Just drove a Mondeo for the first time

PMKeates

PMKeates

PMKeates

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16 Jul 2004
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:confused:

I am. I really am. Why? I found it so very, very awful to drive.

I drove a 1999 2.0 Si.

It was all ruined by the driving controls being so very vague.

The clutch has absolutely no resistance and is perfectly consistent in reaction - when it's going to bite is a guess based purely on travel, rather than feel. Surely the brake pedal doesn't operate the brakes directly? It seemed like everytime I pressed it, the system went on a three week holiday and reacted upon return.

The throttle just seemed to operate a loudspeaker, as all I could hear was a fumbling roar as I soared off at exactly the same speed I was at previously. The gearbox felt so inaccurate and close. Close isn't bad, but the inaccurate feeling made it less than enjoyable to operate. The ratios are also far too short for a car of this size.

I actually disliked it so much, that I rate a 93 Cavalier that I drove for some time as vastly superior to drive and much more enjoyable - and that handled like a boat in treacle. A lot of people will be going "What the ****?" to this topic, but I thought I may as well write my opinion of the Mondeo's grossly uninteresting drive. It'll be nice to have it archived in case I ever get tempted to buy one.
 
I had a 2005 Mk3 1.8LX for a week, and wasn't a big fan. I found the handling pretty good, but the engine was totally gutless. Obviously the TDCI's and larger Zetecs are great engines, but even the interior and build quality didn't seem that special.

It just all seemed to be a bit too functional - there didn't seem to be any nice touches about it. Nothing annoyed me (apart from the squeaky lumbar support), but nothing made me think 'wow, this is actually a nice car'.

For an A-B car which handles quite well, it's pretty good though - particularly as you can get them for cheap.
 
I've been driving a year and a half now, during which I've gotten completely used to driving:

Mk5 1.6 Escort
Mk6 1.6 Escort
Mk2 Rover 214
Mk3 Cavalier 1.8
Mk1 Xsara 1.8

**Edit - Just thought of another two that fit in the above category:

Mk4 1.3 Fiesta
Mk6 1.4 Fiesta TDCi

I've driven for a reasonable length of time to become accustomed:

MGTF 115
Mk3 Fiesta 1.1
Mk3 Astra 1.6
72 Triumph Toledo

Driven a huge range of cars because of work and through friends etc., but none for more than an hour or so.

I might just be uncultured or something, having been used to an array of cars most would consider awful :p
 
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Can I get some 'huh' to go with this?

Obviously I appreciate that different people have different opinions etc but your experiences appear to be the complete opposite of any others I've encountered :p

The gearbox is vague? The Gearbox in mine, which is almost certainly the *same* box as the one in the one you drove, is so nice and precise it's actually the single area of the car I rate higher than Dad's 530d. The engine is decent and responsive and certainly the performance should have been noticeably better than everything mentioned in your list with the exception of the 1.8 Xsara which is similar.

The clutch, like all clutches these days, is hydraulic - perhaps it was this you were not used to?

Very odd, if it was even half as bad as you say I'd certainly never have bought one and I'd certainly not be having thoughts about buying another one :/
 
PMKeates said:
I've been driving a year and a half now, during which I've gotten completely used to driving:

Mk5 1.6 Escort
Mk6 1.6 Escort
Mk2 Rover 214
Mk3 Cavalier 1.8
Mk1 Xsara 1.8
Mk3 Fiesta 1.1
Mk3 Astra 1.6
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Unless it's a total mutt, it should really feel substantially better than most of those to drive - particularly the Escorts, Fiesta, Cavalier and Astra.

I've driven a lot of Mondeos and never had a problem detecting biting point - in fact I can't recall having difficulty locating bite based on feel with any car I've driven for more than a few minutes.
I have experienced poor brake pedal on a Mondeo though - it's normally caused by poorly adjusted rear brakes (this is the cause of poor pedal feel on 90% of cars with drums at the back)

I didn't think the gearbox ratios were particularly short, but then I'm used to 205 GTi's that are doing 4,000rpm at 77 mph in 5th. Mine certainly never felt undergeared.
 
Close ratios - it's an Si, I know for sure the Mk1 Si had a close ratio box but whether or not the Mk2 did is one of those few Mondeo things I dont have a clue about.
 
Fox, I may not be right about this, but something tells me the Mk2 Si only had a short 5th gear, meaning it is more responsive, but revs higher, in 5th - the other 4 gears are the same as a regular mondeo.
 
