Unlike its American sibling (the Fusion), Europe’s
Mondeo won’t be axed — at least in the foreseeable future. The first
spy shots of the facelifted version that will debut early next year across European
markets. There aren’t many notable changes on the outside of
this Mondeo Wagon prototype spotted undergoing winter testing.
Only the front and rear ends are covered in
camouflage, suggesting those areas will be the ones to see changes. Expect a
new bumper at the front as well as subtle changes to the tailgate and
taillights. The interior doesn’t look that different either, although we can spot
some changes. For example, the center console features new switchgear for the
climate control system right below the standard Sync 3 touchscreen and a rotary
dial for the automatic transmission.
The latter looks very similar to the one used in the
latest Ford Focus, leading us to believe the Mondeo prototype uses the same
eight-speed automatic transmission as the compact model. Since Ford has
announced in October that the updated Mondeo Hybrid family will gain a wagon
version in 2019, this might be just it.
The 2019 Ford Mondeo Hybrid Wagon will use the same
184 hp 2.0-liter gasoline-electric powertrain as the five-door
liftback. However, it’s expected to gain a 9.0 kWh lithium-ion battery that
debuted in the 2019 Fusion Hybrid. Replacing the current 1.4 kWh pack, the
bigger battery should give the updated Mondeo Hybrid a pure-electric driving
range of around 40.2 km.
Along with the updated hybrid powertrain, the
facelifted 2019 Mondeo family is expected to gain new EcoBlue 2.0-liter turbo
diesel and EcoBoost 1.5-liter turbo gasoline engines borrowed from the 2019
Focus. The Mondeo will also get the Co-Pilot360 safety pack consisting of
adaptive cruise control, active parking assist, evasive steering assist, lane
keeping assist, and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection.
