14 lifestyle
The Malay Mail Friday 11 NOVEMBER, 2011
TestDrive: Ford Mondeo 2.0 Ecoboost
Torgue of the town
The Ford Mondeo Ecoboost enters the market with power unrivalled in its class By Shamsul Yunos lifestyle@mmail.com.my CARS looking for buyers in the executive segment have to come to the fight armed to the teeth with special features and unique propositions because it is a crowded segment that panders to the demands of those who are hard to satisfy. Since all the players in this segment are also familiar with this challenge, everyone is offering something interesting. The Ford Mondeo Ecoboost is entering the fray armed with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and powershift dual clutch transmission as the main guns and accompanying those are European styling, refinement and ride and handling. The forced induction system boosts power to 203PS, which is roughly 200 horsepower while torque can twist 300 Newtons. These are impressive numbers and they are unrivalled in this class. The first prod of the accelerator is enough to confirm that the specification sheet is not lying about the engine’s potential for creating fun. The
car eagerly lunges towards the horizon every time the driver tickles the right pedal. With so much torque available, the car is also quite capable of startling acceleration from junctions, traffic lights and annoying tailgaters. The engine really is the star of the show and given enough throttle movement, it is willing and able to upturn any frown into a smile. The Mondeo is the sort of car you can creep up in behind a BMW 320i and have a bit of fun. Thanks to a well sorted-out chassis, the Mondeo is also a capable hustler along roads less straight without getting itself out of sorts. The steering is relatively precise and there is decent feedback so the car can be placed accurately into corners and Ford Mondeo 2.0 Ecoboost specifications ▪ Engine type: 4 Cylinder, DOHC, 16 Valve, Ti-VCT+ drivers can have a good VIS, alloy cylinder head and block with min RON95 idea what the wheels are ▪ Turbocharger: Fixed type doing. ▪ Fuel preparation: Electronic multi-point fuel injection Fitted with a suitably ▪ Displacement (cc): 1999 impressed state of mind, ▪ Maximum power (PS (kW)/rpm): 203 (149) @ we ventured out of the 6000 city in search of some fun ▪ Maximum torque (Nm(kg.m)/rpm): 300 (30.6) @ 4500 roads and the Mondeo ▪ Transmission: PowerShift® 6-Speed dual-clutch immediately impressed automatic us. Suspension The car enters corners ▪ Front: MacPherson strut crisply, holds on to the ▪ Rear: Independent Control Blade multilink line without fuss and handles left-right transiTyre ▪ Front & rear: 215/50 R17 tions like a politician an▪ Spare tyre: T125/90 R16 swering a question. ▪ Special Features: Keyless ignition system, dualThe firm, Teutonic zone climate control, Bluetooth® & voice command, springing and well-conDriver power seat adjust 8 way with memory, Rear power point, Electrochromatic rear view mirror trolled damping allows the tyres to keep the car planted in corners but they are not so hard as to induce discomfort among the occupants. Suitably impressed with the Mondeo’s driving dynamics, we deContiMaxcided to slick the shifter Contact MC5 into automatic and take an easy drive back to the Recommended city. Fitment The Ulu Yam route is 215/50 R17 91V a combination of long sweeping corners and tight constant radius turns peppered with a few tricky tightening lines connected by lazy
meandering tarmac so a relaxed drive in automatic mode still requires the gearbox to do a lot of work. The gearbox made a lot of gear changes and the predictive system is quite good in guessing which gear should be next and when that happens, the shift is smooth but when it has second guessed wrongly, there is hesitation in the driveline and the driver feels momentary lack of power and then a gentle driveline shunt. Driven at half throttle or less, the Mondeo’s Powershift gearbox seems a trifle confused. Drive it aggressively and the automatic mode is peachy, all sweet and smooth. The Powershift is the problem here and we can say this with some certainty because the same issue rears its head in Volvos that use the same transmission. This indecisiveness and driveline shunt is also evident in city drives where drivers have to constantly accelerate and decelerate to match traffic and road conditions. It is not a huge problem, really. The driveline reminds me of a 1990s Mercedes-Benz where a change of gear involves the gearbox letting go of one cog and momentarily forgetting what it is supposed to do before startling itself into the next ratio. The Mondeo is otherwise very refined and this accentuates the low-
watt quality of the transmission. I suppose you can get used to it, for the sake of those delicious times when we attack our favourite roads in manual mode but why should we have to? Right? Unless there is a fundamental mechanical engineering design obstacle, for example if the selector fork design requires extra time to choose and move cogs or if the hydraulic shifters needs extra pressure, then the solution probably relies on the transmission’s software. Whatever the problem with the Powershift system, I hope they fix it soon. Otherwise the Mondeo is a fine product. The only other real complain with the Mondeo is really the price but what you are getting from RM180,000 is the performance of a well-sorted 2.4-litre car without having to pay the penalty of higher road tax. The Mondeo’s interior is a nice place to be in with supportive seats front and rear,
well-sorted ergonomics and a decent entertainmaent system to help time pass. The velour inserts in the seats are particularly helpful when the driver wants to charge hard on back roads, holding down occupants and keeping them feeling safe. The multi-function display tells everything you need to know about the car and the entertainment system, making it possible to change stations, track or volume without taking your eyes off the road for too long. With everything fitting perfectly, the RM180K price tag is well judged…. until I remember how the gearbox misbehaves. For that I can only give this car three-and-a-half stars out of four but it remains on the recommendation list because the transmission may be a personal complaint that most others would not notice.