Ford has signalled that it will pitch its new Mondeo wagon against the brawnier and m

[csv8]

Ford has signalled that it will pitch its new Mondeo wagon against the brawnier and more powerful Holden Sportwagon.
Related Coverage


Ford Australia also says it will use the wagon's arrival in August to help relaunch the slow-selling Mondeo brand locally.

Despite the fact that the Sportwagon eclipses the four-cylinder Mondeo on the cylinder count with a choice of V6 and V8 powertrains as well as sporty and luxury models, Ford president, Marin Burela, believes the wagon "will be a real competitor for the Sportwagon".

"Let's take our first shot across the bow with the Mondeo wagon, which is a very classy car in terms of package, performance, fuel economy and styling," he says.

"We think it will be a real surprise and delight to the market."

Ford is expecting big things from fleet and private buyers for its mid-sizer as it broadens the choice between the sedan, hatch and wagon. Both the Mondeo sedan and hatch were launched in late 2007 but sales have never fired against the heavy hitting Toyota Camry, Mazda6, Honda Accord Euro and Subaru Liberty.

Last year more than 85,000 buyers bought mid-size cars but Ford's slice was just 4872 Mondeos.

Unlike the Japanese makes though, the Mondeo's ace is a 2.0-litre turbo diesel mated to a six-speed automatic. Burela believes a refocused and more aggressive Mondeo marketing push will lift sales.

"Even a 10 per cent share, which is around 8000, may not seem a lot but it's important," he says.

However, Burela recognises the segment is extremely competitive with 27 players in the under $80,000 bracket.

Even with all eyes on the Mondeo over the next few months, Burela still believes there is a place for the Falcon wagon in the lineup. Burela says the bigger Falcon wagon remains popular with fleets because of its packaging and room.

"The fleets love it," he says.

"What we found with our current Falcon wagon is that we are consistent every single month with an order book of 350 to 400 wagons a month."

Burela says Ford is cautious over how it moves forward with its wagon lineup, particularly in relation to the future of the larger load lugger.

"The last thing I want to do is invest our scarce resources where we don't need to invest them," he says..

"We are just going to take our time and get the Mondeo wagon out there and then once we've got that settled down we'll look at the next steps."

Despite Ford's pitch at the Sportwagon, the Holden still wins the space race. The Sportwagon has 895 litres of luggage room with the rear seats up and 2000 litres of space with the seats folded. By comparison the Mondeo has 542 litres of luggage room, growing to 1733 litres with the rear seats folded. The venerable Falcon wagon eclipses both, with 1260 litres of luggage space and a huge 2584 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.
1