Currently reading: High-spec 2015 Ford Mondeo Vignale revealed

Ultimate version of Ford's Mondeo has been revealed; it comes with a high level of luxury and a personalised customer experience

The production version of the Ford Mondeo Vignale has been revealed, with prices starting at £29,045.

The new model will be available as an estate or a saloon and will sit at the very top of the Mondeo range. It is intended to give owners a more luxurious experience in terms of the car and their interaction with Ford.

The Mondeo Vignale is based on the Titanium X trim but adds several premium features on top. This includes a new Active Noise Cancellation system on diesel models. It monitors the noise in the cabin and emits opposing sound waves to cancel out the sound from the engine. It also gets upgraded insulation to reduce road noise in the cabin.

The front seats also come with a massaging function, while the dashboard is covered in soft-touch materials.

The Vignale is made to stand out from the rest of the Mondeo range courtesy of a series of visual upgrades to the exterior. The grille gets a hexagonal-shaped design that is bespoke to the Vignale range, while the lower grille, door mirrors and door claddings all feature chrome details. Other details get a high-gloss finish, while metallic paint comes as standard. The car also comes with 18in alloy wheels as part of the package.

Other technology included as standard includes the latest version of Ford's Sync2 infotainment system, park assist with a perpendicular parking system, a city braking system, adaptive LED headlights and traffic sign recognition. The stereo is an upgraded Sony system, complete with 12 speakers. Other equipment includes front and rear parking sensors and a rear parking camera.

Ford is offering the Vignale range with high-power engines only, in petrol, diesel or hybrid forms. There are two 2.0-litre diesel engines, with 178bhp and 207bhp outputs. The only petrol option is a 237bhp 2.0-litre Ecoboost. All of these engines are available on both estate and saloon versions, while only the saloon is available with Ford's 2.0-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain. Emissions of CO2 are unchanged over the rest of the Mondeo range. The most efficient versions are the hybrid, which emits 99g/km, and the diesel saloon, which produces 117g/km. The highest emissions are on the 2.0-litre petrol estate, which emits 176g/km.

Despite the high level of specification, Ford's European marketing, sales and service chief Roelant de Waard has confirmed that there will be more personalisation opportunities for customers wanting to further customise their Vignale. "We will be showing more personalisation options in May," he said. "They will be mainly cosmetic, both interior and exterior."

This personalisation will be possible in a series of new FordStores, which will be opened in flagship Ford dealerships. There will be 54 of these in the UK by the end of 2015, rising to an ultimate total of 70. Vignale owners will also be able to call on a personal relationship manager and arrange things such as collection and delivery of their car when it needs servicing, and a 24-hour technical support line.

Advertisement

Read our review

Car review

Ford's family car is now in its fourth iteration, but is the Mondeo ready to take the fight to a world burgeoning with rivals?

Back to top

There is also a dedicated mobile phone app, available for Apple and Android users, which allows owners access to driving tips, traffic regulation information and a dealership locator.

De Waard said the existence of the Vignale range has been driven by customer demand, with many Mondeo owners opting for Titanium X trim and spending in excess of £30,000 on their car. Ford is looking to protect the future values of the Vignale brand by not selling any to short-term rental companies or allowing any to be bought on the Motability scheme. Instead, it is aiming to appeal to company car drivers, specifically 'user-choosers' who can select their own car.

The Vignale range is set to grow in the future, with the S-Max next in line to get the high-level treatment later in 2015. It will be revealed in September, before going on sale by the end of 2015. More models are expected to join the range later, but it will only be the larger cars, due to the cost implications of offering such a bespoke service on smaller models. This means that the likes of the Kuga and the Galaxy are likely to get Vignale versions, while the Fiesta and Focus are not.

De Waard also confirmed that the Vignale range will remain under the Ford branding, rather than breaking free in the same way that DS has from parent company Citroën. "The strategy is to keep it as an integral part of the Ford offering," he said.

The Mondeo Vignale starts at £29,045, which buys the 178bhp 2.0-litre diesel saloon with a six-speed manual gearbox. The range goes up to the all-wheel-drive 2.0-litre diesel automatic, which costs £33,310.

The Mondeo Vignale will be available to order from May, with first cars heading to customers in late summer.

Get the latest car news, reviews and galleries from Autocar direct to your inbox every week. Enter your email address below:

Join the debate

Comments
29
Add a comment…
Peter Cavellini 18 April 2015

Ho hum........

A good attempt,but i think Ford still have a long way to go to break into the Premium market,there's not enough of a difference between lesser Mondeo inside and out,the interior is a bit in your face,the centre stack is just too sterile,no color,if your going premium at least put fake Wood there or metal of some sort.No,i think this isn't the final product.
lucasworldcars 18 April 2015

Not so unique

So Ford wants drivers to get an exclusive service by buying this car?
I've test driven the new mondeo in top titanium spec. Its a great cruiser, ride is comfortable and gadgets are great.
But whilst the plastics are plusher, it cannot compete with the all round luxuriousness of the Audi, Jaguar, BMW, Mercesdes and Lexus. They are still miles ahead.
Ford is no longer the king of the family saloons in terms of handling. They have lost this to the Mazda 6. It's quieter but has lost it's finesse.
Also at £30k it's a bit dear.
When the Jaguar XE comes out that will start from £27k. Although it won't have all the kit that the Mondeo has, it will be a better place to be in.
I do not think that the Mondeo will hold its value to what it's states on the "paperwork".
I also agree with some of the statements in the sense that Ford needs to overhaul their dealership network.
Lexus, Skoda and Jaguar are miles ahead.
If they want a "top notch" score, they need to learn by example and listen to their customers.
I have had Ford's and whilst the car is good, the dealerships are a letdown.
marj 18 April 2015

Looks 'cheap' for Premium

Looking at these photos, the leather work and detail stitching looks a bit cheap. Like River Island trying to do Hermes. Lots of puckering and inconsistencies in the stitching in the leather on their 'show car'. Certainly DS and Peugeot do a better job of their leather bound dashboards and the perforated leather won't keep Mr Benz or any Bavarian up all night. It's a shame because apart form its slighty dubious proportions, this coule be a cut price, 4 door Aston to many people.
Citytiger 18 April 2015

marj wrote:Looking at these

marj wrote:

Looking at these photos, the leather work and detail stitching looks a bit cheap. Like River Island trying to do Hermes. Lots of puckering and inconsistencies in the stitching in the leather on their 'show car'. Certainly DS and Peugeot do a better job of their leather bound dashboards and the perforated leather won't keep Mr Benz or any Bavarian up all night. It's a shame because apart form its slighty dubious proportions, this coule be a cut price, 4 door Aston to many people.

You do realise, that Mercedes actually use Genuine Man made leather, they call it Artico leather, most people call it vinyl, unless of course you pay a big premium to upgrade to proper leather, and BMW leather looks cheap and nasty and feels like plastic, Volvo use Bridge of Weir leather (but not a lot of people know that). Fords generally are not that bad, and certainly a lot better than some..