With the end of production of the Mondeo earlier this year, Ford effectively left Europe’s D-segment with no direct successor announced for now. The situation is very different in China, however, where the Blue Oval has a brand new generation Mondeo and a crossover-inspired version of the same vehicle dubbed the Evos. It made its official debut in April last year and now the team at Wheelsboy finally got the chance to sit behind the steering wheel and take the model for a quick test drive.
We are not here to judge but to our eyes, the Evos is one of Ford’s most attractive new vehicles in ages. The mix between a crossover, a sedan, and a station wagon gives it a very distinctive shape, which slightly reminds us of the Citroen C5 X. Small design touches like the “waving” radiator grille and full-LED taillights make the Evos look like a premium vehicle, though.
Gallery: Ford Evos live photos
As you can see in the attached video and exclusive photo gallery below, the exterior is not even the design highlight of the Evos. Once you get inside the cabin, there’s a massive 1.1-meter (3.6-feet) screen on the dashboard. You are probably tempted to say it is made of three separate screens incorporated under a single glass piece but that’s not the case. Next to the fully digital instrument cluster (12.3-inches) is a 4K-resolution touchscreen measuring a whopping 27 inches.
There’s a single engine option available for the Evos in China, at least for now. Power comes from a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbocharged gasoline engine, good for 235 horsepower (175 kilowatts) and 277 pound-feet (376 Newton-meters). The 0-62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) sprint takes just 6.6 seconds and the host of the video has little to complain about the mill. The eight-speed automatic transmission, while smooth and refined in general, has a somewhat weird mapping, though.
For now, despite the spy photos, there is no solid evidence that the Evos will be sold in the United States or Europe. In China, the range-topping version – the fully-equipped ST-Line filmed in this video – costs around $38,000 and we have the feeling Ford is losing some serious market potential by not bringing the crossover to America.
Source: Wheelsboy on YouTube
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