Mondeo conundrum, advice needed

[ROBTVR]

I am in the market to buy a large spec Mk4 mondeo diesel to replace my BMW E46 325 Ci Sport, need the extra room that the mondeo offers plus the fuel and road tax costs are rising so fast the Beemer is no longer a viable option, I have just found a 2 owner 57 plate 55000 mile Titanium X hatch 1.8 125bhp 6 speed, absolutely loaded with toys, DVD headrests, sat nav, privacy glass etc for just under 10k from a independant steeler including road tax and next service thrown in, ticks all the boxes for me although i was originally after a 2.0 140 engine. I wasnt overly disappointed with the performance when I test drove the car today, although i have not driven the 2.0 yet. Question is, apart from the obvious performance drop would i always regret going for the 1.8 over a 2.0? I have read a few post from another Ford forum that suggest remapping the 1.8 could be the answer. Roughly how much does a remap cost, what is involved and what sort of increased figures would i be looking at, also would the engine cope with the extra power without components failing prematurely?

[philoldsmobile]

dunno what its like in the mondeo, the the 1.8TDCi focus is a horrible rough laggy beast. avoid.

[mmm-five]

Autoquake seem to have a good range of Mondeo diesels (100 to 155bhp) starting at under £4k for a high mileage 56 plate, but without looking into them further I couldn't tell you what level of extras they have.

For example there's an average mileage 57 plate 1.8 TDCI Edge for £7k, or a high mileage 08 plate 2.0 TDCI Titanium for £8k - both 5 door hatches.

There's also the estate version if you need even more room, but they start at about £6k.

[Cliff J]

I've got a basic 59 plate Mondeo "Edge" in the estate version, TDCi, 1.8L, 125bhp and manual 6 speed. I've also driven the 2.0L but with an auto box.
I don't know if the manual 2.0L is any different to the auto but I didn't really notice any major difference in performance to the 1.8L to be honest, it's only marginal.
Either way, to say I rate this new Mondeo is an understatement, my best company car ever by far in comparison to the Focus/Mondeo/Astra selection I've had before.
I don't even have colour coded door handles on mine, plus I have wheel trims, but the ipod connection(Aux), the bluetooth for my phone, the nice ride, the space in the car, the comfort, the good driving position, traction control, cruise control etc, all make this a fantastic car in my opinion, and I love it to bits.
The 1.8 is no slouch off the line either if you need to get out of trouble.

[HellDiver]

Just get the 1.8 and get it remapped. Superchips are good for Ford. I've a Superchips remap on my 1.8 petrol Mondeo, made a reasonable difference to the crappy old Duratec. Goes better than the 2 litre petrol Mondeos of similar vintage that we have at work.

Edited by HellDiver on Sunday 2nd January 18:12

[ROBTVR]

Thankyou for your comments, i think i shall take the plunge tomorrow and stick a deposit on it, has anybody got first hand experience of a remap or bluefin/tuneit boxes on the 1.8 tdci engine?

[DavidHM]

Is the Conundrum higher or lower spec than the Titanium?

[NiceCupOfTea]

DavidHM said:

Is the Conundrum higher or lower spec than the Titanium?

[ROBTVR]

NiceCupOfTea said:

DavidHM said:

Is the Conundrum higher or lower spec than the Titanium?

Lol, The thinking mans car

[philoldsmobile]

I dont even want to know what anyone has been driving to make a 1.8 TDCI seem anything other than a horrible little rancid clatter box..

I had the (dis)pleasure of driving over 1000km in a virtually new TDCi 1.8 focus in October, and it was without doubt, one of the nastiest things I have ever driven. My dads Pug 307 1.4 was a blessed relief after dropping it off. bigger boot, too..

Edited by philoldsmobile on Sunday 2nd January 23:43

[Fox-]

I once had a Mk4 Mondeo 2.0 as a hire car from Avis. I drove it from Watford to Plymouth down the A303 at night without driving at stupid speeds and it averaged just 32mpg. For context, thats about what my 530i would have done on the same trip.

Therefore if its fuel economy you are after over a 325Ci, make sure you know for sure you'll actually get it. I love Mondeos and I love petrol engines but the engine in this Mondeo was crap. It drank fuel and sounded like a wasp stuck in a biscuit tin.

[philoldsmobile]

at least with a petrol you have the option of LPG. the TDCI focus was unforgivably bad. it wasn't even nicely built. shame, as the MK1 focus was a damned good car with a 2.0 Zetec petrol lump in it.

[BeeRoad]

Why pay £10k for a 2007 1.8 Mondeo with 55k on it when you can have a 2009 2.0 one with 11k on it?

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/%28S%28p32fqg2vemtqi0m...

[Pferdestarke]

A friend has the 1.8 derv. He says it's underpowered for the weight which i can believe.

If you get it, remap it!

[philoldsmobile]

the 2.0 is a much better engine too.

[philoldsmobile]

Pferdestarke said:

A friend has the 1.8 derv. He says it's underpowered for the weight which i can believe.

If you get it, remap it!

it takes more than remapping... if it were that easy, Ford would have put the 'remap' on it out of the factory.

[ROBTVR]

BeeRoad said:

Why pay £10k for a 2007 1.8 Mondeo with 55k on it when you can have a 2009 2.0 one with 11k on it?

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/%28S%28p32fqg2vemtqi0m...

Fair point but im a sucker for toys and comforts so for me the Edge just wouldn't flick my switch, My daily hack is a 58 plate 1.6tdci Focus Style, bit of a stripped out rep special does what it says on the tin, barely.

Edited by ROBTVR on Monday 3rd January 00:12

[ROBTVR]

philoldsmobile said:

I dont even want to know what anyone has been driving to make a 1.8 TDCI seem anything other than a horrible little rancid clatter box..

Edited by philoldsmobile on Sunday 2nd January 23:43

I really didn't find it very noisy at all on test drive today, may be a different beast in the Focus, and although no racehorse it wasn't horrendous, I know Im making myself sound like a bit of a nanny driver, believe me im not, Ive Had plenty of poke in the form of a TVR chim, R53 cooper s and the beemer dont go bad either but didnt feel the 1.8 was underpowered considering the weight. All opinions will be taken on board and thankyou all for the comments

[terzo]

ROBTVR said:

BeeRoad said:

Why pay £10k for a 2007 1.8 Mondeo with 55k on it when you can have a 2009 2.0 one with 11k on it?

http://www.motorpoint.co.uk/%28S%28p32fqg2vemtqi0m...

Fair point but im a sucker for toys and comforts so for me the Edge just would flick my switch, My daily hack is a 58 plate 1.6tdci Focus Style, bit of a stripped out rep special does what it says on the tin, barely.

Madness to base the decision on the extra's you mentioned - a satnav and tv screens can be bought for a few hundred quid and fitted to any car, as can the glass be tinted. For a cost of say £500 you'd have a 2 yr newer car with 44,000 less miles!

[Pferdestarke]

philoldsmobile said:

Pferdestarke said:

A friend has the 1.8 derv. He says it's underpowered for the weight which i can believe.

If you get it, remap it!

it takes more than remapping... if it were that easy, Ford would have put the 'remap' on it out of the factory.

I disagree. The 1.8 brings a good balance of economy, affordability and emissions to the range. If they wanted more power out of the 1.8, they would have engineered it that way.

You are suggesting that they try to extract as much performance per CC as they can from each engine they produce. Not the case.

If it's stock 125hp I would expect remapping to give around a 12-15% increase therefore taking it in to 2.0 territory without the bigger turbo/injectors etc.