who wants this car in the US?

[focalBlur]

This is at the moment one of the nicest cars in Europe
it's about the size of a VW passat nicer inside then the focus has 145hp (I think but not sure) and gets 40mpg, and has HID headlights
there is also a mondeo s version in the works with close to 180hp

why not bring this over to replace the taurus, after all the taurus is the only reasion we don't have, the mondeo would out sell the taurus by alot after all why would you buy a taurus whne you can have this



for more info on this car go to
www.ford.co.uk

[Hudson]

Why are you so sure the Mondeo would outsell the Taurus? Americans would prefer the bigger Taurus to the smaller Mondeo. Besides, the Mondeo was designed for the European market and would not necessarily appeal to Americans.

[xrscooby]

The Mondeo ST200 is really about the only one worth having (200BHP 2.5 litre Duratec) although the 170BHP ST24 comes a close second!.

Think the new shape one will be the ST220

Here for ST220

http://st220.com/fms-photos1.htm



Have a look here for ST200....

http://www.geocities.com/tomnor/indexmain.html

[G-Forces]

Problem is the Mondeo used to be the Contour over here. They stopped selling it because of the Focus. It's a nice car don't get me wrong but Hudson's right....'mericans like their boats and wouldn't know a decent car if it ran them over.

[Heep]

I'm a HUGE fan of the American SVT Contour. It also has 200 hp like the European ST200. I'm 95% sure my next car will be one.

This is a pic of one, the exterior is factory except for the wheels:

[Jimster]

The Mondeo is likely to become New Zealands best selling car in the next year, at least 1000 Mondeos have been sold this year...... The Americans just don't know what they are missing

[Euro19]

Originally posted by Jimmy_11_cars
The Mondeo is likely to become New Zealands best selling car in the next year, at least 1000 Mondeos have been sold this year...... The Americans just don't know what they are missing

I didn´t know. Quite interesting
I´m pretty sure the Mondeo will be imported to the US with the Mercury badge any time now, not necesarily replacing the Sable.

[Euro19]

I want one! Just have to wait til the 2001 used lot of Mondeo at Ford dealer around here cause a new one is a bit out of my budget and I tough it would be better than having the new 307. :argue:

[replicant_008]

Being a kiwi in New Zealand, I'm fortunate to own a 2002 Ford Mondeo ST. Featuring a 170hp 2.5L Duratec-VE, Traction Control, ESP and EBA.

I don't think the Mondeo will be the best-selling car - but it certainly is the best-selling car in its class (it dominates the 2.0 to 2.5L category).

It has also won 5 NZ Car of the Year awards in 2001 too.

It's certainly a big step up from the previous generation Mondeo (also sold as the Contour in the US). It's a larger car, the styling is decidely Germanic (when I initially got it most folk thought it was an Audi), the interior styling is a major improvement and the overall impression is that the car could be sold for a lot more than its list price.

The handling is definitely a class leader.

The only thing it may lack over the Taurus is a bit of room - in direct comparisons (sedan vs sedan) it is a couple of inches narrower for shoulder room, has slightly more headroom, about the same for legroom and basically shares the same wheelbase.

At the end of the day, it may cannabalise Taurus sales (which is something Ford can't afford) - or it could be positioned to take on the European competitors...

As a guide, it represents excellent value for money (as a European car). The flagship V6 ST goes for NZ $46,700 which is about USD19,150, the midspec 2.0L ZETEC Model goes for about NZ 39,600 or about USD16,236 and the volume sedan goes for Nz 36,800 or about USD 15,088.

For comparison's sake, the VW Passat 2.3V5 Sedan sells for $55,490 or USD $22,750 !!! The only other vehicle that comes close for price and origin is the Holden (Opel) Vectra which is similarly priced but is now a 6 year old design (due for update Q4 '02)

[dusty]

Gm have definitely fallen behind the 8ball with the current Vauxhall/Holden Vectra and I cant find a photo anywhere of a wagon version of the new one, this car looks a little naff in my opinion. The Ford Mondeo has swept all before it and it will be very interesting to see how the Mazda 6 , Camry and eventually the Vectra will cope. I think the Mazda will be the biggest headache for Ford. The camry wagon is no more and I cant really see the reps clambering to get into the new Avensis which Toyota NZ say is aimed fairly and squarely the the Mondeo.It reminds me of a baby Previa.
Its a shame that our diesel is so poor in quality the the TDCI Mondeo will not be sold here, it has 98 kw and 330nm of torque (yes you read that correctly) which would make 5th gear takeoffs a possibility!! Anyway I love my new Mondeo wagon after suffering the slings and arrows of other reps when I drove the mark one version for three years. They no longer say "poor bugger"under their breath any more.

[replicant_008]

The ironic thing about the Mazda6 is that in many cases it will sold out of
the same dealerships as the Mondeo in NZ!

It looks as though Ford in this part of the world are positioning
themselves away from Japanese Sourced Vehicles - with the arrival
(finally) of the Focus in early 2003 and possibly the Euro-Fiesta, Ford
will have it's first all non-Japanese passenger car line up in about 20 yrs!

