In presenting the Iosis concept two years ago at Frankfurt, Ford’s designers promised that the new Mondeo was to be more dynamic and emotive and a product of the Kinetic Design philosophy expressed by the Iosis.
Proof that this promise had been kept came in September 2006, with the unveiling of the estate version of the Mondeo in prototype guise at Paris, but it was only at Geneva this March that we were able to fully appreciate the improved aesthetics and quality of the third generation of Ford’s D segment saloon.
“While the S-Max was an initial, significant indicator of our new design language, the Mondeo finalises and completes Kinetic Design. It is its most complete expression in a production model”, says Martin Smith, Executive Design Director of Ford Europe, as he admires the car with a sense of satisfaction derived from its initial positive reception at Geneva.
As always, it is now the market’s turn to decide the fate of the new car, but it can at least be said that the Mondeo is entering the fray with a coherent design that is more incisive than its predecessor.
Much of the new character is concentrated in the front, an area of the design to which the Cologne based design centre applied particular attention. “For too many years, the faces of our products, and of our range-topping saloons in particular, have not been distinctive enough”, continues Smith, noting how the premium German marques have, on the other hand, had a strong formal identity for decades or, as in the case of Audi, have established an identity more recently with effective design strategies.
“We wanted to maintain some degree of continuity with the trapezoid design of the chin area, with a sporty but functional character to give balance to the upper grille.”…
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 164
