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Ford have announced the end of their large car production .
Never had one, don't know what I'll be missing.
With the Insignia going too, what will be left other than a pug 508 or the german barges, Audi/Vw/skoda.merc BMW ?
and major price differences too..
Edited by _ORB_ on 25/03/2021 at 15:41
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Sad really and sad that ever fewer people are interested in how a car drives because a saloon will always drive better than the SUV based on it.
The Mondeo has been very good through all generations although the latest one is probably the weakest.
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That is contrary to what I have read, which is that later this year Ford will launch a hybrid crossover badged Mondeo.
In fact here is a link to an article about it having been spotted winter testing,
new-ford-mondeo-price-specs-release-date
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A new Ford Mondeo is on the way – and this new crossover SUV is set to look unlike any Mondeo that’s come before.
NOTE the SUV bit, end of saloon..
Edited by _ORB_ on 25/03/2021 at 16:36
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I had three Mondeos as company cars including a V6 petrol. In between I had other cars with more “image” but I was just as happy with the Mondeos. We had a very free choice of cars on our lists and Mondeos were one of the few cars that people came back to after trying something else. My final one was a 2009 Diesel but by then they had grown to be too big for me and I had an Avensis next.
I have seen a couple of 2008 Mondeo models around here and been surprised how well they are wearing their age from a style and condition viewpoint. I have no idea if they are OK mechanically but they have the appearance of keepers. So if they are dropped by Ford you will probably still see them for years to come.
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I've had three, and bought quite a few more as company cars for my staff.
I loved the first one - one of the very first 2.0Si models, back in 1993. It was my first ever company car and I had great fun with it. I got through a set of front tyres in 8,000 miles and had some explaining to do to our fleet manager!
The second was a 1996 2.0 Ghia estate. I bought it from the company when I left, and kept it for a few years. When I was offered just £1000 for it as a trade in, I gave it to a friend who was going through hard times instead. He ran it for a further 8-10 years with few problems.
My last company car was also a mondeo - a 2014 2.0 130 BHP diesel. After that, I opted out of the company scheme and bought myself a landcruiser.
All the mondeos had great handling, decent fuel economy. I had a few other company cars with a 'better badge' - BMW, Saab, etc - but the Mondeos did the job well. But the most recent ones are larger than my Granada used to be.
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We had a 2002 TDCi 130. Excellent car except for 3 features.
The paint on the doors was a special type designed to fall of twice a year. Ford would not change the doors, they just kept painting on top of the faulty sealer etc.
The traction from a junction/lights was appalling. Too little throttle and you went no where, too much and the wheels spun and you went nowhere. Think I got it right about a handful of times.
The economy was not great. In urban use 35 mpg at best, on a 1000 mile holiday run we could get into the high 40's. Overall in 3 years it averaged out at about 40 mpg.
Nearly replaced it with another but the C-Max made more sense at the time. Paint did not fall off, traction was good and the mpg was much better. But it was very noisy and the seats were poor on a long trip.
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Mazda will continue to make tge 6 and the upcoming generation promises to be truly wow.
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Mazda will continue to make tge 6 and the upcoming generation promises to be truly wow.
The 3rd generation Mazda 6, from 2012, uses a new platform unrelated to the Mondeo/Fusion
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I know, which is why they’re the most reliable brand in the world :-). OP was asking what other cars are in the same class and will continue to be produced.
Having said that, they’re working on the NEW generation Mazda 6, to be released at the end of 2022. 6 in-line, hybrid, rwd, complete redesign...
I’m holding my breath, let’s hope they realise being a premium brand comes with some accountability and I’ll be more than happy to pay a decent amount for it.
Edited by chris87 on 25/03/2021 at 20:30
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It's been the wide adoption of PCP that's largely done this I think. The Germans manufacturers can be attractive due to the lower depreciation.
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It's been the wide adoption of PCP that's largely done this I think. The Germans manufacturers can be attractive due to the lower depreciation.
Agreed - people can now get higher spec/more luxurious cars for the same amount of money so this type of car is disappearing.
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I'll be sad to see the Mondeo disappear. I've owned a Mk2 and currently have a Mk3 and have liked them both.
However, I've always considered the Mk4 to be too large and it is. I will never buy a Mk4 for this reason.
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Yes I agree they became too big. My son had a Mondeo estate as a company car about three or four years ago. Although it was in Ghia trim it had no parking sensors. Even if it had sensors it would still be tricky to place in a standard parking space in an open car park (i.e. one where you were not parking back against a wall).
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Saloons are daft.
They dominate the market for older cars here in Taiwan because they gave more "face".
Thus hardly any estates (the pre-SUV equivalent) because Taiwanese of yore confused them with vans, which are blue collar and give much less face.
