ford mondeo reviews

spygirl

looking for some info please. am going to look at an 08 mondeo zetec over the weekend. it's a 1.6 and am worried it may not have much poke in it. any opinions or advice greatly appreciated regarding what should be offering etc an what to look out for/ thanks in advance

bazz26

They are heavy enough on juice and they don't have much poke as they are a big/heavy car but that is all relative to what you are used to and what you expect from the car.

If it is mainly urban driving you will be doing then it will be fine but if you do alot of motorway driving then it will struggle to be anyway efficent or nippy. Best thing to do is go have a drive of it anyway.

spygirl

Thank you, mainly urban driving one exit up on the m50 to work. am used to a laguna 1.6, i know, i know but i loved it dearly the last 6 years kinda sad to be seeing her go. pity the heating so expensive to fix or would have driven her into the ground.

FrontDoor

spygirl wrote: »

Thank you, mainly urban driving one exit up on the m50 to work. am used to a laguna 1.6, i know, i know but i loved it dearly the last 6 years kinda sad to be seeing her go. pity the heating so expensive to fix or would have driven her into the ground.

The Mondeo is a great car.

The 1.6 wouldn't be hectic in terms of performance, but would be grand pottering around town, etc. It would cruise at 75 mph on the motorway no problem.

If it came at the right price and you aren't fussed about speed, then it would be a cheap way of getting into a very good car.

spygirl

Not fussed about speed but 75?? is that all. Does it get bumpy after that.Not a little girl racer by any means but would like a little bit of poke. laguna I love as it moved, am I'm going to be very disappointed with the mondeo compared to a laguna?? Might give the mazda 6 a closer look. either way test drive tomorrow and take it from there. Wonder would they let me run it down the m50 or is that a very cheeky thing to ask on a test drive.

FrontDoor

spygirl wrote: »

Not fussed about speed but 75?? is that all. Does it get bumpy after that.Not a little girl racer by any means but would like a little bit of poke. laguna I love as it moved, am I'm going to be very disappointed with the mondeo compared to a laguna?? Might give the mazda 6 a closer look. either way test drive tomorrow and take it from there. Wonder would they let me run it down the m50 or is that a very cheeky thing to ask on a test drive.

God no, it would do a lot more than that, easily. Just mentioned 75 as it is the speed limit.

It would be light years ahead of the Laguna.

I can't imagine the Mazda would be a lot faster to be honest and I think the Mondeo is nicer.

No problem taking it on the Motorway I'd say.

There is nothing wrong with the 1.6

166man

FrontDoor wrote: »

God no, it would do a lot more than that, easily. Just mentioned 75 as it is the speed limit.

It would be light years ahead of the Laguna.

I can't imagine the Mazda would be a lot faster to be honest and I think the Mondeo is nicer.

No problem taking it on the Motorway I'd say.

There is nothing wrong with the 1.6

Ah now, a 1.6 petrol in a Mondeo? I can't imagine it being all that great with 5 on board even around town and I'd say it would drink petrol. 30 mpg would be my guess. Of course the OP might never really have more than just one person in the car but why would you buy such a big car then? 1.8 Mazda 6 would make more sense, in my opinion of course.

spygirl

kids, car seats and a dog. hence the need for it to be a hatchback. not a full load everyday. Also am on the tall side.am in a 1.6 now and liked it, the idea of going back to a 1.2 or that kills me tbh. Might be more practical but a girl likes her comforts and boot space always needed lol

FrontDoor

It isn't going to be a rocket but it is a perfectly acceptable car and perfect for ferrying kids, etc around the place.

Fuel economy in any of these things won't be brilliant, but wouldn't be worse than the Laguna either.

Take a few of them for a drive and see what you think. There is value in this segment if you are happy with this type of car/engine as most buyers are mad to buy diesel now. Other choices would be the Avensis, Mazda 6, Passat 1.6, etc.

spygirl

FrontDoor wrote: »

It isn't going to be a rocket but it is a perfectly acceptable car and perfect for ferrying kids, etc around the place.

Fuel economy in any of these things won't be brilliant, but wouldn't be worse than the Laguna either.

Take a few of them for a drive and see what you think. There is value in this segment if you are happy with this type of car/engine as most buyers are mad to buy diesel now. Other choices would be the Avensis, Mazda 6, Passat 1.6, etc.

TBH was kind thinking that about the petrol engine. Not much in the difference for the fuel prices around here anyway and servicing seems to be more expensive( just going by some posts I read so sorry if I'm wrong there). not mad on the passat, just personnel thing, not the cars fault. am being told mazda 6 doesn't come in a hatchback version. hope it's not true.

