Rush To SUVs Claims Mondeo, Ford Turning Factory Over To Puma Instead

Next year, thirty years after its introduction as the replacement for the Sierra, Ford will cease production of the Mondeo, citing a growing trend for customers to choose SUVs and crossovers over cars. The company's Valencia plant will switch to assembly of the Puma, having previously shuttered production at other factories in Belgium and Russia.

The Mondeo was the archetypal family car when it launched - handily outperforming the Vauxhall / Opel Vectra and later Insignia which GM offered as an alternative. After the Sierra, the early generations of the Mondeo were less challenging to look at, but rather more anonymous. That was fixed when the Mk3 arrived with a fundamental restyle which was to form the basis of the Mondeo look for twenty years.

The Mondeo won the company car market in the UK, meaning it was an common sight in the fast lane of the motorway, stacked up three or four deep, tailgating to the death. Early Mondeos commonly had a fault which mean the lower section of the rear bumper split (whether by aerodynamic weakness or parking clumsiness) which left the plastic flapping in the wind at high speed. The motorway was the natural habitat for the Mondeo and it was here where it excelled. It was a surprisingly good drive away from the motorway too.

Mondeo Man even had a pivotal role in the 1997 UK General Election, when Labour leader Tony Blair identified him as the voter who Labour had to swing back from the Tories if it was to regain power. Policies which targeted Mondeo Man led to Labour's landslide victory in the election that year.

The death of the Mondeo at the hands of the SUV demonstrates the change in the way that people view their cars. No SUV is ever as good to drive as the equivalent car (whether that be hatch or estate) if for no other reason than the increased ride height and the affect on the handling. Stricter road regulations and more efficient forms of enforcement mean that the car is less and less about the journey and more and more about transport. As a result the extra capacity, elevated view and perceived safety advantages of an SUV are going to continue to dictate the market.

Over its life, the Mondeo was probably the best that Ford has to offer. Next year it's death will end a line which goes back through the Consul, Cortina and Sierra and sixty years of mid-sized Fords.