Mondeo Titanium gives lots for your buck

New Zealand was almost one of the last countries in the world to get the latest Ford Mondeo, but we think it was worth the wait. John Oxley reports on the top-end Titanium petrol version.

Sony sound system with nine speakers, and a nice fixed panoramic sunroof. Extras we liked are the 220V socket in the centre console, plus three 12V sockets, while one feature we didn’t get to test completely was the rear seat airbags, which inflate in a crash to give the back seat passengers more protection. Only available on the Mondeo at present… On the road it’s hard to believe that there’s only a two-litre engine under the bonnet. The Ecoboost motor is as flexible as the big six found in the Falcon, and it’s not a lot less powerful. In fact comparing with the Falcon throws up another couple of interesting stats – the Mondeo has more room in front than the Falcon, and almost as much in the back, and has a bigger boot. The big difference, though, is in fuel economy. Ford claims an 8.5L/100km overall average, but in fact we saw less than that a few times, so owners should be very happy. Safety? Well we’ve mentioned the BLIS, and the rear seatbelt airbags, but the Mondeo also has a lane keeping assistance system, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection, driver drowsiness detection, Active City Stop to mitigate low-speed crashes in traffic, and if you have trouble parking, a semi-automatic parking system which finds you a spot, and steers you into it. You have to operate the brake and accelerator yourself, though. As I said at the beginning, lots for your buck!