That's why I had a DOHC Sierra, but a vehicle that size that you can't put a bicycle in is an absurdity.
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It's been the wide adoption of PCP that's largely done this I think. The Germans manufacturers can be attractive due to the lower depreciation.
The same thing is happening in Australia. Buyers have deserted big saloons and estates and are buying dual cab pickup trucks and SUVs. As far as I know we don't have a lot of leasing PCP type deals here so that is not what is causing it here. It is just buyer preferences changing. I would not be surprised if it is happening in the US also. I am very sorry to see the large saloons go. I don't want a prestige brand with prestige prices and prestige servicing. A big blue collar 6 cylinder estate is my preference. RWD and torque convertor transmission also please. They are vanishing from the market so I will keep my old one as long as it remains reliable.
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As I said, keep an eye out for the bew 6 and you might just get that! Not sure is Mazda does estates in Australia, but they’re a thing in Europe.
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Shame. My wife got a Mark 1 2.0 petrol as a company car, it was excellent and quite quick (by the standards of the day) when given some revs.
I had one of the early Mark 4 2.0 diesel estates and that was a very good car too. My only criticism was the ratios in the manual gearbox: 1st, 2nd and 3rd were quite short, then there seemed to be a chasm to 4th gear, but 5th and 6th were close together.
I'd just come from a Passat PD130 with the 6-speed manual, and the ratios in that were a perfect match to the engine's characteristics, so the Mondeo's gearbox never quite felt right. But it was a huge, comfortable family barge that handled and rode very well indeed. In those respects it was streets ahead of the Passat.
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Had a 2.5 Ghia X Estate as a company car before the tax rules changed and everybody had a diesel.
Fantastic car with a growing family and many miles to do the length and breadth of the country.
Once managed to set the cruise control at 120mph going through Belgium and before smart motorways would regularly cruise all day at 100mph..
Used to get through tyres at an alarming rate and never really bettered 32mpg even on a run.
When the company went bust my new employer gave me a 2.0 Zetec estate. Had many of the plusher cars driving attributes but without the go and top end toys. I discovered on a wet motorway that it didn't even have ABS!
Always a comfortable and capable car but not what the market wants today.
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With the Insignia going too, what will be left other than a pug 508 or the german barges, Audi/Vw/skoda.merc BMW ?
I agree that estate cars are sadly a dying breed and replaced by SUVs that may genuinely suit some better than an estate but most are just bought because they are fashionable and the marketing people have managed to convince people they "need" an SUV.
However, all is not lost. Someone has already mentioned the Mazda 6 but there is also Kia Ceed SW, Hyundai i30 Tourer, Toyota Corolla, Megane Sport Tourer, Seat Leon, Volvo V60 and V90 and Jag XF. Estates are not dead yet!
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We had the original Mondeo as pool cars in the 90s and they were in a different league to the cavaliers and Sierras of the day in terms of dynamics. Very good cars to drive enthusiastically. I do think that the typical car buying public are far less interested in the dynamic qualities of their cars these days, more interested in the badge, colour and looks. There's a perception too that an SUV is required wherever kids are on the scene, although I'm pretty sure a decent estate will always have greater utility and be superior to drive on our roads at least. Good to see the strong list of existing estates still on the market above though.
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I remember when the Mondeo first came, out reading a comment by Richard Bremner in whichever magazine he wrote for at the time. He said the Mondeo was the best handling front wheel drive car he'd ever driven. And if memory serves, that wasn't one of the fancier V6 models, it was either a 1.8 or 2.0 'rep spec'.
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Yes BBD, I think I remember that article, was it in "Car" magazine? But yes he was right, a fantastic surefooted car, I drove one from Heathrow to South Wales in heavy snow late at night and it was absolutely predictable and safe, plus more than entertaining. A great car.
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I had several of them, all estates. All great cars. One of them, a 2002 TDCi Ghia X manual was my favourite. I put 200,000 trouble free miles on that in 5 years of use.
I recently checked on the MOT website thingy and it's still going about somewhere with 385,000 miles on it at its last MOT in February of this year.
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I must have driven dozens, as hire, loan or pool cars. I always liked them but too large for my needs.
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I find it hard to imagine thinking of a car as "too big". I can fill the biggest of them no trouble at all. Whether it's full of kit to set up an exhibition for work, or taking a load of stuff to the tip, or the family, our bikes and luggage on holiday to France, or just the mountain bikes, ancillary kit and some people to Wales on a Sunday, I can fill them all up!
I "get" small cars too of course. Easy to park, cheap to buy and run etc. handy for nipping about locally in and so on. But, medium sized ones don't work for me. Too much of a compromise.
Each to his or her own of course!
