Quick look at the 2018 Ford Modeo

In the 1990’s vast parts of Britain moved under the power of the Ford Mondeo. This mid-sized family saloon represented the aspirations of millions of middle-class workers all over the country.

If you were a Mondeo man or woman then you were going places. The Mondeo’s got good form too and has won numerous car awards in the past. However, these days it faces much stiffer competition from the likes of the Skoda Superb and the Volkswagen Passat. To compete now the Mondeo will need to convince family buyers that it can be every bit as practical and comfortable as all of its rivals while offering you great value for money – for any car, this is a tall order. In our review we’re going to tell you what it’s like to drive, how easy it is to live with and how much of your things you can get inside it. If at the end of our review you think about buying one then you can check out some used car deals on DesperateSeller.co.uk.

In a class heavily associated with company car driving it’s no surprise that diesels are at the core of the Mondeo’s engine range. There’s a 1.5 and 2.0 litre diesel to choose from though we would recommend the 1.5 unit. This is because we found it smooth and extremely efficient. However, if power is your thing and you’d like stronger acceleration then you probably went to go for the 177 break horse power (bhp) 2.0 litre diesel. There are two petrol engines to choose from and out of these we would recommend the 1.5 litre EcoBoost. There’s also a hybrid engine which teams a 2.0 litre petrol engine with an electric motor though the combination doesn’t really work that well so you might want to avoid it.

One thing Ford does particularly well is make its cars handle really well and the Mondeo is no exception to this. It’s agile and turns into corners easily and doesn’t lean too much through the faster bends. If we had one criticism at all then it would be that the steering wheel is a little too enthusiastic to self-centre. What this does is not give you a clear indication of how much grip there is on the front wheels even if the steering is pretty precise. The Mondeo rides well for a big car too especially if you stick with smaller alloy wheels. No matter which version you go for very little engine and wind noise finds its way inside.

On the cheaper trim levels you have to make do with manual adjustment on the seat and steering wheel and the adjustment lever for the steering is in a really awkward place. However, you should still be able to find a comfortable driving position. What’s not so great is visibility out of the front and the back windows which is mainly due to the fact that the pillars are just so large. What this does is make it quite difficult to judge the Mondeo’s extremities when parking. Thankfully, front and rear parking sensors do come as standard across the range and on the options list you can also spec a reversing camera. All cars also come with a heated front screen which makes it a lot more pleasant to clear snow and ice on those British winter mornings than using a scraper. Every Mondeo comes with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system which includes features such as DAB radio and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy to use as the system you’d find in a Skoda Superb. The home screen has got different sections and then smaller icons within those sections. This is fine when you’re at a standstill but when you’re on the move then it can be quite difficult to hit the right button. It’s also not quite as crisp and logically laid out as the system found in the Volkswagen Passat. Overall, the system could be better though the voice command feature is rather good and makes up for the shortcomings.

If you start to look around the interior it just doesn’t quite feel as plush as in the Passat or Superb. The buttons are just not as satisfying to operate and some of the materials are just a little bit low-rent. Even the tallest of people will find that there’s enough room in the front of the Mondeo so if you’re 6ft tall then you’ll find that there is plenty of room for you. The Mondeo is also a very wide car so there’s plenty of space between you and your passenger while there are lots of storage places everywhere. You’ll easily fit a large bottle of water in the door bins or glovebox. There’s also storage in the central console, one by the gear lever, two cup holders and even more storage further behind those.

When you step inside the back of the Mondeo you’ll find that there’s not as much space as there is in the Skoda Superb. However, if you’re average or below average height then you’ll have no problem at all. You can easily fit three adults side-by-side without too many complaints. There are useful door bins, and an arm rest if you haven’t got a middle passenger. There’s also a map pocket at the back of the seats.

The first thing you notice about the Mondeo’s boot is the hatchback style opening which is by far the most practical. It’s important to note here that if you opt for the hybrid engine then you’ll lose the hatchback style opening effectively making the car a saloon. The Mondeo certainly has a large boot though it’s not quite as big as the Superb’s. It also has a load lip which means that it may be a little irritating getting your luggage in and out though this is not uncommon in cars in this class. If you need more space then you can fold down the rear seats to create even more room.

The cheaper diesel versions of the Mondeo stack up well financially regardless of whether you’re buying on PCP or outright. It’s certainly cheaper to buy than many of its rivals and emits less Co2 making it one of the cheapest company cars in its class. If you go for the recommended Zetec edition then you’ll get alloys, climate control and the 8-inch screen infotainment system. We can see the appeal of the Titanium trim level too because this will then give you leather seats, automatic lights and wipers and keyless entry. However, the more expensive trims such as the ST are harder for us to recommend. For example, the ST trim models ride on sports suspension so don’t ride quite as smoothly. Automatic Emergency Breaking comes as standard across the Mondeo range and it was awarded the full five stars in the EuroNCAP crash testing when it was last tested in 2014. If you’re a company car driver then it’s hard to look past the 1.5 litre diesel because of its low Co2 emissions. However, if you’re a private buyer then then 1.5 litre petrol EcoBoost is certainly worth a look.

Overall the Mondeo is not quite as impressive an all-rounder as the Skoda Superb but it is good to drive and very spacious. If you’re interested in new or used Ford Mondeo cars for sale then try DesperateSeller.co.uk today!