Not worse then the laguna is fine by me...found it always seemed to last longer if filled the tank and kept it above the halfway mark. No idea why, just seemed to last longer even though the car was heavier with fuel on board.

have a look tomorrow at the mondeo and take it from there. price will be the deciding factor tbh along with the nct details. we shall see what happens thanks for the help and advice

colm_mcm

Mazda6 comes in hatchback, just they don't do a 1.6 petrol mazda6

spygirl

excellent thank you for the heads up, am guessing the hatchback is only on the diesels so, any chance they started in the 1.8 or 2.0?

colm_mcm

No, hatchbacks are on petrol too, just they don't do a 1.6 petrol in any body shape

Idbatterim

op do you want an 08 for tax reasons? also the 1.6L had 110,120,125 bhp outputs… see below link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mondeo

wilford

My mate has both,08 1.8 mazda 6,08 1.6 mondeo,both saloons,he prefers the the mazda his wife prefers the mondeo,mondeo is harder on petrol though,I have an older mondeo and after driving both I prefer the mazda much nicer to drive imo,test drive both and go with what you want,the only thing about the mazda I'd say would be the re-sale value but that would depend on how long you'd be keeping it.

gb153

Buddy of mine got a 1.6 Mondeo last year (new shape 2007 I think). It was way too heavy a car for a 1.6 so was very sluggish + drank petrol. He traded in after a few months for an older shape mondeo 2.0l diesel because of the engine.

tin79

gb153 wrote: »

Buddy of mine got a 1.6 Mondeo last year (new shape 2007 I think). It was way too heavy a car for a 1.6 so was very sluggish + drank petrol. He traded in after a few months for an older shape mondeo 2.0l diesel because of the engine.

Either we know the same person or my friend did pretty much the same independantly. The 1.6 was very very sluggish and struggled up hills with any load.

Stallingrad

I was unimpressed by that engine in a C-Max. The Mondeo is a big car and really is at its best in diesel form.

spygirl

Well lads, thanks for the advice. took both out for a test drive. difference of 1700 and 20,000 Kms between them. was very shocked to get offered a good trade in for mine against the mondeo. Granted kept silent about some of the problems. the mazda have to say was better but the price and mileage won out on the mondeo.

The car saying hello and asking did i need radio, climate control or phone was something did not expect. Brought mechanic with me as thought mileage was too good to be true, turned out he knew the car as he services it. Fluke but took as a good sign. He helped a bit with the negotiatons as well so picking her up next few days.
Mazda did feel better, but came down to the price in the end. Had I more money to play with might have been a different story. Also they get nervy when you break speed limits on test drives down the M50 who knew, oops lol.

Hopefully won't regret it.

bazz26

Idbatterim wrote: »

op do you want an 08 for tax reasons? also the 1.6L had 110,120,125 bhp outputs… see below link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mondeo

The 1.6 litre Duratec Ti-VCT briefly Mondeo offered in Ireland was the 110bhp version only. We didn't get any other version here and it was discontiuned in 2009 because it was only offered here as a lower tax option under the old tax system. It became redundant when diesels became cheaper to tax on the co2 system.

Stallingrad wrote: »

I was unimpressed by that engine in a C-Max. The Mondeo is a big car and really is at its best in diesel form.

Depends which engine was in the C-Max, most came with the standard 100bhp version, rare top spec Ghia/Titanium models had the Duratec Ti-VCT from the Mondeo.

BTW a 2008 Mazda 6 1.8 litre on the new tax system costs the same to tax as a 1.6 litre Mondeo on the old tax system. The Mazda 6 was also available as a saloon/hatchback and estate in petrol and diesel.

Knit wit

Happy motoring op. I have an 08 mondeo hatchback which I bought from new. It has never given me an ounce of bother. The boot is cavernous. The rear seating is generous ... I too have 3 kids and a dog to transport. One little thing to watch for in the wet weather is the spill of water from the boot when u open it. Newer models have a channel in the boot lid I think. I find when ur opening the boot, if u open it 6 inches or so first the water from the glass drains off to the sides and you won't get splashed. Happy motoring.

_Kaiser_

Knit wit wrote: »

One little thing to watch for in the wet weather is the spill of water from the boot when u open it. Newer models have a channel in the boot lid I think. I find when ur opening the boot, if u open it 6 inches or so first the water from the glass drains off to the sides and you won't get splashed.

