Easy-going estate joins hybrid nation

Mondeo is moving with the times to stay relevant, writes Matt Allan

You have to feel a bit sorry for the Ford Mondeo. Once a byword for popular mainstream motoring, it’s increasingly being elbowed into obscurity by SUVs.

But it’s not going down without a fight. As well as pushing the luxury-oriented Vignale line to take on the premium German brands, the Mondeo is also moving with the times with a hybrid drivetrain option.

As with so many mild hybrids, the main benefit for the Mondeo is in bringing down CO2 emissions for petrol engines as diesel continues to plummet from favour. Ten years ago virtually every Mondeo estate would have been a diesel - it’s an ideal car for easygoing, long-distance slogging and a diesel capable of 60+mpg was the perfect matchforthat.

You can still get a diesel Mondeo and for many applications it remains the better option, big economy, low CO2 and meeting the latest standards on NOX. However, the market - or the vagaries of the company car tax system - demands a petrol/electric hybrid and so we get one in the form of a 2.0-litre, 184bhp four-cylinder with a mild hybrid system.

The mild nature means the 1.4kWh battery is charged via regenerative braking or with help from the engine rather than any plugging in, so there’s no scope for EV-only driving. Official testing puts average combined economy at 48.7mpg and CO2 emissions at 133g/km. A week of mixed driving returned mid-40s, not bad for a 2.0-litre petrol hauling such a big car, but no better than the figures you can expect from an automatic diesel with similar power.

In driving, you won’t really notice the hybrid input, it chips in with added torque as and when required, meaning the engine doesn’t have to work quite so hard. In day-today driving it’s a smooth unit, matched with a CVT auto box and it’s perfectly capable of shifting the sizeable estate around in a leisurely sort of fashion.

The hybrid element aside, this Mondeo is like any other - that is, spacious, comfortable and refined. Cabin space is generous for four and adequate for five but the estate boot is compromised by the hybrid battery. This reduces the luggage space from 525 litres in a standard petrol or diesel model to just 383 litres.

The Mondeo has been around in this form since 2014 and the interior is starting to look a little old-fashioned, particularly when viewed alongside the latest models from the blue oval, but it’s straightforward and well made and the big, comfy, leather-wrapped seats and decent driving position make it an easy long range cruiser.

It also still packs in an eight-inch Sync3 touchscreen, dual-zone climate control and driver assistance such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and lane keep assist.