Posh Mondeo with quilted seats!

[News_Stig]

But, will it sell?

Ford wants to deliver an “upscale product and ownership experience” with its upcoming Vignale sub-brand, seen here in concept form on a Mondeo which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show.

The Vignale mixes a more upmarket appearance inside and out with a much-enhanced dealership experience for the buyer, including a dedicated contact at the local dealer and a number of exclusive concierge-style services.

Roelant de Waard, Ford of Europe’s sales boss, said Vignale cars will be aimed at “time-poor, independent thinkers who want to be made to feel special”.

Due to be launched as part of the all-new Mondeo range in early 2015, the Vignale version will be the first in a series of upmarket trims on such models as the new S-Max and upcoming Edge SUV.

Vignale will sit at the top of the Ford range above Titanium X, for the “10-15 per cent of potential buyers who want an even higher specification”.

Martin Smith, Ford’s European design director, said the Vignale line is a “more upmarket version of Ford DNA” using “modern industrial design and architecture as an inspiration”.

Up front, the Vignale gets a new chrome-finish grille, a redesigned front bumper featuring substantial brightwork and LED foglights, unique 20in alloys, chrome door handles and mirror caps and ‘Vignale’ badging. The car does not wear ‘Mondeo’ script.

Inside, the concept gets extravagantly quilted leather seats, a pattern repeated on the door trims. Leather is also used on the instrument panel, centre console, door topsand steering wheel. There’s a slim, Vignale-badged storage drawer in the boot, too, and in-car Wi-Fi is featured.

Selected Ford dealerships will have separate Vignale lounges and a personalised dealer, and owners’ cars will be car washed and vacuumed for free for the lifetime of the vehicle. Eventually, say sources, ST-brand Fords could also be given a similar treatment, with a dedicated area in Ford dealerships.

The strategy could start with the facelifted Focus ST, which was seen testing last week.