Ford Debuts All-New Mondeo in Asia; Flagship Redefines Segment with Premium Design, Advanced Tech and Latest 1.5-litre EcoBoost Engine

BEIJING, Apr. 2, 2013 – Ford continues to aggressively expand its growing line-up in China with the classy all-new global Mondeo, which rewrites benchmarks in the midsize segment with its expressive design, luxury technologies, class-leading safety and top fuel economy.

 

Built on Ford’s global C/D-segment platform, the refined Ford flagship is one of the 15 global vehicles that the company has promised to bring to the country by 2015. Featuring a sleek silhouette and fresh face, the all-new Ford Mondeo will be available as a four-door sedan in Asia.

 

The Mondeo will be the first car in its segment to be equipped with a 1.5-litre powertrain, the brand-new 1.5-litre EcoBoost petrol engine, to deliver class-leading fuel economy. It will also be the first Ford vehicle to be equipped with the innovative 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine.

 

“We’ve gone further in every aspect to bring to China the most premium Mondeo we have ever designed, developed and built,” said Marin Burela, president and CEO, Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd. “The all-new Mondeo is designed to stir the senses and transform expectations of what a car can be.

 

 “It’s truly a flagship car, offering a blend of quality and excitement to our Chinese customers that raises the bar in the segment in terms of craftsmanship, style and technology- delivering what we believe our Chinese customers truly want and value.”

 

 

Ford’s new global design language comes to the fore in the all-new Mondeo’s refined, elegant and highly emotional exterior. The lean side profile is sculpted to convey “visual lightness” while the sophisticated front end design features Ford’s new, more prominent trapezoidal grille as well as a power-dome bonnet.

 

The design team was guided by five elements as they sketched out the Mondeo:

 

The all-new Mondeo is the first Ford to feature headlamps with LED high-beam, low-beam and signal lighting. Quicker to illuminate, more durable and more energy-efficient than traditional filament bulb headlamps, the Mondeo’s LED headlamps turn with the steering and adapt beam projection to vehicle speed – providing a greater depth of illumination at high speeds and a wider field of vision at lower speeds.

 

Scoring yet another first among competitors, the Mondeo comes with Ford’s Multi-Contour Seats with Active Motion™ which contain 11 air cushions that pad the driver and passenger’s entire back – three for lumbar support, four for the seat pad, and four for side support. The bottom cushion features Active Motion technology, which provides a subtle continuous massage, designed to lessen back pain on long trips.

 

The interior delivers exceptional levels of ergonomics and comfort, with superior craftsmanship throughout the driver-focused cockpit. A higher centre console supports the driver-centric theme and yields clever storage for items a driver wants to keep handy. Additional passenger space was designed in by moving the instrument panel toward the windshield, contributing to the cabin’s airy, open environment.

 

Paying attention to detail, Ford also gave the interior soft-touch materials and made sure interior and exterior gaps are minimised. Extra care has also been taken to upholster or cover each edge and every surface a customer can touch. When the boot lid is opened, for example, a spring-loaded cover automatically conceals the boot latch hardware.

 

“With the all-new Mondeo, quality is not just about what you can see,” said Burela. “It’s also about what you can touch and feel.”

 

 

The all-new Mondeo is the first vehicle in China to be equipped with the innovative inflatable rear seatbelts, which combine attributes of an airbag and a conventional seatbelt. These are designed to reduce head, neck and chest injuries for rear-seat passengers, especially children and older passengers who are more vulnerable to such injuries. In the event of an accident, the belt rapidly expands to disperse crash forces across a body area five times greater than that achieved by a conventional seatbelt.

 

As with an airbag, Ford’s inflatable rear seatbelt is activated when crash sensors detect an accident. This forces compressed gas out of a cylinder housed below the rear seat, through the buckle and into the belt, which is fully deployed in less than 40 milliseconds. Unlike airbags which generate heat when deploying, Ford’s inflatable rear seatbelt uses cold compressed gas.

 

The all-new Mondeo also offers an unprecedented portfolio of driver assistance and convenience technologies based on sensors, cameras and radar that enable the car to see and respond. Mondeo can help drivers maintain proper lane position, adjust vehicle speed to changing traffic conditions, identify suitable parking spaces and even help park.

 

Class-exclusive technologies include:

 

 

 

Class-leading technologies encompass:

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The new Mondeo has class-leading technologies worthy of a flagship car and which embody Go Further, reflecting Ford’s high standards of progressiveness in automobile development and customer understanding globally, especially here in China,” said Burela.

 

 

The all-new Mondeo offers the latest iteration of Ford’s award-winning, industry-exclusive SYNC® communications and entertainment system, which enables voice-activated communication through a driver’s mobile phone and interaction with the car’s audio system.

 

Available in English and Mandarin, SYNC with MyFord Touch® allows the driver to interact with vehicle systems such as climate control, radio, and CD-player through voice commands, an eight-inch colour touchscreen as well as a conventional button.

 

SYNC with MyFord Touch helps reduce the potential for driver distraction through voice-controlled functionality, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

 

As an added bonus for customers in China, rear passengers can select and control the music from the audio buttons in the centre armrest at the back. They can even move the front passenger seat forward for more legroom at the touch of a button on the side of the seat.

 

 

The new 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine will debut on the all-new Mondeo. It is the fifth and latest member to join Ford’s global family of EcoBoost engines, which includes a 1.0-litre three-cylinder, 1.6- and 2.0-litre four-cylinders, and two 3.5-litre V6 variants.

 

Ford’s EcoBoost technology, which holds more than 125 patents, combines direct fuel injection, turbocharging and variable valve timing to enable a downsized engine to gain fuel economy by up to 20 percent over larger engines with no loss of performance.

 

The 1.5-litre EcoBoost engine is projected to produce 132 kW of power at 6,000 rpm and peak torque of 240 Nm from 1,500 to 4,500 rpm. It includes an integrated intake manifold and water-cooled charge air cooler, which allows for a more efficient feed of air into the engine, and a clutch-controlled water pump that delivers fuel efficiencies by reducing the warm up time of the engine. The engine also features specific technologies to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, delivering an engine that is quiet and refined.

 

Other than the 1.5-litre EcoBoost powerplant, the all-new Mondeo will also be available with the 2.0-litre EcoBoost engine, which serves up 170 kW of power at 5,500 rpm and 340 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. Both engines will be mated with Ford’s fuel-efficient six-speed automatic transmission.

 

 

Available with up to seven airbags, the all-new Mondeo is designed with customer safety in mind. Engineers increased its body strength by 10 percent, using ultra-high-strength steels such as boron, which also reduced overall weight for improved fuel economy.

 

Ford also debuts an all-new premium-level integral link suspension configuration on the Mondeo to improve ride comfort and noise reduction, especially for passengers in the rear. Combine it with the electric power-assisted steering, and the Mondeo becomes a joy to handle and drive, with a dynamic character that will please a well-seasoned enthusiast and increase the confidence level of less-experienced drivers.

 

Interior quiet on the all-new Ford Mondeo reaches a new level with acoustic underbody shields and weight-saving sound-absorption material – both minimise road and powertrain noise while boosting aerodynamic efficiency to help save fuel. A full-perimeter bonnet seal takes the Mondeo all the way to the top of its class in giving drivers a quiet ride.

 

The new Mondeo is also equipped with Ford’s Emergency Assistance, which provides peace of mind and reassurance to the driver and occupants. This free service utilises the driver’s mobile phone and, using SYNC, is designed to automatically inform emergency services via a dedicated call centre in the event of an accident.