The Ford Fusion (née Mondeo) is the latest step in the company’s ‘One Ford’ strategy, which sees (virtually) the same products sold across American, European and Asian markets. The new Fusion will replace the existing Fusion in the US, and a slightly tweaked version of what you see here will replace the Mondeo in Europe. It’s probably the most important new car to be unveiled in Detroit this year. But it’s also not unfair to say that it’s the best thing we’ve seen so far at the show.
Not all of the concepts and new cars have been unveiled this morning, but of those that we have seen, we’ve been largely underwhelmed. The Fusion however, illustrates Ford doing a much better job of pushing their design language toward the premium end of the mainstream (it’s much better than the underwhelming Escape). Its language is recognisably Ford and clearly still belongs to the world of ‘Kinetic design’, yet it’s less busy and much calmer than before. It’s worth pointing out, too, that while in photos this car can appear like a facelifted European Mondeo, the reality in the metal is of a significantly different car.
The front end has translated off the Evos with a good deal of success and it’s only this car’s segment-busting size that creates major cause for concern. We doubt it will be a problem in North America, but the forthcoming Mondeo looks like it might have become a car whose size makes it bordering on the un-useable – or at least very tricky to park – in the cities of old Europe. By comparison, the new BMW 3-Series appears tiny.
Posted by Joe Simpson