Same thing happens with my Passat and I still get caught out every so often (over years on)

bazz26

Knit wit wrote: »

Happy motoring op. I have an 08 mondeo hatchback which I bought from new. It has never given me an ounce of bother. The boot is cavernous. The rear seating is generous ... I too have 3 kids and a dog to transport. One little thing to watch for in the wet weather is the spill of water from the boot when u open it. Newer models have a channel in the boot lid I think. I find when ur opening the boot, if u open it 6 inches or so first the water from the glass drains off to the sides and you won't get splashed. Happy motoring.

I think Ford dealers have a retro fit for that available, not sure if was a recall but one of the lads at work had it done recently on his Mondeo.

spygirl

Thanks Lads, will be looking out for that one. Yeah the boot is huge. I can actually lie down in it, if i ever need a career change as a hit woman I reckon it'll do the job nicely lol.

The whole car is huge in fairness. I brought the kids over for the second look and got them all to sit in, lashings of leg room for them even when other half sat in and he is tall so seat was pretty much all the way back. Gonna have to get used to such a wide car very quickly. One thing was surprised at was no parking sensors on it. Had them on last car and loved them....seems to be a girly thing.

Are they very hard to fit yourself or get done as a nixer. Seem cheap as chips to buy online. two garages each quoting between 350-450 for them. May just have to be more careful with my new tank:p

MuppetCheck

Looks for one with sensors. They are a big car and rearward visibility is very poor. Many had them fitted so try to source a car with them. The factory ones are more cleanly integrated.

_Kaiser_

My Passat can be a pain in the @$$ to park sometimes as it's very hard to tell where the back of the car is as the rear-view mirror magnifies things so much and you can't see the boot line.

You'll get used to it quick enough OP.. just take your time and I find its a lot easier to reverse into spaces than out of them (faster too) - and so what if I occasionally have to walk to the back of the car to check how much room I have left (or better yet, get a passenger to do it for me)

trixyben

I dont know about the rest of you experienced drivers but those sensors to me are a bit over kill and an extra i could really do without tbh...

Maybe they help the more inexperienced driver or someone not confident parking etc so thats the market for them probaly

MuppetCheck

Sure in that case we can do without power steering, electric windows etc.

Anything that can be put in a car to make parking easier and more importantly reduce the risk of someone reversing into my car has to be worthwhile.

cyrusdvirus

I took 5 mondeo's out for test drives over the weekend.

2lt petrol, Zetec spec. 08 reg and a lovely car. 9.5k asking price. I'd say they'll find it hard to shift with that size engine though.

1.6 lt petrol, again Zetec spec. Same year, same price, similar mileage. Felt very sluggish when at a cruise and going to overtake. Didn't like that.

1.8 lt diesel import from the uk. Good mileage, and a 2010. Engine felt awfully agricultural though.

2.0 lt diesel. A 2009 and a 2010. Both zetecs, both kinda high mileage. Both felt sooooooo good!!

I didn't try any of the econetics though.

Wouldn't recommend the 1.6 petrol or the 1.8 diesel.

Stallingrad

gatecrash wrote: »

Wouldn't recommend the 1.6 petrol or the 1.8 diesel.

Think you hit the nail on the head there. Mondeo is best as a 2.0TDci, Zetec or upward, anything else is something of a poor compromise.

trixyben

trixyben wrote: »

I dont know about the rest of you experienced drivers but those sensors to me are a bit over kill and an extra i could really do without tbh...

Maybe they help the more inexperienced driver or someone not confident parking etc so thats the market for them probaly

They're a help to anyone.

cyrusdvirus

just bought one of the 2.0 diesels i was driving....

ROLL ON FRIDAY!!!

spygirl

well wear gatecrash,enjoy your new drive. I like the idea of getting a passenger to hop out an check how much room I have, lol knew there was reason i let the kids in the car

FrontDoor

Well wear with the car.

I'd say it is a big step up on the old one.

cgal093

What about a 1.6 Focus saloon?

JamesBond2010

gatecrash wrote: »

just bought one of the 2.0 diesels i was driving....

ROLL ON FRIDAY!!!

they are wicked are'nt they !!!great fun

cyrusdvirus

spygirl wrote: »

well wear gatecrash,enjoy your new drive. I like the idea of getting a passenger to hop out an check how much room I have, lol knew there was reason i let the kids in the car

best of luck with yours too!

Modified-IRL

bazz26 wrote: »

They are heavy enough on juice and they don't have much poke as they are a big/heavy car but that is all relative to what you are used to and what you expect from the car.

If it is mainly urban driving you will be doing then it will be fine but if you do alot of motorway driving then it will struggle to be anyway efficent or nippy. Best thing to do is go have a drive of it anyway.

DITTO