[50Hz]

Hi guys,

I meant to update earlier but been I've up to my eyeballs in alligators with work this week. I’ve had 4 days with my new ride now, and I’ve done a variety of driving including traffic around the city, highway and motorway, a few twisties, wet and dry roads. So I’ve been able to form a more detailed initial impression. Overall: extremely impressed and pleased with my purchase.

Good points

• The ride and handling I think are excellent. The suspension is firm, without being harsh. Body roll is minimal and the handling seems surprisingly neutral – although I have not had a chance to find some empty roads to explore limits. Nor do I especially feel the need at the moment.
• The performance is more than acceptable. It’s not a sports car of course, and I don’t think that the combination of DCT and FWD lends itself to power-launch starts. But once off the line the power delivery is smooth, linear and quite sufficient.
• The transmission seems excellent. So far I have tended to put it mostly straight into S-mode, as this more closely mimics how I would shift if there were a clutch pedal. It shifts very intuitively and seems to hold the gear around corners. Maybe is it programmed not to shift when the car senses lateral G’s or a combination of speed and steering angle? I dunno, but it works.
• The exterior aesthetics. I must admit that I never really paid these cars much attention and there are very few on the roads, at least here in WA. But it’s one of those designs that I find myself liking more and more each time I look at it. To my eyes it has a nice balance of elegance and classical athleticism. I realise that the basic shape has been around a while now, but I think it has aged pretty well.
• The interior styling. I think it was this more than anything that sold the car to me. I love the interior. It has everything that you need without seeming busy or fussy. I like the extensive symmetry in the design elements.
• Interior fit and finish. Streets ahead of a local Ford (I know, I had one once). For me a premium interior feel comes from fit/finish, styling, quality materials and nice features. For me the first three elements are all there and I find that it has enough features.
• The seats are extremely comfortable and the seat heating is fantastic. It heats up in only a couple of minutes and I find that it actually relieves lower back strain whilst driving.
• The keyless access is great. OK so this is hardly a unique feature these days, but compared to my old Landcruiser it’s kinda novel for me.
• The rear seats seem to have a massive amount of room. Possibly even more than a Falcon?
• Huge boot.
• The adaptive/cornering headlights work really well, lighting up corners much more effectively than a conventional system.
• The active safety tech i.e. lane departure, blindspot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance etc. I never really paid much heed to these things as I’m a driver and like to be totally in control when I drive. But they are all simple and intuitive to use and actually work pretty much as stated.

Not-so-good points

• Rear visibility is somewhat limited. This car really needs a reverse camera and I’m surprised that the Titamium doesn’t have it. Seems like other markets got a large display with satnav and camera, but not Australia. Why?
• Front extremities can’t be seen at all. But I guess one just gets accustomed to using the sensors.
• The sunroof is prone to serious wind buffeting between 45-60k when fully open.
• The wiggly lines through the windscreen. I assume that these are fine conductors and part of the sensing system for the active windscreen wipers. The system works well, but the lines are quite visible, especially with low sun and at night. I don’t really understand why they need to cover the entire windscreen – surely a small area would work equally well for rain sensing? I suppose I’ll get used to it.

Overall though I am very happy with my purchase. I dunno why I never considered a Mondeo before!