Ford Mondeo Hybrid Review

Overall verdict

The Ford Mondeo hybrid is as spacious for passengers as any Mondeo, but it’s expensive and not particularly economical

The Ford Mondeo Hybrid is a petrol-electric version of the big-selling Mondeo and an alternative to cars such as the Volkswagen Passat GTE, Lexus IS 300h and smaller Toyota Prius.

At first glance, there’s not much difference between the hybrid and the petrol and diesel models, but it’s worth noting that the hybrid comes only in the saloon bodystyle, rather than the more practical hatchback.

Inside, the only obvious difference is the redesigned instrument cluster. The speedometer now gets centre stage and, as in most hybrids, there is a readout to show you how much power you are either using or regenerating.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much standard Ford Mondeo inside this hybrid version. The centre console is dominated by a large infotainment touchscreen, which controls most of the functions, meaning relatively few buttons on the centre console and a neat, uncluttered layout. Sadly, the infotainment system isn’t as easy to use as the one you’ll find in a Passat, but you won’t complain about the quality of materials that Ford has used inside.

You’ll also be very happy with the amount of room for passengers inside. The hybrid is every bit as spacious inside as any Mondeo and the driving position is excellent, with plenty of adjustment on the seat and steering wheel.

However, it’s a very different story when you look at the boot space. Whereas the standard Mondeo has a decent 500-litre boot, the Hybrid has just 386 litres of space, because the hybrid system’s batteries are under the boot floor.

There are better hybrid cars and there are better Mondeos, which means this is hard to recommend

Those batteries work with the 2.0-litre petrol engine to produce a combined 190hp, but the car isn’t as quick as that figure suggests it might be. Most similar cars use turbocharged engines, but the non-turbocharged unit in the Mondeo seems outgunned.

On paper, 0-62mph takes 9.2 seconds, but the more important figures are the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption – and they’re quite disappointing. The emissions are over 100g/km, while the combined fuel economy of 58.9mpg isn’t much better than what you’ll get from a diesel-powered Mondeo.

At least, the car swaps between the electric motors and petrol engine seamlessly, while the CVT automatic transmission is good when you’re gliding around smoothly. Most of the time, it’s also very quiet inside the Mondeo. However, when you floor it for maximum acceleration, the characteristic drone of this type of gearbox can be annoying.

The Ford Mondeo hybrid also isn’t quite as enjoyable to drive as other Mondeos, as it has low-rolling-resistance tyres. They do give a slight improvement in fuel consumption, but they also bring reduced grip and increased body roll. Even so, the Mondeo Hybrid is on a par with other hybrids and the suspension is more comfortable than in a Toyota Prius.

Like every Mondeo, the hybrid has a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP. And, as it’s only available in some of the highest trim levels, it gets safety systems that are optional on lesser Mondeos such as lane-keep assist and traffic sign recognition.

In fact, it’s very well equipped overall, with every hybrid coming with 16-inch alloy wheels, a DAB digital radio, sat-nav, stylish ambient lighting inside and a TFT digital instrument cluster. Trouble is, that doesn’t come cheap and, for much the same money, you can get the marginally more expensive to run, but better to drive and livelier 2.0-litre diesel version.