I thought my old Mk2 Mondeo was pretty darn good to drive. Very sharp for a relatively large car, certainly worlds apart from the Mk3 Cavalier and any Escort bar the Cosworth :p.

It's possible it was just knackered though, or you weren't used to it, or you just didn't get on with it :).
 
Mundane-oes are not my cup of tea at all but ive had one or two as hire cars and ive always been impressed by there quality and ride. Its an excellent car imo it handles reasonably well, has an excellent spec sheet for the price and is very comfy for long motorway trips!
 
It must be me. It seems I'm used to bad cars :p

I dunno. It felt like I was sitting aboard this plank operating some levers that told the car what to do, rather than actually control it. The Xsara feel the opposite to this - you can wheelspin it, lock the wheels, go sideways, lift off oversteer the thing and it always feels like you're actually driving it - the Rover was also similar to this.

Maybe it's just Ford's? The Fiestas were so underpowered, I don't think they ever went fast enough to use the brakes, so I can probably count my experiences of them out.

I could have sworn 60mph was touching close to 2750rpm, which was the same as the Rover and that had a revvy 1.4L rather than the 2.0L in the Mondeo. You could be right Fox - maybe they had a close/short ratio box on the Mk2 Si as well?

While I never really had a difficult time with the clutch, the pedal felt vague and slow because of it's linearity. Soft isn't bad - the Nissan Micra GP (You know, the Micra with the 350Z engine bolted in the back) thing's clutch was like trying to crush a brick - but the Mondeo didn't transfer much feel because it was so soft. This could well be an hydraulic/cable issue - I'm obviously much more used to cable.

I was considering the possibility of having one (This Si, in fact), as I'm without insurance at the moment and don't want to renew on the Xsara. I want a Rover Coupe, but my dad's sceptical of anything with "Turbo" in the name. I wasn't going to bother arguing with him, but after driving the Mondeo for a bit, I think I'll be doing the wrong thing by not going for what I want.

I'm 19, in full-time stable employment, have 100% disposable income and I was thinking of a 99 Mondeo. I must be mad. Or a wimp.
 
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PMKeates said:
I dunno. It felt like I was sitting aboard this plank operating some levers that told the car what to do, rather than actually control it. The Xsara feel the opposite to this - you can wheelspin it, lock the wheels, go sideways, lift off oversteer the thing and it always feels like you're actually driving it - the Rover was also similar to this.
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Must be you, I never had a problem getting my Mondeo to do exactly what I wanted it too. For something that's meant to be a Eurobox saloon it's very responsive anc communicative. Kate's is even more chuckable now it's been lowered.

I'm sure a couple of people here have seen me throwing the Mondeo about first hand to vouch for me (Creature, DRZ??) :D
 
The Xsara feel the opposite to this - you can wheelspin it, lock the wheels, go sideways, lift off oversteer the thing and it always feels like you're actually driving it - the Rover was also similar to this.
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Trust me, you can do all of that in a Mondeo ;).
 
I have to admit, Im not the greatest fan of the mondeo simply from it's blandness, but for a large familly car I think they handle very well indeed, and whilst the 2.0L Zetec gives "respectable" rather than neck snapping performance, it was never sold as a particularly sporty car with that engine option. I certainly have never noticed any of the other points made.
 
PeterNem said:
Didn't realise she'd had it lowered :cool:
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It failed the MOT on 2 broken coil springs, it was cheaper to buy a set of lowering springs than replace the standard ones. :)
 
PMKeates said:
I'm 19, in full-time stable employment, have 100% disposable income and I was thinking of a 99 Mondeo. I must be mad. Or a wimp.
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I was 19, in full time education, and had 100% disposable income.

I bought a 99 Mondeo and have absolutely no regrets whatsoever, it's a bloody brilliant car and I think it rocks. Sorry :p

I just wish I didn't like it as much as I do, I want to move to a 530i but.... the ST200... hmmm..
 
[TW]Fox said:
The gearbox is vague? The Gearbox in mine, which is almost certainly the *same* box as the one in the one you drove, is so nice and precise it's actually the single area of the car I rate higher than Dad's 530d.
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I've found the gearbox in the MKII Mondeos a tad vague and they always seemed to have too long a throw aswell. Not sure if this is just the typical Ford box characteristics though.

Handling wise, well, they were ok for their size but nothing spectacular (sprited B Road driving does it no favours).
 
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