The Ford Mondeo 25 years on

Celebrating the 25th birthday of a Ford favourite

Richard Bremner Autocar

by Richard Bremner

26 January 2018

Slide of

This car cost six billion dollars.

Six billion dollars? That’s what Ford paid to design, develop and build CDW27, its 1992 world car called Mondeo (a derivation of the French ‘mondial’, meaning world) to replace the Sierra over here and the dismal Tempo in North America. The Mondeo first went on sale in Britain in March 1993.
Slide of

Handling

And it would rocket Ford close to the top of the pile when it came to driving quality and a whole lot of other things besides. But these early Mondeos are banger fodder now. Why get sentimental about a car so commonplace and apparently ordinary? Plenty of reasons, actually.
Slide of

Moving the game on

The Mondeo was a ground-breaking car, not only for Ford but the rest of the industry. Its arrival marked the beginning of the end of Dagenham dustbins, the end of an era when British Fords looked a lot better than they really were, their shortcomings papered over with lightly glam styling (nothing wrong with that, usually), chrome, vinyl roofs, faux wood and outmoded, easy-fix mechanicals that appealed to fleet managers.
Slide of

Euro-star

Suddenly, Fords were flaunting mechanical sophistication, and to a level that served notice on the rest of an industry that had to raise its game. Or it did in Europe, at least.
Slide of

America

In the States, where the Mondeo was marketed as the Contour (pictured), it sold less well, despite picking up a heap of magazine trophies, partly because it was too small inside to compete with the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
Slide of

Mistake

It lived in America only to 2000, and was never properly replaced until the Ford Fusion arrived in 2006. The Contour had an upmarket, lightly reworked brother called the Mercury Mystique (pictured), known as the Mistake because it used to stall a lot.
Slide of

Inside

But in the UK, the Mondeo wasn’t a mistake at all, selling well in an admittedly shrinking market, and even became a political cliche, ‘Mondeo man’ symbolising the average British voter. Its interior may not look much now, but was decent in its day.
Slide of

Disappearing

Trouble is, ‘average’ is how this car is seen today because it looks so utterly humdrum now, its featureless, committee-crushed styling condemning it as a wallpaper car that you never really see. And soon, we really won’t be seeing these early Mondeos, because they will have all been binned just like their Sierra and Cortina predecessors before them.
Slide of

One to collect?

Once as common as smoke in pubs, it won’t be long before they’re a rarer sight than a street without an Audi in it. Which is why I’d like one for the fantasy car collection, and really would buy a Mondeo if I needed a decent set of (very) cheap wheels.

Close

Read time: 0 mins

Advertisement

First drives

Ford Mondeo ST-Line 2017 first drive
The Mondeo ST-Line marries sporty styling with that car's signature dynamism to make a rather appealing package designed for private buyers

Ford Mondeo ST-Line 2017 first drive
2015 Ford Mondeo Vignale 2.0 TDCi 180 AWD first drive
The Ford Vignale brand is intended to offer a whole VIP ownership experience, so does the product live up to the price?

2015 Ford Mondeo Vignale 2.0 TDCi 180 AWD first drive
2015 Ford Mondeo 1.0 Ecoboost first drive
Small Ecoboost engine never feels overwhelmed, but nor does it sparkle in Mondeo body

2015 Ford Mondeo 1.0 Ecoboost first drive
2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 180 UK first drive
Majors on space, equipment and value - with a little less dynamic verve than we're used to

2015 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 180 UK first drive
2015 Ford Mondeo Estate 1.6 TDCi Zetec first drive
It's been a long wait, but Ford's new Mondeo estate delivers on the space and comfort that's required to be competitive in this class

2015 Ford Mondeo Estate 1.6 TDCi Zetec first drive
This is the first time Ford has offered a hybrid Mondeo in European markets

2014 Ford Mondeo hybrid first drive
Low-volume Mondeo hybrid has its charms, but the diesel makes for a better all-round choice

2014 Ford Mondeo hybrid first drive
In Titanium estate form and with a 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, the Mondeo estate costs £23,495

2014 Ford Mondeo Estate 1.5T EcoBoost first drive
In larger estate form the new Ford Mondeo continues to impress, offering increased practicality and passenger comfort

2014 Ford Mondeo Estate 1.5T EcoBoost first drive