Ford has shown off its new Mondeo in Europe, and we’re jealous. Although the Mondeo is almost identical to the 2013 Ford Fusion sedan, Europeans also are privy to much sexier and more practical hatchback and wagon versions. Ford has always offered its popular Mondeo in all three bodystyles, but unfortunately the hatch and wagon are forbidden fruit to American buyers.
Ford has always offered traditional sedan, hatchback, and wagon versions of its Mondeo, so it’s no surprise to see those bodystyles for the new car. What’s disappointing is that the American market is only privy to the Fusion sedan, robbing us of the objectively more practical and subjectively sexier hatch and wagon variants. Europeans will also be treated to an available six-speed manual transmission.
The Ford Mondeo hatchback is recognizable by its rear wiper, betraying the fact that the entire rear windshield lifts up to facilitate adding bulky cargo. The wagon, predictably, simply extends the Mondeo’s roofline past the C-pillar, ending in a nearly-square liftgate. The character line that runs through the Mondeo’s door handles kinks up above the rear wheel, giving the appearance of broader rear fenders.
In addition to the hybrid and Energi plug-in hybrid powertrains offered on the 2013 Ford Fusion, the new Mondeo can be fitted with turbodiesel engines and Ford’s new 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine.
More Americans To Europe
The aforementioned One Ford strategy encourages Ford to sell the same set of vehicles in as many different countries as possible, cutting down on development and marketing costs. As such, two American models will be heading to Europe as well. Ford plans to start officially selling the Mustang on the Continent, although the company hasn’t yet said when the muscle car will launch. Currently, pony-car fans must pay various import taxes to ship an American Mustang to Europe. After the Kuga, which is twinned with the 2013 Ford Escape, debuts later this year, Ford will introduce the Edge crossover to Europe. That’s a surprising move given that the five-year-old Edge already is a dated vehicle, and that its relative size (184.2 inches long, 87.5 inches wide) will make it a giant car on teensy European roads.
Ford also will bolster its European crossover segment by launching the small EcoSport within 18 months. The car was already slated to go on sale in 100 different countries, including China and South America. Ford hopes it can sell a million SUVs and crossovers annually across Europe over the next six years, so that the models account for ten percent of all Ford of Europe sales.
Source: Ford
Source : wot[dot]motortrend[dot]com
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