Ford Mondeo ST TDCI | Shed of the Week
Well used but well cared for too, this old Mondeo could make the perfect winter workhorse
Shed's outlook on life might seem unusual to some. He has low expectations about everything, because that way he can never be disappointed. He scoffs at the idea that 'you can be anything you want to be' for many reasons, but mainly because his application to become an astronaut got nowhere. And he hooked up with Mrs Shed on the basis that advancing age could never make her look more unpleasant than she already did when he met her.
Remarkably, time has proved him wrong on that one, but in the world of sheds there's a lot to be said for the idea of buying something that's had a few knocks. Unlike Mrs Shed, the beauty of a bashed-up motor is that it really is unlikely to look much worse in the future that it does in the present, so you will never feel it necessary to waste your life mollicoddling it.
Enter stage left today's shed, a dentilicious Mondeo ST TDCi in the fastest colour of Performance Blue. In an extremely honest ad, the vendor (who judging by the sticker on the back is a PHer) tells us that the bodywork is in poor condition. One man's poor can easily be a shedman's excellent though, and this car could easily pass for something rather nice if you stood far enough away from it. The distances required to achieve the same effect with Mrs Shed would involve booking some expensive time on the Hubble telescope.
The dent on the nearside rear door looks like the result of a naked man being suddenly pressed up hard against the panel. There's paint missing off the arch on that side too, but quibbling about stuff like this seems a bit churlish given the £1,150 asking price. We'll get into the mechanicals a bit more in a minute, but first let's remember the brilliantly comprehensive ST spec which still looks impressive today 15 years after it was first rammed into this Mondeo.
The long list included digital radio, heated electric seats (half-leather in this case, full was also available), cruise, auto lights and wipers, and Ford's superb, yet to be bettered Quickclear windscreen. The estate added a huge load space to the package and this particular example throws in a towbar to help you kickstart your burger van franchise.
The least appealing thing about it for many readers will be that it runs on the devil's juice, which in a 21st century context can mean a narrow powerband and plenty of work with the gear knob. The 2.2-litre lump powering this first-year ST TDCi generated its maximum torque of 295lb ft at a usefully low 1,800rpm. Shed doesn't have a dyno sheet showing how many more revs it's worth hanging onto after that, but an unspectacular nine-second 0-62mph time suggests that quite a few of those seconds might have been taken up with changing gear. Still, cog-swapping hasn't been a hardship in a Ford since the Cortina came out in 1962. Cortinas never had this sort of performance. Nor did they deliver 50mpg in general use. We've come a long way.
The seller does confess to a brief of roughness on startup. He attributes this to the smart charge alternator, which can be a thing on these cars as this PH thread will confirm. There again it could be a worn crank pulley which is very much another thing on these cars and which, if ignored, will terminate the engine.
Clogged injectors and EGR valves also lie in wait to spoil your day, but failing dual mass flywheels were less of an issue in post-2003 cars. Rear bumpers sag, leading to damage that's not especially cheap to rectify. We are told that this car has been well looked after and that a goodly wodge of service paperwork comes with it, so hopefully these problems have already happened and been mended.
The vagaries of MOT timings over the last year or so mean that its current certificate will be 18 months old by the time it comes round for its next test in January, but with only a slightly deteriorated brake line to worry about from the last test - since when it's done 13,000 miles - you'd like to think that there's a few more years' use yet to be squeezed out of this attractive (from a distance) bus. The owner says that he recently drove to Yorkshire without any problems. He must have caught them on a good day.
And that was it.
He sold it and bought a new BMW E90 320d.
This was a sack of s
t compared. Out of warranty it threw up a four figure repair bill at least once a year.The reason he didn’t have another Mondeo was he found the dealerships poor.
Great shed.
These things were dire. Sounded like a Transit. Fuel pumps, rails, injectors were all common. Head gaskets and timing chains were a regular occurrence. Clutches and DMF’s and if you were really unlucky the gearbox as well. That’s without the usual MK3 Mondeo usual issues with the rear subframe bushes, rear calipers, bonnet locks where you have to smash the grill out to open the bonnet etc etc.
Save your money and invest in a MK4 2.0 Titanium X. Much better car and nearly as quick.
With some bodywork and TLC, this would make an interesting and appealing car. I drove a few Mondeo’s of this era and was always impressed.
From growing up when every other driveway contained a Cortina, the continued popularity of the Sierra (I always preferred the Mk2, and 2 Cavalier) and Mondeo it’s such a shame that sales of the mid to large Ford’s decreased.
A lovely colour and a very good shed for me. I love mondeos(I've had 3) and I'd take a punt on this I reckon. I'd prefer the petrol V6 in many ways, however the torque in this one certainly appeals. A good choice this week.
Never driven the st but did drive a same shape 1.8lx a number of times when they were new including s few trips for Yorkshire to wales, lovely car and very comfortable but that 1.8 petrol had about 3 bhp and 2 lb ft of torque. Always thought the more powerful versions of these would be a good car
Considering how many Fords are sold in the UK its interesting how infrequently we get a Ford as a SOTW, especially a Mondeo; can't recall the last time one was featured. Strange really as from my experience this generation of Ford makes for one of the best sheds. I like this one. Good looking car, good to drive with a strong engine. For shed money I would probably prefer a 2 litre petrol as far less to go wrong, but you can't get an ST with that engine. One of these or an early (Pre N47) E90 320d estate (also coming down into SOTW territory now) would be a very good all-rounder.
The car that single handedly put me off Ford's for the rest of my life - lovely to drive , good looking, but ruinously expensive to maintain.
Dual mass flywheel...subframe bushes...rusting doors... faulty engine wiring loom...injectors forgetting their codes... crankshaft pulley...failed starter motor...all on a comprehensively maintained 3 year old car.
This was added to by Ford refusing to admit design flaws or stand by their products. The only car in 35 years of driving which has left me stranded. The senior service department guy looked me straight in the eye and said "Personally, I drive a Honda..."
Never never buy a Ford again.
The car that single handedly put me off Ford's for the rest of my life - lovely to drive , good looking, but ruinously expensive to maintain.
Dual mass flywheel...subframe bushes...rusting doors... faulty engine wiring loom...injectors forgetting their codes... crankshaft pulley...failed starter motor...all on a comprehensively maintained 3 year old car.
This was added to by Ford refusing to admit design flaws or stand by their products. The only car in 35 years of driving which has left me stranded. The senior service department guy looked me straight in the eye and said "Personally, I drive a Honda..."
Never never buy a Ford again.
We've had Renault's over comparable time frames and mileages and they've been bullet proof in comparison, somewhat remarkably. I don't know if Renaultsports are better screwed together, but they have been approx. 1000 times more reliable / cheaper to run than even regular Fords.
Somebody mentioned alloy lacquer earlier, we had this on the Focus, looked appalling after only a couple of years but Ford were not interested.
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