That would be: Ka, Fiesta (replacing Festiva), Focus, Mondeo, Falcon (incl
Fairmont, XR Series, Fairlane, LTD).

With the demise of the Laser (Mazda 323 clone) and Mondeo replacing
Mazda 626, Ford can now position Mazda against Toyota, Honda and
go after GMH here head to head against Barina, Astra, Vectra, Commodore.

[ChristopherJ]

What 4cyl engines do the Mondeo's get?
Will the Mondeo ever get the 2.3 Mazda 6 Engine?
With Holden selling the Vectra here in December Ford should import the Mondeo, they could even do a FPV version.

[dusty]

Hi Christopher ,
I totally agree with you on the Vectra score, Ford will definitely lose big ground if they dont fill the 2.o litre segment and with the Vectra being built in AU the "Buy Australian made factor "will be hard enough to fight even with the Mondeo let alone without it, I have seen a mock up photo of a Mondeo wagon with plastic body protection and 4 Wd (Jaguar X type running gear) I think this would use 2.5 V6 power or maybe even 3.0L V6 from the ST 220 (only sold in Europe) but I have seen no more gossip on that one.
the Mondeos sold in NZ have the 2.0l Duratech HE engine which bears no resemblance to the Zetec E engine of the old model. It is all alloy and I believe Mazda had a hand in the development of the unit but will not be quoted on that. It makes 107 kw compared to 96 kw for the old unit and weighs around 20kg less than the Zetec unit. Having driven the old model for three years and 140,000 kms I can say that the new model(which mine was replaced with in July) is seemingy from another planet and surely not the same factory. Its not just foot down stuff, its smooth and fairly quiet. Prefers 96 octane or even 98 if you can get it , The 2.3 Mazda engine, I dont know about that one. The Mazda engine makes about 122 kw which is pretty stirring stuff, but we only get the 2.0 L
or the 2.5 Duratech for the ST. The Ford 2 litre engine uses plastic exstensively under the bonnet with the cam covers and inlet manifolds all made from Plastic thus saving weight. A recent posting here suggested Mazda and Ford could in the future share the same floor space at retail level, this is the case in the U.S. where they have one website for Ford products and it covers the lot from Jaguar to Lincoln,Volvo ,Aston Martin etc so thats an interesting idea from the engine sharing point of view.

[Stefanel1]

Hi,

Do you know a company which would sell "Lexus style rear lights" "Eurolook style rear lights" ou "Altezza style rear lights ? Someone who will come soon on this forum told me to ask here if you would know that ? It would be for a Mondeo.

thanks for him

[bruno4]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments about the Mondeo. I'm English, living in Kansas City Mo. I drive a Duratec SES Taurus (2000) and drove the descibed Mondeo as a Company car for 20 months and 57000 miles.

Therefore I'm well qualified to answer any questions anyone may have.

Briefly, the Mondeo is only 5 inches shorter than the Taurus, and about an inch narrower inside i would say. This latest Mondeo was increased in size from the previous version (that one looked our Contour in the States), because Ford dropped their European large car called the Scorpio and before that the Granada. Therefore, the Mondeo is the largest Ford produced in Europe. (They of course have Jaguar, Volvo etc for the upper end of the market).
Plusses of the Mondeo: Driving position, ride, handling and roadholding, space inside. The engines range from a 1.8 (125 bhp), 2 litre (143 bhp) and the 2.5 Cougar engine, which makes around 170 b.h.p i think. There is also hotter versions up to 200 b.h.p plus. The star engine is the new common rail turbo diesel, which is similar to what i drove. It makes 130 b.h.p, Over 200 lb per foot at around 2000 rpm due to a turbo overboost. It is impossible to get below 45 mpg. We have low sulphur diesel in Europe which will not arrive in the States until 2006. At 90 mph, the engine spimns at 2850 rpm. hit the accelerator and she takes off really well, AND you are still getting around 50 mpg!! Like all diesels, they are noisy on start up and narrow band gearing of course. When fuel costs around $5.30 a gallon they make sense!! Air bags everywhere and they release according to the speed of the crash, also the front headrests jump up if you crash to stop whiplash of the neck. Pyrotechnic seatbelts are good too.

Minuses: The finish inside is terrible, typically Germanic, black plastic evrywhere. The dealers in the U,K "Suck", they are hopeless. Also they have bad reliability problems since they stopped producing cars in the U.K. Nothing serious, just annoying stupid things, like trunk locks not working, rear shields leaking and so on.

I bought my Taurus in November, what a great car, typical 4 valver, rev the engine and it flys. Same type seats as the Mondeo, firm but supportive, good roadholding if you know how to drive front wheel drive cars properly.

Lastly, I have to laugh when the USA mags rave about the new Passat's handling, the Mondeo and Nissan Primera murdered it in road tests. I can't print what they said about the new Camrys ride/handling roadholding combination as it is unprintable!! Still they sell here for other reasons.

Take care guys

Ian