Zastava_101

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=123824

Looks like they really like it. But $46,000???

jsaylor

Typically people either drastically over-estimate or drastically under-estimate what the Mondeo would cost if sold on our shores...seldom do we see a truly good estimate. Realistically speaking, were the Mondeo sold on these shores, I would expect pricing to be in the neighborhood of what you see on the VW Passat.

Zastava_101

Fully loaded Passat is over $40,000 which is pretty much how much fully loaded Mondeo cost in Europe.

jsaylor

Actually, a fully loaded Passat is a couple hundred bucks over 39k and includes 4-motion AWD, an option which the Mondeo currently doesn't offer, and a 'spiffier' set of 18" wheels than the standard fare, which also happen to be 18". Subtract these and the Passat is closer to a 35-36k car and is comparable to what one could expect of a fully loaded Mondeo. That sounds quite a bit different than simple saying that the Mondeo is a 46k car.

Going with the Passat pricing comparison a base Mondeo could reasonably be expected to start close to 22k. Without question that makes the car too expensive to be brought over as a Ford IMO since this is really just a higher zoot, more European take on the typical, fwd mid size car....but then I've always said this. However, a Mondeo that ranges from 22k to 36k would be a perfect fit for a truly well sorted Mercury, another argument I've posed once or twice. The car would sell in numbers that fit into what Mercury should be aiming for anyway, and pricing and approach are both spot on what a proper mid-size Mercury ought to be.

Just my opinion

Zastava_101

Top of the line Passat has a price of little over $39,000. So you add options to that and price will go over $40,000 easily.

I went to Edmunds.com and I added all options. The final price for a fully loaded Passat came to $45,857.

hi5.0

Eeek! No, thank you.

elcaminoguy

I guess that's what people like. Doesn't do anything for me but I hope it sells well for Ford over there. Just hope it doesn't come here. Got enough of that type of car over here already.

Vermillion06

I agree... we already have the Fusion over here, which has a V6 available (no V6 available in the Mondeo) and AWD and is a pretty good bargain for the price.

jsaylor

We may be getting our wires crossed here....put simply I think you may be talking about actual Euro conversion and I am not. When the article states that the Mondeo costs 46k in US dollars they are taking the European price and converting it into American dollars. They are doing this to demonstrate how the car couldn't be sold here under any circumstances, but in reality while the Mondeo is an expensive car simplye converting EU pricing over into American dollars isn't an accurate method. This is what I am taking issue with.

As for pricing. In Europe the Mondeo and Passat sticker for relatively similar amounts of money when comparatively equipped (actually the Mondeo costs a bit less but I am trying to be conservative) indicating that the Mondeo, if imported from Europe, would likely cost about the same on American shores as the Passat does. If you go to Volkswagen's website the most loaded Passat VR6 available in the US market stickers for 39k and change. The configurator will allow you to add accessories to this boosting the price, but these aren't factory installed option and hence shouldn't really be included.

Also, as I indicated above that 39k price tag includes 4-motion AWD and an optional set of 18" wheels. Since the Mondeo isn't currently offered with AWD and since the VR6 Passat wears a different set of 18" wheels as standard equipment you can realistically delete those two options which brings you to a sticker price of roughly 36k. That is likely the best indication of what we could realistically expect a loaded Mondeo to cost if imported to our shores, and that is the point I was trying to make.

Hollywood_North GT

Agreed. Subtracting the truly substantial VAT tax in Europe makes a big difference - though the continued devaluing of the Dollar against the Euro may render the advantages moot at this point.

Still, all in all, as good a car as the Fusion is, the Mondeo is a more complete and refined package. Ford needs to be cloning those levels of sophistication across the majority of its North American product lineup if it is to succeed over the long haul.

Louie

Like I posted somewhere else around here, European-made cars are being sold on average for 60-65% of their EU price in the US. Oh yeah, here it is: http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showpo...3&postcount=10