Americans

were first to step on the moon, and first to listen to music played on a

gramophone. Now they’re beating us again, dammit. They’ll get the new Mondeo a

year before we do.

The

car is another debutant at the Detroit show 2012, but we Brits won’t be able to

buy it until well into 2013. Ah well, looks like a nice update on the car we

have.

Actually,

isn’t merely an update: it’s an all-new car, though you might not guess it if

you looked at it from astern. The new nose is pretty striking. Some might say

Aston-ish, but really no-one’s going to say ‘Oh gosh! Was that minicab you came

in an Aston Martin Rapide?’ Anyway it’s very elegant, and we like.

See more pictures of the new Ford Mondeo



And

yes, it’s an all-new car, with techy innovations that include a new multi-link

rear suspension. There’s also electric steering, which (if you switch the

options on) can nudge you in the right direction if you drift out of lane, or

will steer into a parking space for those who can’t be bothered, or just plain

can’t. But you can, oh skilled TG.commer, can’t you?

The

engines will be much as per the recently revised ones on the current Mondeo:

1.6 and 2.0 Ecoboost Turbo, and diesels. There are also hybrid and plug-in

hybrid options in the US, but don’t expect to see many of them over here.

What

you’re looking at here the the American version, called the Fusion, which comes

as a four-door. We Brits will also be offered a hatch and estate, and they’re

of course the ones we’ll buy.

On

the inside, the dials are replaced by another colour screen. There’s also a big

menu-driven info-music-nav-comms setup. You can control that by voice – but in

our experience it works only if you speak fluent robot. Like all other

voice-activation systems, there’s no evidence it understands humans. Ah well,

you’ll be able to stretch out and relax as you shout into the void: to make the

cabin feel roomier, the seats have thinner skeletons.

By

the way, the Americans weren’t actually the first to put a meat patty between

two halves of a bread bun.

See more pictures of the new Ford Mondeo