The Ford Falcon XR6 replacement Australia deserves? 2022 Ford Mondeo ST-Line revealed as sporty new large sedan that could revive rapidly shrinking segment

Ford has revealed the next-generation Mondeo’s ST-Line flagship, with the sporty new large sedan following in the tyre tracks of its spiritual predecessor, the Australian-made Falcon XR6.

That’s right; the Mondeo is still alive – at least in some markets. As reported, it was removed from sale in Australia in mid-2020 amid slow sales, but it’s now been rebooted in China, where Ford has partnered with domestic carmaker Changan to produce another instalment in the series.

The new Mondeo, of course, made its debut last month, but now it’s ST-Line range-topper has been unveiled, giving the large sedan more of a sporty focus, much like the XR6 did to the regular Falcon.

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So, what separates the ST-Line from the Mondeo pack? Well, it gets unique bumpers front and rear, a mesh grille insert, bespoke 19-inch alloy wheels, a bootlid lip spoiler and gloss-black exterior trim.

Inside, the ST-Line does less to stand out from the Mondeo crowd, getting sports seats, ambient lighting, red accents and an ST-Line badge on the dashboard.

That said, the ST-Line’s interior still features the Mondeo’s impressive 1.1m-wide panel, consisting of a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a whopping 27.0-inch touchscreen with 4K resolution.

Now, despite its apparent performance focus, the ST-Line is motivated by the same 177kW/376Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine as the other front-wheel-drive Mondeo variants. It’s mated to an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.

Measuring 4935mm (with a 2945mm wheelbase), 1875mm wide and 1500mm tall, the Mondeo ST-Line is close to the Falcon XR6 in size, so could it come to Australia as a spiritual successor?

For now, the Mondeo ST-Line is a China-only model, but that doesn’t mean Ford Australia won’t be able to offer it in the future. Although such a move is unlikely as local buyers continue to abandon traditional passenger cars for SUVs. Stay tuned.