;-)
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Having said that, they’re working on the NEW generation Mazda 6, to be released at the end of 2022. 6 in-line, hybrid, rwd, complete redesign...
And who is going to buy that?
Toyota have been at the hybrid game 20 years and use a 2 litre max engine and electric motor to good effect, shame about the CVT. VAG use a 1.4 TSi and electric motor to better effect.
Mazda have done some crazy things over the years but that would take some beating.
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Toyota have also used the hybrid with v6 and v8 engines
Glad to see Mazda not being sheep.
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Toyota have also used the hybrid with v6 and v8 engines Glad to see Mazda not being sheep.
In Lexus perhaps but I am talking about cars bought by normal people.
Better to be a sheep than invite failure yet again but Mazda have plenty of experience of that.
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It’s an assault on the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C Class market, rather than what are perceived to be volume manufacturers.
They have (unsuccessful) previous form with an attempt to move to being seen as a premium brand with the Xedos sub brand, but it was to very little avail.
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Having said that, they’re working on the NEW generation Mazda 6, to be released at the end of 2022. 6 in-line, hybrid, rwd, complete redesign
................................................................
And who is going to buy that?
Oh, I don't know, maybe someone who was thinking about a BMW hybrid saloon but were not too keen on the current (ahem) styling. Someone who bemoans the trend for smaller (cylinder count) engines (there seem to be quite a few on the forum, never mind anywhere else). I don't doubt the sales figures will be tiny compared to the likes of BMW, but if Toyota can make a case for selling the Camry hybrid here, I don't see why Mazda can't sell enough of these new 6's to make it worthwhile bringing them over, given it is likely to look amazing. Lets face it, its not like they have to re-engineer it for RHD.
Toyota have been at the hybrid game 20 years and use a 2 litre max engine and electric motor to good effect
The current Camry mentioned above uses a 2.5. Big Toyota MPV's have been available for donkeys years with the option of a 2.4 hybrid. Current versions use the same 2.5 as the Camry. And if we think of Lexus as being Toyota too, they use hybrid's up to a 5.0 V8.
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I am so glad I am not alone on the forum in liking the new Mazda approach. I have never owned a car with less than 5 cylinders, current one has 8 snd the other one has 6. I do not intend to upset that trend before the oil runs out/gets banned.
Edited by Metropolis. on 26/03/2021 at 18:33
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I am fairly sure Chevrolet have been making a hybrid 6.2 v8 for donkeys years now as well. I think early Escalades got 1 more mile per US Gallon lol.
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Who’s gonna buy that car? Quite a few people, I would think, mainly those who think a car is more than a thing that takes you from A to B.
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I had a 2litre petrol auto in 1993. It was excellent, the only real dislike was the seats. After 90 k miles and 3 years they were shot. Foam had sagged horribly making it an uncomfortable drive. Other than that it was a good driving and handling car. Mine even had aircon, whuch is more than my boss's car at the time had.
The current car is completely different, huge barge. As far as I am concerned the Mondeo is already long dead.
Edited by Sparrow on 26/03/2021 at 20:24
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The big question... who or what will replace "Mondeo (wo)man"?
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I was going to say Qashqai as well but couldnt think what to pair it with lol.
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It’s an assault on the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C Class market, rather than what are perceived to be volume manufacturers.
If that's the case they will have little success in the UK. Last year (admittedly not a typical year) Mazda registered 2973 cars, Mercedes registered 16,875, BMW 16,732 and Audi 14,245. Kia sold 3 times as many cars as Mazda and their BMW/Merc/Audi baiter hardly sells in big numbers, they initially planned not to sell the updated version in the UK but had a change of mind and now they only sell one spec.
Best they could hope for is a few hundred cars and that is not a figure that will help their survival.
Have they not noticed that the successful manufacturers of the world are making small 3 & 4 cylinder turbo petrol engined hybrids (Toyota are an exception but they are using the formula they started using over 20 years ago).
They have (unsuccessful) previous form with an attempt to move to being seen as a premium brand with the Xedos sub brand, but it was to very little avail.
Exactly.
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2 or 3 years ago Ford America announced that it would in future be making only SUVs, given the popularity of that style of car in the US. They love ‘em. So I’m not surprised to learn that the Mondeo is to be discontinued, although that may not be the reason over here. I have a feeling that the Fiesta and Focus are selling too well to discontinue them, but we’ll see.
I do wonder if the craze for SUVs will fizzle out, although there is little sign of that at the moment. I would guess that some new type of vehicle will be invented at some time in the future and then we’ll all go mad for them. I’m starting to ramble a bit with my thoughts now, but maybe the switch to EVs will spawn a completely new type of car which works particularly well in EV form and which nobody had thought of before.
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