Ford’s own development. It is also used for the Galaxy and S-Max (which we have been told will come to Malaysia next year) and has an evolution of the Control Blade independent multilink rear suspension.

As the pictures show, this Ford has a very dynamic appearance that gives it an athletic image. It’s the result of 'Kinetic Design’, an approach Ford designer are using in the latest models which emphasizes complex surfaces to give the impression of 'energy in motion’. The headlamps also have a nice design with a dart-shaped outline that flows into the bonnet.

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This is a large car which dimensionally outclasses the Japanese rivals for sure. And the designers have made full use of the generous dimensions to give the interior a spacious feel that would mislead people into thinking they are in a model a notch higher. Complementing this is the high quality of the materials used (yes, many may be skeptical about that) and the sense of craftsmanship in the interior. With the Mondeo, Ford may have finally lifted itself out of that 'plain vanilla’ image it has been stuck in for decades.

The Mondeo has Ford's advanced Human Machine Interface (HMI) system which was conceived after extensive studies on how people operate a car’s controls. All the controls and cluster displays for the driver are cleverly integrated to enable the driver to easily monitor and control selected functions using buttons located on the steering wheel – including tripcomputer, clock, information messages and vehicle setup features. The HMI is designed to be intuitive with its principle being for the driver and vehicle to act as 'one', enhancing driving safety.

Talking about safety, the Mondeo scored 5/5 EuroNCAP stars and this top rating is applicable to the model sold in Malaysia since it comes with the full complement of passive safety systems that include 7 airbags. You may wonder why there is an odd number of airbags when they should all be in pairs and the answer is that there is one airbag just for the driver – located under the steering column where it inflates to protect the knees during a frontal collision. There are also the other usual features in the construction to ensure that the occupants are well protected from all sides and ISOFIX mounting points are provided for childseats.

For Active Safety, the ABS-managed brakes (discs front and rear) have EBD during sudden, hard braking, the hazard lights will start flashing automatically to alert the driver behind faster and possibly prevent a rear-ender.

When this generation of the Mondeo was introduced in 2007, it was the first production Ford to feature the company's award-winning 'Easyfuel’ system. This guards against either petrol or diesel mis-fuelling at the filling pump as the fuel filler neck aperture has been specifically designed around the different sizes of fuel nozzles. Ford has engineered its system only to allow the nozzle that matches the corresponding fuel type of the car to enter the filler neck. There’s also no cap to unscrew as a flap opens and closes by itself to seal off the opening.

Long-term durability is said to be enhanced by the use of an innovative manufacturing technique known as 'laser brazing’. The Mondeo is one of the first models in its class and in Ford’s line-up to be put together using this technique which joins the roof and side panels in a better way that also makes for a higher quality finish.

The Mondeo provides Sime Darby Auto ConneXion with a flagship model that gives the brand presence a bit further upmarket.  It’s up against well established competition like the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Mazda6 and though Auto ConneXion may have wanted a more 'attractive’ price level, the fact that it is imported in CBU form from Belgium makes it very hard to get it lower than RM178,888. Unfortunately, until the numbers for the Mondeo in this region become significant enough, Ford is unlikely to start assembling it in Thailand or the Philippines so no chance of lower import duties.

To find a Ford showroom where you can view and test-drive the Mondeo, visit www.ford.net.my or call 1-800-88-3181.

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