Tuesday 21st July 2015

Ford Mondeo ST220: Spotted

Rare, practical, fast and cheap - what more do you need from a fast estate?

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Fast Ford values continue to amaze and entertain car enthusiasts. Seems like if it's rare enough and with the right badge then it's guaranteed to be worth a lot. If it's rare enough with the right badge and is actually a good car then the sky's the limit. But what if it has a fairly average badge (i.e. not an RS one), is a very good car and there aren't many either?

You want space? You've got it!

Step forward the Ford Mondeo ST220. A marvellous car, another of Ford's dynamic triumphs of the mid-2000s, and one that's very rare too because nobody buys sports saloons without a prestige badge. An estate as well is especially hard to come by. And it's four grand! You have to wonder if this was marketed as a special edition with the same numbers sold how that would affect the values.

Seeing a red ST220 hatch on the commute into PHHQ was a handy reminder of this often forgotten fast Ford hero. It's distinguished mostly by the wheels, badges and grille; to everyone else it's a Mondeo. They were the same identifiers used for the diesel ST also, making the 3.0 V6 even tougher to spot. Perhaps not Ford's boldest design, but it's handsome enough.

Red leather jazzes it up nicely

Of course buying a Mondeo ST220 will have its pitfalls. As a post March 2006 it will be very expensive to tax. That 3.0 V6 may provide plenty of power and a beautiful noise but it will use lots of fuel too, especially lugging round all that real estate (no shooting brake pretence here). Ignorant people will ask why you've bought an old Mondeo.

But as well as being a great car, it's a nice throwback to when blue-collar manufacturers could just about make sports saloons (and estates) feasible projects. This, the Mazda 6 MPS, Legacy Spec B and Accord Type R too if we're going further back. We won't see those sort of cars again because nobody wants saloons. Emissions legislation will prevent big engines going in them and this insatiable desire to buy premium brands means the mainstream manufacturers have to cut down on niche products.

So that's why the Mondeo ST220 is worthy of your attention. And if doesn't appeal as a do-it-all family wagon, we know a man who can make it ready for track...

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FORD MONDEO ST220
Engine: 2,967cc V6
Transmission: 6-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 226@6,150rpm 
Torque (lb ft): 207@4,900rpm
MPG: 27.2
CO2: 254g/km
First registered: 2006
Recorded mileage: 97,998
Price new: £24,740
Yours for: £4,425

View original advert here.

[MadDog1962]

That red upholstery would give me a headache.

Otherwise that looks like a lot of (nice) car for the money.

I like it. Price is likely to be fairly negotiable methinks.