Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
We’ve been hearing for years that Ford won’t replace the Fusion and Mondeo per se, but come up with an Audi A4 Allroad-style station wagon that would take on the likes of the Subaru Outback. At long last, an internal document from Ford of Europe reveals the codename of the car as well as the rear suspension’s design.
CD542 is how the engineers refer to this vehicle, and the document also reveals that the longroof will arrive in 2021 for the 2022 model year. The most interesting detail – as highlighted by Autocar.co.uk – is a specific tool listed at 250 euros that’s designed for the removal of rear leaf springs. Yup, leaf springs!
Previous generations had coil springs, a setup that offers both ride comfort and more predictable handling. The transverse leaf spring rear axle, on the other hand, isn’t a downgrade considering that Volvo still utilizes it for the XC90 mid-sized crossover utility vehicle. This type of suspension also helps in terms of packaging, allowing Ford to integrate a lithium-ion battery pack under the trunk’s false floor.
A plug-in hybrid sounds likely if you remember the Mondeo and Fusion are already available with two levels of electrification. Expected to be called Mondeo Active and Fusion Active, the yet-to-be-detailed model will retain the front- and all-wheel-drive architecture of the outgoing generation. The big question is, will Ford go forward with an evolution of the CD4 or utilize a stretched version of the C2?
Introduced by the fourth-generation Focus in Europe, the C2 vehicle architecture can handle anything from 1.0- and 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbos to the 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the Focus ST. Matched with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, the C2 also serves as the building block for the Kuga (a.k.a. Escape in the United States) and soon-to-be-revealed Baby Bronco utility vehicle.
In April 2018, the Ford Motor Company released the financial results for the first quarter of that year. Hidden deep in the press release, we’re told “the car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles - the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year.” The latter didn’t happen because of the trade war with China, but the Fusion Active will serve as Plan B.
Previous generations had coil springs, a setup that offers both ride comfort and more predictable handling. The transverse leaf spring rear axle, on the other hand, isn’t a downgrade considering that Volvo still utilizes it for the XC90 mid-sized crossover utility vehicle. This type of suspension also helps in terms of packaging, allowing Ford to integrate a lithium-ion battery pack under the trunk’s false floor.
A plug-in hybrid sounds likely if you remember the Mondeo and Fusion are already available with two levels of electrification. Expected to be called Mondeo Active and Fusion Active, the yet-to-be-detailed model will retain the front- and all-wheel-drive architecture of the outgoing generation. The big question is, will Ford go forward with an evolution of the CD4 or utilize a stretched version of the C2?
Introduced by the fourth-generation Focus in Europe, the C2 vehicle architecture can handle anything from 1.0- and 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbos to the 2.3-liter EcoBoost in the Focus ST. Matched with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission, the C2 also serves as the building block for the Kuga (a.k.a. Escape in the United States) and soon-to-be-revealed Baby Bronco utility vehicle.
In April 2018, the Ford Motor Company released the financial results for the first quarter of that year. Hidden deep in the press release, we’re told “the car portfolio in North America will transition to two vehicles - the best-selling Mustang and the all-new Focus Active crossover coming out next year.” The latter didn’t happen because of the trade war with China, but the Fusion Active will serve as Plan B.
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