Ford Mondeo: Ford celebrates 20 years of its stalwart Mondeo

It’s hard to believe but the Ford Mondeo is now 20 years old having sold more than 4.5 million models around Europe and 1.4 million in the UK alone.

Ford Mondeo is 20 years old

The Ford Mondeo Graphite carries the flag

When it was launched, the Mondeo set new standards in performance and handling as well as being cheap to run it was extremely popular with the motoring public.

Though there aren’t many versions of the older Mondeos around, the car is still a big seller for Ford. It’s not as popular as it once was but then the car market in this segment is so much more crowded.

The Ford Mondeo ushered in a new era of technology and led the field with airbags, traction control, intelligent protection, Adaptive Cruise Control and EcoBoost engines.

Ford Mondeo continues to impress

The range of the Ford Mondeo still impresses, particularly the Ford Mondeo Graphite, and these cars do everything that you would expect of it and do it well.

Along its journey to its landmark anniversary, the car became a political statement when the term Mondeo Man was being bandied about to define an election class in one election campaign.

The third generation was launched in 2007 but it had already hit the headlines when James Bond took it for a spin in Casino Royale in 2006.

Following its launch in 1993, which came after a £3 billion investment programme, the Ford Mondeo was named Car of the Year in 1994 and went on to pick up a slew of other awards and set new standards.

The Ford Mondeo was relaunched in 2000 and brought with it Ford’s Intelligent Protection System as well as heated rear seats, rain sensing wipers and automatic headlamps for the first time.

That relaunch brought with it adaptive cruise control, the easy fuel system to prevent misfuelling, and interactive vehicle dynamic control.

New Ford Mondeo on the way

A further revamp three years ago introduced the Ford EcoBoost petrol engine and new safety features including auto high beam, driver alert and lane departure warning.

The Ford Mondeo has always delivered a class leading drive helped by the powerful performance from its range of engines. Indeed, the latest 2.0-litre 163PS Duratorq diesel engine will return 63 mpg.

Never a firm to stand still, Ford has brought in smart regenerative charging, its eco-mode driver info system and the active grille shutter system to reduce drag.

Next year sees yet another revamp and Ford is promising an all-new Mondeo which will include new, more economic engines as well as a petrol hybrid electric version to compete in an increasingly popular market segment.

The Ford Mondeo found admirers who otherwise avoided the Blue Oval and now Ford has released a new internet video celebrating two decades of Mondeo success with a voiceover by actor Ray Winstone. Watch it here: Ford Mondeo is 20 years old.

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