The advantage of the Ford Mondeo MK3 is the chassis. The front wheels are independently suspended from McPherson struts with coil springs and angled shock absorbers, the lower L-arms are embedded in rubber-steel sleeves (in the hydroelastic rear wheels). A separate subframe is used to attach the stabilizer, toothed rack of the steering system and lower arms. The rear wheel suspension is a Quadra-link system with two transverse and one longitudinal wishbone on each side, with coil springs and shock absorbers combined in columns, cooperating with the stabilizer. The station wagon features SLA rear wheel suspension (Short and Long Arm) with long trailing arms and two short trailing arms, separate short suspension and damping elements; an option is a self-leveling system. I had the opportunity to find out, how effectively these systems work on the winding mountain roads of southern France. There was minimal body roll, the car had a slight understeer[ driving characteristics, it is easy to take fast turns without deepening the turn. Disc brakes with large disc diameters are used in the four wheels of the car (front 300 Mm, back 280 Mm), which can be compared with the sizes used in performance cars a few years ago. The anti-lock braking system ABS is included as standard, cooperating with active road wheel speed sensors, enabling a faster and more effective reaction to wheel slip. EBA layout (Emergency Brake Asist) facilitates sharp braking, acting on the principle of reading the intentions of the driver operating the brake, based on the speed with which he presses the brake pedal. In emergency situations, the full braking force is applied acceleratedly, which allows for a significant shortening of the braking distance (in conditions similar to laboratory even by more than 20 m when braking from speed 200 km/h). Ford Mondeo can be equipped with an interactive IDV system (lnteractive Vehicle Dynamics), even more improving the driving characteristics, one of the elements is the electronic stability program ESP (Electronic Stability Program).
Six units are provided for the Mondeo drive; only the most powerful of them, 2,5-Ford Duratec V6 liter engine, was used in previous models. The range is completed by three Duratec HE gasoline engine variants and two variants of the Duratorq Dl 16-valve direct injection turbo diesel engine. So goodbye to the Zetec engine family! I honestly admit, that I was disappointed. New Duratec HE 2.0 liter petrol engine with power 107 kW (190 Nm) with a hull and light alloy head, it is a modern unit, but not very flexible. In 5th gear, the car accelerates only from 70 km/h (by 2000 obr./min), thus the gear lever must be used continuously. On the other hand, Also a 2-liter Duratorq Dl turbo-diesel with power 85 kW (280 Nm), there is no common rail injection control. No precise, sequential control of the fuel dose does not provide this unit with a soft operation and a lively response to pressing the accelerator pedal.
The engines work with MTX-75 gearboxes, with all sync
gear ratios (including reverse!). When testing the old model, we criticized the imprecise gear shifting system. In the new Mondeo, the control system has been improved and shifting gears via a cable system is not a problem and does not require a lot of force.
All in all, the new prestigious Ford Mondeo, built at the plants in Genk (Belgium) is a further advance in the design of C / D cars.