Road test editor Sam Hardy reports from the Detroit show
DETROIT is back on the map. This year’s show had everything – from new versions of the Ford Mondeo and Honda NSX to hybrid Mercedes and a Cadillac-badged BMW 3 Series rival.
Star of the event for readers of www.businessmotoring.co.uk was undoubtedly the Mondeo. In the flesh, Ford’s new family car looked the part, with its Aston Martin-esque grille and sweeping lines.
Sales in this sector may be dwindling every year but Ford is fighting hard – and the new model is convincing. As well as two hybrids, including a plug-in that can do 140mpg, expect to see the most powerful petrol and diesel versions available with four-wheel drive.
With a hatchback and estate due to arrive later this year, Ford showed off the saloon version at Detroit. It’s the bodystyle that will sell biggest in the US – where the Mondeo will be known as the Fusion.
Like the Focus and Fiesta it’s a world car so does that mean it’s compromised to appeal to everyone?
“Not a bit of it,” Mondeo vehicle line director Nick Collins told me. “I don’t see it as a compromised US car. The challenge in developing the new Mondeo has been getting the optimum – the US team has learned from us and vice versa.
“The two cars are pretty much identical in the way they drive too. The only difference between the UK car is the fact we’ll have lighter, smaller EcoBoost petrol engines and diesels, so we’ll re-tune suspension and steering settings. It’ll still be the dynamic leader – that’s still our goal.”
With Ford’s SYNC system – which streams music from your smartphone – along with all the safety gadgets from the Focus, the Mondeo is a lot of car for the money. Question is, will there be another Mondeo after this one? Sales are only going one way…
Mercedes goes for hybrids Premium brands are where it’s at. Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche told showgoers he sees huge growth in posh marques – and the confident firm is finally turning its hand to hybrids too.
The E-Class E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is a four-cylinder diesel electric saloon that can do 67mpg and 109g/km. It’ll be available in the summer, while an estate version is due before the end of the year. The hybrid system is so compact – the electrics fit in place of a 12v battery (which moves to behind the rear seats) while the motor slots in the transmission tunnel – that there’s no encroachment on boot space.
The best news is that the system is scalable. That means you’ll next see it on the Mercedes C-Class. Hybrids are the way forward, reckons Mercedes. “We have made enormous leaps in making petrol and diesel engines cleaner and more economical in the last few years,” Mercedes engineering honcho Dr Uwe Ernstberger told me. “Now many of our ideas for doing so have been realised, it is getting harder to improve – and hybrids take us that step further.”
Despite repeatedly failing to make any mark on the UK, Cadillac reckons its new BMW 3 Series-rivalling ATS saloon will tempt buyers. Cadillac is making big noises about right-hand drive and a diesel – but we’ll believe it when we see it.
Over at VW, the e-Bugster proved that VW has big plans for the Beetle with a two-seater roadster concept powered an all-electric powerplant. Not only does it point to the Beetle Cabriolet but also a more focused two-seater drop-top – like the MINI Roadster – and an electric engine for the Golf.
New Honda NSX Honda’s NSX is no flight of fancy either. The 400bhp V6 four-wheel drive hybrid will reach us in a few years’ time. It all added up to a very encouraging event. Despite the uncertainty out there, car makers are doing what they do best – putting on a show.
