Attention Fox .... and all other Mondeo experts

dirtydog · 11 Feb 2007 at 17:32

wohoo said:
Yeah but if you are bothered about economy a sports model car isnt the best choice to make, you buy a sports model knowing full well that its going to cost you in terms of fuel/insurance/running costs.

My car costs £250-odd for insurance (I'm old

) and running costs are cheap. I'm not too bothered about economy, within reason. Six cylinder cars can be prodigiously thirsty though. What is the use in having a fast car if you daren't ever drive it fast for fear of single figure mpg

wassap · 11 Feb 2007 at 17:40

dirtydog said:
My car costs £250-odd for insurance (I'm old ) and running costs are cheap. I'm not too bothered about economy, within reason. Six cylinder cars can be prodigiously thirsty though. What is the use in having a fast car if you daren't ever drive it fast for fear of single figure mpg

They arent that bad, When i first had mine, i got it down to 12mpg, but that was driving like a complete and utter idiot everywhere, 20-25mpg was the norm.

eidolon · 11 Feb 2007 at 17:50

cleanbluesky said:
I'd love to try a Mondeo out.

I don't like Fords and I think the Mondeo is one of the worst looking cars without actually being ugly ever.

I'd like to know why people rave.

I thought the same, so I bought one.

They're sluggish, understeer woefully and are generally complete crap to drive. However for a cheap motor, beggars can't be choosers and mine has served me well for the last few months up and down the motorway and for all those trips to the tip. It's served its purpose now but I've got to get rid before I fall alseep driving it one day.

If I ever need a sub £1k runaround car again I'd probably get another (and some pro plus) as they're good for that kinda money but I can't believe somebody paid like £15k back in 1998 for my car!!

silversurfer · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:01

What reg/year is your car dirtydog ?

The st24 does sound good for the money, they can be had for 1500?

The only car I can think of for that money would be a primera and they dont do a v6 but the gt does have 150bhp with excellent handling for similar money. Should be more reliable, not sure.

One unbeatable point in the mondeos favour is the excellent engine noise

[TW]Fox · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:01

eidolon said:
They're sluggish, understeer woefully and are generally complete crap to drive

I've given up wondering whats up with yours, I really have. Were you anyone else I'd have simply assumed you were trolling but I know you are a decent chap so I'm at a loss as to why your Mondeo is so rubbish. Are you subconciously comparing it to the Elise or the MR2 or something? I always found the 2 litre Mondeo's performance on the brisk side of acceptable, the handling was great for what it was and noticeably better than alternatives at similar pricepoints, and it was generally as enjoyable to drive as you could reasonably expect a large hatchback to be.

Is it possible that yours is simply... very tired and well overdue replacement.. everything?

Maybe it's becuase I didnt spend most of my time owning a selection of what can legitimately be described as 'the best handling cars ever' like yourself

silversurfer · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:02

Do they do poly bushes for the ford, try that maybe. Strut brace on the front ?

Does the v6 make it nose heavy, how heavy is that engine

dirtydog · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:03

silversurfer said:
What reg/year is your car dirtydog ?

93/K

I gather only K and some L reg were the redtop. After that, the SRi was the ghastly Ecotec

pinkaardvark · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:21

silversurfer said:
Do they do poly bushes for the ford, try that maybe. Strut brace on the front ?

Does the v6 make it nose heavy, how heavy is that engine

Yes they do, but I would only say doing it adds to maintainability ie once done it should never need it again. As for ride the mondeo is so good becuase it is so hard on those bushes. Their is a world of difference between a mondeo that has a load of knackered bushes and one that has been looked after.
I've had my V6 done all round and it's lowered on Koni adjustables and it can be a lot of fun for such a big beast

. Saying that it's really only focus level weight and could be considered quite anorexic to a modern golf etc.

[TW]Fox · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:23

pinkaardvark said:
Yes they do, but I would only say doing it adds to maintainability ie once done it should never need it again. As for ride the mondeo is so good becuase it is so hard on those bushes. Their is a world of difference between a mondeo that has a load of knackered bushes and one that has been looked after.
I've had my V6 done all round and it's lowered on Koni adjustables and it can be a lot of fun for such a big beast . Saying that it's really only focus level weight and could be considered quite anorexic to a modern golf etc.

Out of interest, pink, what do you make of Eidolons findings?

utherpendragon · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:26

I'd reccomend trying out 2l zetecs as well as the v6's - theres not a great deal of difference in power - and the 2l is both more economical and cheaper to buy. You could even get a mk3 in place of the mk2 when you go for the smaller engine. If it was a choice between a 2.5L v6 mk2 and a 2L l4 mk3 I'd go for the mk3 anyday.

wassap · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:32

utherpendragon said:
I'd reccomend trying out 2l zetecs as well as the v6's - theres not a great deal of difference in power - and the 2l is both more economical and cheaper to buy. You could even get a mk3 in place of the mk2 when you go for the smaller engine. If it was a choice between a 2.5L v6 mk2 and a 2L l4 mk3 I'd go for the mk3 anyday.

