Like many other automakers in this day and age, Ford is now offering its mid-sized Mondeo with a smaller engine option and a lighter tag to attract buyers who love the size as well as the price.
The entry-level sedan variant of the Mondeo is available from
$158,999 (as of 20th November 2015) and that pits it against cars like the Peugeot 508 and Toyota Camry who are armed to the teeth with their own concoction of unique selling points.
Competition in that segment is pretty stiff and Ford has sprinkled a little of its own fairy dust that makes the Mondeo quite a magical combination of price and quality - but is that enough to make you want one?
Up close and Personal
Borrowing design cues from both the new Fiesta and the Focus, the gracefully matured Mondeo has the right curves and edges that tempt you to steal a second glance - something its predecessors failed to do.
Depending on whichever angle you view it from, the Mondeo may remind you of cars other than its stablemates and the most obvious of which is its Aston Martin Rapide-like 'stingray' front.
Credit for this 'Bond' look goes to Ford's new hexagonal grille, bumper-mounted badge, slender laser-cut head lights and rather intense bonnet contours. From the rear, things are a little tamer and the Mondeo is still easily recognisable as a Ford.
Sharing similar levels of modernity and refinement, the luxuriously spacious and well-put together cabin of the Mondeo is as much of a treat as its external presentation.
More importantly, the Mondeo has the ability to sit five adults with ease and those levels of comfort are accompanied by little creature comforts - a Sony audio system and panoramic sun roof that Ford has thankfully decided to equip the Mondeo with.
Did we mention? It too, has the necessary boot space - 550 litres - to accomodate the paraphernalia of the five said adults.
The Drive
The turbocharged 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine supplies the Mondeo with a modest 158bhp and 240Nm of torque. These figures may seem sufficient to most but those with a penchant for swift city driving may find its 1,495kg curb weight a little overbearing.
That's not to say that the car is slow - it picks up quick enough (9.1 seconds from 0-100km/h) from light to light but for that extra level of ardor while merging into the fast lane, the Mondeo is livened when you put it in Sport mode, and shifted manually through its six gears using the paddle shifters.
But for every other aspect of life's leisurely moments - the Mondeo will do just fine in Drive mode and cog shifting is best left to its pleasantly refined six-speed automatic tranmission.
The turbocharged 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine supplies the Mondeo with a modest 158bhp and 240Nm of torque. These figures may seem sufficient to most but those with a penchant for swift city driving may find its 1,495kg curb weight a little overbearing.
That's not to say that the car is slow - it picks up quick enough (9.1 seconds from 0-100km/h) from light to light but for that extra level of ardor while merging into the fast lane, the Mondeo is livened when you put it in Sport mode, and shifted manually through its six gears using the paddle shifters.
But for every other aspect of life's leisurely moments - the Mondeo will do just fine in Drive mode and cog shifting is best left to its pleasantly refined six-speed automatic tranmission.
Beneath its family-friendly facade, the agile Mondeo is actually one of the better handling cars in its segment and eggs you on to push it harder in the corners.
The Ford engineers have done a magnificent job with the Mondeo's balanced suspension setup - one that is able to soak up even the roughest of roads yet stable enough to prevent excessive body roll when you make quick directional changes.
Conclusion
Apart from the exclusion of power seats that are available in the 2.0-litre variant, the Ford Mondeo 1.5 GTDI Titanium comes close to being the perfect family sedan - it is beautifully built and drives as well as it looks.
In our book, even the harshest of critics will be able to look past its little imperfections to realise how much value this family sedan really brings to the table.
