Mondeo gets a makeover

Ford has lifted the wraps off its enhanced Mondeo model and unveiled a hybrid estate variant for the first time.

The models were shown at the Brussels Motor Show.

Upgrades include a more refined petrol-electric driving experience for the Mondeo Hybrid, an advanced 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine and the firm’s new eight-speed automatic transmission.

First deliveries of the enhanced Mondeo are expected in March.

The Ceed is the successor to the popular cee’d, which has now fortunately dropped the apostrophe, leaving all of us in the motoring industry heaving a huge sigh of relief because no one was ever really sure where it went.

The other big news about the Ceed is that, while it retains all the street cred of the hot hatch, it now comes with very impressive green credentials too.

Although Kia is a Korean brand, this new car was designed in Frankfurt for the European market and tested in Europe and the UK.

It is lower and wider than the outgoing model which, to you and me, means decidedly sportier. It has a modified tiger nose front, alloy wheels, lines sweeping to the rear and a sporty antenna.

Inside, in the entry-level trim I was driving, I found nothingthing to complain about. Buyers who still think Kia is the basic end of the market need to look again at this piece of eastern promise – it has come a long way.

Kia have done away with their 1 trim level and now everything starts at a very well specified 2. In practical terms, this