Isnt the 2.0 only 130bhp? if so theres actually a great difference in power :confused:

[TW]Fox · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:33

wohoo said:
Isnt the 2.0 only 130bhp? if so theres actually a great difference in power

136bhp but I still agree, the V6 is better.

PMKeates · 11 Feb 2007 at 18:33

wohoo said:
Isnt the 2.0 only 130bhp? if so theres actually a great difference in power

Well, the Mk3 2.0 I4 is 145hp and the V6 170hp - so in the Mk3 at least, it's only 17%. But in the Mk2 you are right in saying that it's 130hp vs 170hp - 31%.

rG-tom · 12 Feb 2007 at 00:39

PMKeates said:
Well, the Mk3 2.0 I4 is 145hp and the V6 170hp - so in the Mk3 at least, it's only 17%. But in the Mk2 you are right in saying that it's 130hp vs 170hp - 31%.

there is a fair difference between the v6 and 2L in the mk2, ive just moved from a 2L to 2.5 v6 mk2, and the v6 is far better than even the figures suggest.......it's the top end power that is nice, the 2L ran out of steam over 80 but the v6 keeps going to slightly less license friendly speeds *ahem*

Oh, and the sound

Oh btw I'm not the lightest driver in the world (i regularily got sub 20mpg from my 2L zetec) but i'm averaging around 22mpg including lots of generally quick driving and just loving the sound of the v6 at 6.5k rpm

, 26+ on long trips

Tom.

eidolon · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:21

[TW]Fox said:
I've given up wondering whats up with yours, I really have.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. My mate runs an MOT garage and I've had it in there several times to check it over, top to bottom and everything is perfect. Tyres are brand new, suspension is good, tracking is perfect etc. I'm afraid that IMO the Mondeo is just not up to the hype that OCUK seems to bestow on it. Like I said, I wanted a sub £1000 barge that I could chuck some motorway miles on and do a few runs to the tip and it's served me well, I just don't enjoy driving it in the slightest, it bores me senseless whereas other similar cars (you're gonna hate this) like a Cavalier, Vectra have been much better IMO.

[TW]Fox said:
Are you subconciously comparing it to the Elise or the MR2 or something?

Obviously I've driven the Elise back to back with the Mondeo and trust me, I'm wouldn't embarass Ford by making any sort of comparison.
I've been driving for 14 years now and have driven many, many cars (and not all of them have been high performance/handling cars) yet I find the Mondeo is poor in comparison to the majority of cars out there. I did think it was just maybe my Mondeo that was poor but my mate owned a Ghia X for years and he reports the same thing.

I think that it's just that we want very different things from a car. You want a nice comfy, gadget filled, reclining armchair of a car. I want something that has a steering wheel that reacts when I move it, something that increases speed at an acceptable rate when I press the right hand pedal. The Mondeo just feels stoned, everything feels dulled down, you've got to wait a second or two for anything to happen.

I've done it now, tried the Mondeo thing and it's not for me (not as a permenent thing anyway). I still think that hot hatches are more my thing, something that doesn't weigh as much as a house which feels nimble and reacts to my driving input immediately, not seconds later.

I'm suggesting that, when you bought your Mondeo you were driving a Xantia and had quite limited experience of other cars therefore the Mondeo moved the benchmark up a notch. I think the gauge goes quite a way above that and there's a hell of a lot of cars which you should take a serious look at as they fall way above the Mondeo.

[TW]Fox · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:25

eidolon said:
I'm suggesting that, when you bought your Mondeo you were driving a Xantia and had quite limited experience of other cars therefore the Mondeo moved the benchmark up a notch. I think the gauge goes quite a way above that and there's a hell of a lot of cars which you should take a serious look at as they fall way above the Mondeo.

But before I settled on the Mondeo I drove Vectra, 406, etc etc..

eidolon · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:33

What about the smaller cars like Astra/306 etc.

I see it like this, you're more of a 5 series man, I'm more of a 3 series man (at a push)

Jonnycoupe · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:34

Driving a car only hints at what it will be like to own and run on a day to day basis. Characteristic will just stand out on a test drive, but using it as a daily driver those characteristis actual turn into annoyances i guess.

merlin · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:41

Thing that makes me laugh is the "best handling in it's class" thing.

It's like being top of your class. A worthy accolade, marred only by the fact you get the sunshine bus to school.

wassap · 12 Feb 2007 at 08:44

The mondeo is the best handling car in its class, nothing more nothing less.The primera and 406 run it close, but for what it is, its pretty good, obviously coming from an Elise and MR2 and Civic, you have somewhat higher std's and are used to (and capable of) pushing a car further.

The likes of the 306 are better handling cars, IME, Astra is poor, not as engaging as the 306 or Focus.Cant thinkof any other mid range motor which i have enjoyed driving.

Small cars will always be more fun tbh.