I just delivered the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid. After four days in his company, he didn't expect that when he delivered it, he would feel any pity for leaving it at Ford Portugal's facilities. Let's face it, after two weeks of jumping from sports car to sports car, it's not with the greatest spirit in the world that we "jump" into the wheel of a family-oriented saloon.
As you may have already noticed, my relationship with the Ford Mondeo was not love at first sight. But the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid won me over as we added kilometers together.
It wasn't love at first sight
The appeal of the saloons is decreasing. To combat this trend, brands are struggling with new aesthetic solutions to save what remains of the market share of D-segment saloons. A segment that is quickly being devoured by SUV’s. Ford, for example, will change focus soon.
But beyond the aesthetic argumentation - always subjective - SUVs still have some tricks to learn from the four-door saloons. The Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid made sure to remind me of some of those tricks, by providing me with superb rolling comfort (yes, superb is the most appropriate adjective) and a dynamic balance typical of 19th-century Fords. XXI — the teachings of Richard Perry Jones, father of the Focus Mk1, have lasted through time and happily made school in the blue oval mark.
Ford is one of the generalist brands that knows best how to tune the chassis and suspensions of its models.
The 16-inch wheels equipped with high-profile, low-friction tires aren't the most pleasing to the eye — it's a fact — but they contribute so much to the Ford Mondeo's smooth tread that I soon forgot what they DON'T do for its aesthetics. The best part of all is that this wheel/tire combination doesn't even pass too high a bill on dynamic behavior. The Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid rides from turn to turn with remarkable rigor.
a matter of honor
Ford has taken very timid steps when it comes to electrifying its range. Apparently, almost all of the competition is ahead of Ford in this chapter.This Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid puts the house in order.
More than a matter of sales, the launch of this Ford Mondeo hybrid was a matter of position statement. A kind of “we're on the run”.
I've already tested practically every hybrid on the market — I'm not saying all of them because, in the end, I might have missed some — but this combination developed by Ford was one of the ones that most surprised me for its performance, smoothness and efficiency. That's what I'll write about in the next few lines.
Happy marriage
This model is a HEV, which stands for Hybrid Electric Vehicle. Which means you cannot charge your batteries from an electrical outlet. If so it was a PHEV (Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle).
As with all HEVs, electric motors are secondary. Its function is to assist the combustion engine in the most severe demands.
In the particular case of the Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid, we find a 2.0 l atmospheric engine of 140 hp (Atkinson cycle) associated with two electric motors (the main one with 120 hp). The combined power of these engines is 187 hp . Find out why the combined power is not 260 hp (140+120).
Of these three engines, only the combustion engine and the 120 hp electric motor are connected to the Mondeo's transmission. The second electric motor acts only as a power generator and as a starter for the combustion engine.
In practice. It works?
Confused, isn't it? Perhaps. But in practice the three engines work very well and almost imperceptibly. The answer is always ready and full from low regimes. And the best thing about it are the consumptions. Achieve averages of only 5.3 l/100 km this Ford Mondeo Hybrid is child's play. And even when we exceed the legal limits on the highway (with moderation of course…) consumption does not rise catastrophically, remaining at a healthy 6.4 l/100km.
As you've already noticed, we're in Diesel territory. With the notable advantage of having at our disposal a quieter and more pleasant engine. Not even the CVT box disturbs this marriage, which knows how to keep the 2.0 l engine in an acceptable rev range in most requests.
It was just the feel of the brake pedal — which has to switch between the braking system and the regeneration system to recharge the batteries — that deserved the most attention from Ford technicians. The feeling it transmits is not consistent, harming the pleasantness of driving a little. With this hybrid system, what was also affected was the capacity of the suitcase, which, due to the presence of the batteries, is only 383 l.
The Ford Mondeo Hybrid convinced me
And it will convince you too on the day you experience it. At first, I looked at him with some suspicion (and even indifference…) and was surprised.
The Ford Mondeo Titanium Hybrid is everything you could ask for in a family saloon. It's comfortable, safe, neat and very well equipped. To make things a little more interesting, Ford has a campaign in place to offer equipment worth €2005, to which are added another €2005 direct discount and €1500 in support for the recovery.
In the case of the unit we tested, the price drops from 46,127 euros (with extras included) to a more interesting 40,616 euros with the campaigns. Without extras it would cost 35 815 euros.
To be a true sales success it would be enough to be a little more appealing, because after all, this is also important when choosing a car. It's all about choices.