| When it comes to choosing the best possible | | | | practice it really works and looks rather striking. |
| Saloon Cars, most car magazines or other | | | | In a rather crude experiment to see how the |
| Automotive mediums will inevitably point you in | | | | Ford Mondeo has evolved over time, I have |
| the direction of one particular make and model; | | | | spent the week comparing an original Mark 1 |
| the Ford Mondeo. The Ford Mondeo has been a | | | | Mondeo to the new Mark 4 edition. Obviously first |
| consistent and popular seller since its release in | | | | impressions are vastly differing; the Mk1 looks |
| 1993. Back then it was the replacement for the | | | | rather too much like the old Sierra for my liking, |
| relatively popular Ford Sierra, which had been a | | | | but is definitely a step in the right direction. In |
| good flagship model for Ford in the company car | | | | contrast, the MK4 looks like it was designed by |
| sector, but was beginning to lose steam. The Ford | | | | Mercedes during a cloning of an SLK experiment |
| Mondeo was meant to reinvigorate the design and | | | | gone wrong. In short, it looks fantastic. |
| bring a more 'executive' edge to the | | | | The performance test confirms the new edition's |
| manufacturer who were beginning to run out of | | | | clear dominance over the past incumbent. In a |
| ideas. | | | | one lap time trial race of a 3.4 mile race track, |
| The Mondeo then began a 20+ year domination | | | | there was a clear winner despite both cars having |
| over the saloon car market, which is yet to | | | | 2.0 Litre petrol engines. As if you hadn't guessed, |
| dissipate thanks to Ford's constantly evolving | | | | the MK 4 won by a shamefully long 6.3 seconds. |
| design ethic. The current design falls into Ford's | | | | So what we can agree on is that the Ford |
| new 'Kinetic' design aesthetic, which is meant to | | | | Mondeo's star is definitely still in its ascendency. |
| represent the vehicle's movement even when it is | | | | Whether it will maintain its positive trajectory |
| standing stock still. This sounds a little bit | | | | rather depends on Ford and the often fickle |
| 'clichéd' as far as design briefs go, but in | | | | buying public. |