Mondeo Man – Gar Cole and his Ford Mondeo LX Mk. 1

As the story goes, Tony Blair is said to have introduced the phrase "Mondeo Man" at the Labour Party Conference in October 1996. As Joe Moran notes in his book Reading the Everyday, the speech referred to an encounter with a Sierra owner in Telford. The media subsequently updated the model of Ford.

But the fact that the phrase abides is a testament to Mondeos such as Gar Cole's 1994 1.8LX. Its origins date from 1985, three years after the Sierra's launch. Project CDW27 was to be a 'World Car', which cost £3 billion to develop and would also replace the US-market Ford Tempo/Topaz.  Cologne was responsible for its exterior look, and Ford's Genk plant in Belgium would build the European-market cars.

Ford unveiled the Mondeo in January 1993, and the design consultant Stephen Bayley wrote in The Telegraph:

“Is this FoMoCo's latest disaster movie, or is it the first episode of an inspiring adventure where Michigan, Cologne and Essex wrestle control of the steering wheel from Osaka, Nagoya and Toyko?”

Bayley also complained the Mondeo "looks boring", a view many owners would take issue with. Besides, Ford had no wish to repeat the controversy of the Sierra's appearance on its launch in 1992. If anything, the Mondeo's lines date better than some of its contemporaries as they are so pleasantly low-key.

When sales of the Mondeo began on the 22nd of March 1993, many observers noted it was the first front-wheel-drive Ford in its market sector. It also shared very few components with the Sierra while Dagenham's marketing department proclaimed the Mondeo represented "Beauty with inner strength".

Power was from 1.6- 1.8- and 2.0-litre Zetec engines, with a choice of four-door saloon, five-door hatchback, and estate bodies. Trim levels began with the LX, with the Ghia as the flagship. Your friendly local Ford dealer might also inform you that the Mondeo was the first car in the UK to feature a driver's airbag as standard on all versions. Not to mention the development teams working with Jackie Stewart and how "even the door mirrors have been designed for efficiency".

The Mondeo was Car of the Year 1994, defeating the Citroën Xantia and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. What Car also declared it their own Car of the Year 1993 and regarded it as a "far more tempting proposition than the Sierra has been for years". Here was a Ford with "quality to match a Nissan Primera, handling and ride to match a Peugeot 405, an interior design to beat a Vauxhall Cavalier and refinement to top the lot".

Such words must have been cause for jubilation in Dagenham. Furthermore, The Telegraph predicted a "buying boom" in company cars, and employees often have a choice of fleet vehicles. Autocar & Motor even said, "We were so knocked out by the Mondeo at its St. Tropez launch that some of our fellow press thought we had gone soft on Ford".

The Mk.2 replaced the Mk.1 in October of 1996. Gar's parents owned a first-generation Mondeo in 1994, and when he was 18, it was the first new car he had driven. Gar saved his LX from Isle of Wight banger racers, and when it appeared at the Silverstone Classic in 2022, the white 1994 Mondeo caused a minor sensation. He says:

The Mondeo really was a leap forward. When my parents changed from a Sierra to the Mondeo, I could scarce believe they were made by the same company. It was light years ahead in refinement, build quality and driver appeal.

In fact, you could say that 'Mondeo Man' had very good taste in cars...

With thanks to Gar Cole for his time and permission to use the images in this blog.