The Mark One Mondeo

Introduction

The Mondeo is a car that many people love to hate. The original Mondeo was Ford’s successor to the Sierra, and was the first Ford to benefit from the radical rethink that the group had in the early 1990s.

The very name “Mondeo” translates as “World Car,” and indeed, if you travel across the world you will see the familiar shape. In North America, the Mondeo is called the Contour, but it is essentially the same car.

For the UK market, the Mondeo had a choice of five petrol engines, ranging from a humble 90 PS 1·6 through to the 200 PS 2·5 V6 fitted to the ST200s. There was just one diesel variant, the 1·8, which was a reworked version of the Sierra unit.

When it was released, the Mondeo took the “medium family car” class by storm. Here was a car that was good at almost everything, and excellent at a few. The most negative points about the car were the coarse four cylinder engines, average interior space for the class, perhaps the looks, and disappointing fuel economy.

This last point - poor fuel economy - proved to be a moot point since within a few years, the rest of the sector had caught up in terms of weight, thanks to additional safety equipment.

The Mondeo so worried Vauxhall that they replaced the Cavalier with the Vectra rather too early, damaging the reputation of the company and the car.

The Engine Range

To pick out individual engines, the TD is covered here (I ran one for over two years) and so I won’t detail here.

The Mondeo used Ford’s new Zetec engines.

My first Mondeo experience was with a humble 1·6, the baby of the range. Although never really popular (mainly because for the most part, Ford priced the 1·8 and the 2·0 at a similar level to the 1·6) and disliked with high mileage, the 1·6 is not as bad as you might expect. It feels quite a bit quicker than the Sierra 1·6. The 1·6 shows its weakness when the car is heavily laden, and although not the peakiest engine around, it does need over 4,000 rpm to perform well. However, the car benefits from reasonably low gearing, which helps make the most of the engine’s performance.

The next engine up, the 1·8, does feel much better suited to the car. Although essentially a larger version of the 1·6, this unit feels much more relaxed despite having gearing that felt subjectively the same. In terms of fuel economy, the official figures put the 1·6 and the 1·8 as being broadly similar (the 1·6 is less economical at a cruise, but more economical in the city): in mixed driving, most people should return around 36 mpg.

The 2·0 versions come in two flavours - the Si, which had lower gearing, and the LX / Ghia versions, which used a taller set of ratios. All 2·0 Mk. 1 Mondeos have a lusty engine, the Si more so, and the car is quite entertaining to punt about. The penalty is in fuel economy - whereas the 1·6 and 1·8 should manage 35 mpg without too much difficulty, the 2·0 seems to manage low 30s.

The last two petrol Mondeos use a 2·5 litre V6 illustrated. All bar the ST200 have 167 PS, which at the time was competitive against the competition if not outstanding. However, the smooth V6 engine seems to transform the Mondeo. As already noted, the cooking model V6 is not especially powerful or torquey, but it is enough to make reasonably swift progress. Fuel economy is around and about the same as the 2·0, so 30 mpg or so. One problem with the V6 in the Mondeo is that it can be a bit “snatchy” at very low speed, or when stuck in traffic. I’m informed that this characteristic has been removed from later Mondeos.

The Mondeo ST200 uses a revised 2·5 litre V6, equipped with around 200 PS (hence the name). To drive, the ST200 feels rather more purposeful than the ordinary V6 - primarily because of a firmer ride. At low engine speeds, it is no more or less tractable than the ordinary V6, and you have to use more revs to feel the difference.

Ride & Handling

Whatever Mondeo you take, compared to the competition at that time, the car drives very well. All cars have a good blend of handling and ride - second only to the Peugeot 405. And to think that a Ford could run the Peugeot so close!

Press on hard enough, and the car will start to understeer. Ease off the power, and the nose tucks in tightly. Do this at higher speeds and the tail will progressively start to let go. All models have an absence of body roll and are stable under braking. Generally, the more powerful models have better handling, but as you would expect this is because they get stiffer suspension set ups and larger, wider wheels and tyres - but by the same token, the 1·6 and the TD do not disgrace themselves.

In slippery conditions, the steering goes very light as a warning to the driver that things are getting treacherous.

For outright entertainment, I would like to recommend the V6 models, but I have not played about with the ST200, and the Ghia V6 I had for a little while felt more luxurious than sporting. No, my favourite Mondeo that I’ve tried for driving is the 2·0 Si.

Ford also sold a limited number of all wheel drive 2·0 Si models, but I have not had the opportunity to try this model.

Interior

It is difficult to fault the layout of the front of the Mondeo without nit-picking. The bug bears that I have with the front are that the fog lamp warning lights are a little bit bright (but at least this way, you cannot forget that the lamps are on) and the positioning for the electric mirrors is rather strange (behind the drivers’ left hand, under the steering wheel). Otherwise, all of the major controls fall to hand. Even the early base models come with a seat squab height and full steering wheel adjustment.

In the back, there is quite a bit of headroom difference between the estate and the hatchback / saloon versions. Essentially, the estate has quite a bit more room, at least subjectively. The boot in all versions is large, and the list of things that we’ve carried in ours can be found here (if you’re really interested!).

Exterior

Personally, I quite like the clean cut, slightly anonymous appearance of the original Mondeo for the simple reason that it blends in with other cars. This means that /ahem/ should you wish to do some high speed motorway cruising, you’re less likely to be pulled over than if you were doing it in an Escort Cosworth. But then I prefer stealthy cars!

The car’s headlights are a strong point, and even after discolouring after a few years (ever noticed that many original Mondeos have yellow tinted headlights when they’re switched off?) they still provide decent service. All Mondeos have main beam lamps located closer to the grill.

Equipment

Early Mondeos were equipped as well as the competition, but not overly generous. LX gave you a tilt and slide sunroof, electric front windows and central locking. GLX added electric heated mirrors and an electric sunroof, Ghia models added rear electric windows, air conditioning, alloy wheels and front fog lamps. Si models had ABS and adaptive damping (an ingenious system that varied the damping to suit how the car was being driven, alas I have never tried it).

Later on, GLX models (and above) gained anti-lock brakes as standard. CD players and heated front windscreens also filtered down in to the lower models of the range.

Verdict

If you’re looking for an inexpensive family sized car, you can do a lot worse than a Mondeo. Now I know that there are other cars out there that are reputed to be much more reliable, such as the Primera, but I had no problems with my Mondeo.

It’s good to drive, it is economical at a cruise, and it’s spacious. Ford also sold millions, so there are plenty of them about.

My pick of the range would have to be a 2·0 Si for entertainment, a “cooking model” V6 for refinement, the TD if you’re tight (or like diesels), and the 1·8 petrol if you just want a decent motor.