Exactly eight years later, a new generation of Mondeo arrived.
In the past eight years, the changes in the Chinese market have a feeling of vicissitudes. Even when overseas markets have said that they will not update fusions – that is, overseas versions of Mondeo – Ford China still insists on launching a mid-to-high-end sedan. On the one hand, this is because the sales volume of the entire domestic B-segment car market still has an upward momentum, on the other hand, thanks to the Ford China 2.0 strategy, The Ford China Product Center and the Ford China Design Center have been able to independently design and develop products, so it is also natural to tailor a new generation of Mondeo to the Chinese market.
The debut of the new generation of Mondeo was placed at the Ford China Design Center, because this car was born here like the earlier Ford EVOS. There are now more than a hundred designers here who are constantly tailoring models to meet the aesthetic needs of Chinese consumers – EVOS and Mondeo are just the beginning.
The first time I saw the new Mondeo, the biggest feeling was not how its front face was designed, how the rear was designed, but the sense of volume.
The new Mondeo is not a typical mid-to-high-end sedan with a wheelbase of about 2 meters 8 meters, but a B+ class model with a wheelbase of 2945mm, and the body length after adding the tail compartment reaches 4935mm. A mid-to-high-end car with a size of nearly five meters parked here has a sense of volume in itself.
However, unlike the general model of this size, which prefers a stable style of administrative business, Ford China's designers have made the momentum of this car very prominent. In other words, a medium-to-high-end car of such a large size shows a strong sense of movement and a sense of being ready to go.
The size of five meters and the wheelbase have increased by nearly 95mm compared to the previous generation, but it is difficult to reflect the sense of movement - because the longer the model, the better the visual stability, and the easier it is to show a stable posture.
To this end, the designer emphasizes the momentum of the model, using a front low and rear high design, such as the front engine compartment is significantly lower than the height of the rear trunk, there is a sense of dive. At the same time, you can see that the starting point of the A-pillar is backward, and the overall cockpit position is very backward, which is the shape of a classic rear-drive car. Coupled with the rare 19-inch large wheel design of this class, the sporty qualities of the new generation of Mondeo were quickly highlighted.
Another treatment for momentum is the roof line that slips back. From the A pillar, before reaching the B pillar, it began to slide, forming a very slippery roof design. In addition, from the lower edge of the window can also be seen, after passing through the B-pillar, the entire lower edge of the window begins to go up, thus guiding the line of sight to go up, so that the roof line forms a convergence effect, showing a very sporty body posture.
At the same time, in order to cope with the more solid perception of the body side, Ford China's designers also tried their best to use a richer sense of layering to reduce the visual thickness of the vehicle. So in addition to the two-color roof, chrome trim is also designed along the window, and the vehicle side skirt also echoes the glossy black trim and slender silver trim, reducing the visual proportion of the door.
There is also a detail here, also to enhance the dynamic posture of the body, a swing design was made on the C-pillar, rather than using horizontal trim strips to decorate the connection between the roof and the body, as in many models. At the same time, the end of the silver trim strip of the bottom side skirt also has an upward rise, which echoes the swivel design above. And the designer did not pull the silver trim strip at the bottom of the car to the bottom of the car, but it was shorter than the trim, which also avoided the body being too stable.
Of course, the entire body side can not be ignored that the traditional through-the-waist design is replaced by a muscular profile, which is also an element that highlights Ford's sportiness. The sharp rear shoulder line shape is a typical American muscle car, which was previously very classic on the Mustang, and now the designer has also embodied this element in the sedan.
If you look at the rear of the car first along the rear shoulder line, the through-the rear of the car seems to be not uncommon, but when the headlights are lit, you can notice that the taillights on each side will light up three orange column light groups. This is the typical Three-poster taillight of Mustang, and the new generation of Mondeo has transplanted itself.
On closer inspection, you can also find that the rear of the car has an integrated ducktail design, which is also derived from Ford's classic cars - the first generation of Mondeo and the fourth generation of Mondeo have similar designs, and the Muscle Sports Car such as the Mustang is even more so.
In this ducktail design where the tail design intersects, the new Mondeo still took inspiration from The Ford classic car and made an embedded design. The design is also a tribute to the overall feel of the Muskang taillights and tail compartment, with a distinct façade around the taillight set. This design gives the entire taillights and sides a sense of embedding, and the line of sight is directed from the side to the back. If you compare the average model, the relationship between the taillights and the side of the body will not have this feeling, but directly let the taillights protrude on the rear side, and then cover a lampshade very abruptly.
Because the rear of the car is higher than the front cabin, the thickness of the rear is still obvious. In order to solve such visual effects, the designers also used richer layers to deal with, especially at the bottom made a penetrating silver trim to build a visual effect of bilateral exhaust. In fact, this is half of the rear bumper, and there is a part below.
However, according to the designers of Ford China, the version we have seen is not the most sporty shape, and they have also created a more sporty version of the kit. Therefore, in the treatment of this tail, there is also a version of bright black trim, coupled with a black spoiler and tail wing, so that the visual effect of the entire rear will not be so thick.
Now let's turn our gaze back to the front part of the face. The front face of the new Mondeo is obviously not exactly the same as the Ford EVOS, but it is basically not a big difference.
The first is the overall shape of the shark nose, with a downward hood, and the entire front face is made more upright than the average model, so there are also typical Mustang design elements, creating a strong sense of sport.
In terms of front face design, the larger octagonal grille is more recognizable than the early Martin face, coupled with the split headlights, which is also a family design created by Ford China Design Center for the Chinese market.
It is worth noting that the grille design in the middle, which is also the design of dragon scales, can also be flipped up and down, and the sense of ceremony of the awakening of the dragon is still very attractive to young people. However, unlike the Ford EVOS, this grille scale is not a concave design, but a flat hexagonal design, and the front is made of dark chrome trim, which feels more elegant than the Ford EVOS design.
In the light group part, the middle is a penetrating daytime running light, and the split headlight design is also designed by Ford China for the Chinese market. Also paying homage to Mustang's three-poster design elements are three-segment LED lights and three-point designs that run through the ends of LED lights. In addition, on the design details of the headlight group, you can see that the edge of the black trim panel also has a shark gill design, which emphasizes the sporty characteristics of the elements that make this mid-to-high-end car unique.
Of course, as a mid-to-high-end sedan, the new Mondeo is not too aggressive to take the sports route, so the bumper under the front face is still the kind of flat and stable design, which is different from the more sporty shape of EVOS.
Driver's Summary:
After watching the new generation of Mondeo, I can actually perceive the two big selling points that this car wants to build -
The first is to meet the expectations of middle-class consumers for the size of mid-to-high-end models;
The second is that it can also reflect the sports preferences that make the post-80s and post-85s feel excited.
The new Mondeo is essentially a mid-to-high-end car product, but it is well combined with the concept of "potential energy aesthetics" proposed by Ford China Design Center, adding more momentum, a sense of strength and innovative elements in addition to the originally calm business size, focusing the target consumers on the post-80s group.
If you compare the new Mondeo and Ford EVOS, you will find that the designers of the Ford China Design Center understand these two models and do not simply "paste and copy". For example, the EVOS, a crossover that Ford did not have before, will be more inclined to innovative details, while the new Mondeo will emphasize the presentation of Ford's classic elements and more for traditional consumers to recognize mid-to-high-end cars.
As for the interior design of the new Mondeo, Changan Ford still retains some mysteries that will take a few days to reveal.
Text| JackieLXX
Pictured| JackieLXX
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