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Tiscali in association with New Car Net brings you the latest roadtest reports.
By Graham Whyte
" What gear were you in when the accident occurred?" asked the magistrate. " A Cappry, your honour," replied my cousin, earning himself a custodial frown from the bench. " My client is referring to his Ford Capri Ghia, M'Lud," chipped in his brief. " I fear he misunderstood your question."
I doubt it. My cousin was inordinately fond of his Ghia X and never lost an opportunity to flaunt what he regarded as a status symbol, even if the vinyl roof was peeling off and only one of the four headlights communed with the road ahead. When he comes out he will be astounded at what the coveted 'Ghia X' badge now gets you in the Ford line-up, especially if it's the latest Mondeo.
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For example, the standard specification of the Mondeo Ghia X 2.0 TDCi Estate test car included ABS with EBD and Electronic Stability Programme, self-levelling rear suspension, 17-inch alloys, heated front windscreen, 6-disc CD autochanger with remote stalk, trip computer, twin front, side and curtain airbags, cruise control, 8-way electric driver's seat, heated leather seats, electronic air conditioning and electric sunroof.
At £21,445, the full-spec TDCi Estate is the same list price as both the V6 and 2.0-litre auto Duratec spark-ignition models.
Although the Ghia story is fascinating in its own right, with bit-parts for Mussolini, Franco and a young Frank Williams, the real interest in the test car centres around the latest version of Ford's common-rail diesel engine and the company's tie-in with Vodafone to launch a telematics service to rival the Fiat Connect package.
Manufactured in Dagenham, which the company now describe as the 'Ford Centre for Diesel Excellence', the new generation of Duratorq engines come in three sizes: a 1.4-litre, 68 PS unit destined for the new Fiesta, a 1.8-litre, 115 PS power plant for the Focus and the range-topping 2.0-litre 130 PS engine, which is exclusive to the Mondeo.
The 130 PS Duratorq engine develops more or less the same horsepower as the 1.9-litre, 130 bhp TDI PD engine used in VWs and Audis (PS stands for 'Pfunde Starke', translates as 'horse power', and is now the standard used in Europe. 1 PS is roughly equivalent to 0.99 bhp). Whereas Ford continue to use common-rail technology, VAG have switched to unit injectors, which arguably offer finer control of the injection process.
At first glance, the Duratorq engine appears to be the poor relation, developing only 207 lbs/ft of torque relative to the VW's 228 lbs/ft. But the Ford unit has a unique 'overboost' feature, which briefly increases the torque to 244 lbs/ft under heavy acceleration. In fact, such is the mid-range urge of the Duratorq engine that in intermediate gears it delivers a more satisfying drive than many so-called 'performance' cars and I actually prefer the TDCi to Ford's own V6, petrol-engined variant.
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