Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 150 AWD, car review: An all-wheel drive Mondeo? Whatever next?

Ford is offering its big-selling Mondeo 2.0-litre turbodiesel with an all-wheel-drive chassis

Tony Middlehurst,Whatcar

Wednesday 21 October 2015 13:13 BST

Comments

You’re losing about 5mpg over the regular 2wd Mondeo (You’re losing about 5mpg over the regular 2wd Mondeo)

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Front-wheel drive cars are pretty handy to have as winter approaches. But for some, the ultimate reassurance on wet or icy roads only comes with four-wheel drive.

Ford is aiming to calm that uncertainty in drivers’ minds by offering its big-selling Mondeo 2.0-litre turbodiesel with an all-wheel-drive chassis.

Normally the car puts its 148bhp through the front wheels and as such it feels like any other Mondeo. That’s good, and efficient too for everyday motoring.

The new car feels much like any other Mondeo

Only when adhesion starts to evaporate does the AWD system kick in. Power delivery from this engine is steady rather than spectacular and the gearing is relatively high, so the driving experience is more about safety than excitement, but the concept of delivering an optimum compromise of performance, security and efficiency can’t be criticised.

It’s hard to know when the transmission is switching between two- and four-wheel drive seamless, so smooth are the transitions. Luckily there’s a display on the dash which is subtle enough to let you pretend to your passengers that you know what’s going on.

The extra AWD hardware is all outside the cabin

On loose surfaces the AWD system boosts the Mondeo’s handling and grip and understeer is well contained. There are no packaging compromises with the extra AWD hardware as it’s all outside the cabin.

For an extra £1500 or so, you can see the initial appeal of the Mondeo AWD, but you do need to factor in the costs that will kick in after you’ve bought it. You’re losing about 5mpg over the regular 2wd Mondeo, and if the car’s being chosen as a company vehicle the extra 9g/km of CO2 emissions kick it two rungs up the Benefit in Kind tax ladder.