Mondeo ST220

[OMNIO]

Hi all,

In a few months i'll (hopefully) be in a position to get a 'new' car.

I really like the look of the Mondeo ST220, they seem nippy, good handling, well specced etc and there are lots of low milage examples on 'trader for £6,000 or less.

Basically. Is the ST220 the pick of the bunch or are there any comparables?

Spec.

4 doors

fwd/ rwd/ awd - no preference. Have only driven fwd.

decent engine power - ideally sub 8 sec to 60 and a good power when accelerating between 50 - 90 out of the motorway roadworks

Reliable

Petrol

will only be covering a max of 7000 miles a year so MPG not hugely important id say 20 in town and 35 on a run is good

insurance is a factor - im 21 (3yrs ncb) and both my parents will be on it but scoobys etc are still a no. Not looking to spend more than £1300 a year fully comp

Max price - £6,500

55 plate or older - to avoid tax being over £235

Would prefer it not to be a BMW - only reason being the old man is getting a 5 series diesel company car (hence petrol requirement earlier!)


Thanks for any help!

[idge]

Could just get a Mazda 6 MPS. Quicker than the mondeo and AWD

[Mike 820]

OMNIO said:

accelerating between 50 - 70 out of the motorway roadworks

[OMNIO]

idge said:

Could just get a Mazda 6 MPS. Quicker than the mondeo and AWD

Yes I have considered this but I'm not really a fan of the look of it.

Is the Vectra VXR as appaling as Clarkson makes out? I know he is very biased against all things Vauxhall.

[OMNIO]

Mike 820 said:

OMNIO said:

accelerating between 50 - 70 out of the motorway roadworks

Heh. So i do 90mph on the motorway every now and then. OMNIO wont feature on any of the police / dvla databases so i think i might just get away with it!

[Mustardo]

Does it have to be a 'big' as a Mondeo?

Mazda 6 MPS as said above - but also the 3 MPS Hatch?

Jaguar X-Type 3.0 V6 AWD? Perhaps a bit too 'old-man' at your age?

Otherwise can't really go wrong with a Mondeo and it is the best handling out of them all TBH.

[Dave_ST220]

Have you actaully had an insurance quote? 21 year old on an ST220 sounds like it could be pricey to me!

[OMNIO]

Mustardo said:

Does it have to be a 'big' as a Mondeo?

Mazda 6 MPS as said above - but also the 3 MPS Hatch?

Jaguar X-Type 3.0 V6 AWD? Perhaps a bit too 'old-man' at your age?

Otherwise can't really go wrong with a Mondeo and it is the best handling out of them all TBH.

I would like it mondeo sized, I personally dont think the mondeo is a 'big' car, cirtainly compared to Audi A8s which i have also been looking at. Unfortunately the A8s are north of my £6k budget. Plus while they might be fast in a straight line (and even the 4.2 is reasonable on insurance) its not really the kind of car you can chuck round a b-road on a sunny sunday.

I was looking at Focus ST 2 & 3s but, again, decent ones are north of 6k

The jag..... I have no problem with an 'old man' image but an auto box isnt for me.

[VladD]

OMNIO said:

The jag..... I have no problem with an 'old man' image but an auto box isnt for me.

3.0 V6 S-Type Manual?

[OMNIO]

Dave_ST220 said:

Have you actaully had an insurance quote? 21 year old on an ST220 sounds like it could be pricey to me!

Decent Post code
Off street
mum & dad on premium
Mum main driver - which is true - none of this fronting malarky. Hopefully we can arrange what we arrange with the RAC when I passed my test which is I can get NCB even as a named driver rather than the main driver. I am assuming it was a perk of passing my test with RAC then using RAC insurance but its worth a go!
Up to 7,000 miles a year

£1200 fully comp.
£2300 - me as main driver which it too much
£3500 - Named driver but re-mapped! NO THANKS!

Might be a bit steep but tbh the stories in GG & Readers cars about 18 - 20 year olds paying £2000 - £3500 on a corsa makes it look ok.

[mmcd87]

Skoda Octavia VRS is worth a look. Also MG ZS180 and maybe even an Alfa Romeo 156 or something?

[Mike 820]

mmcd87 said:

Skoda Octavia VRS is worth a look. Also MG ZS180 and maybe even an Alfa Romeo 156 or something?

You also might want to check out an MG ZT 190.
4 door
7.5 to 60
20mpg round town and 30 plus on motorway if your gentle.
They can be picked up pretty cheap and there are some high spec examples floating about.

[OMNIO]

Mike 820 said:

mmcd87 said:

Skoda Octavia VRS is worth a look. Also MG ZS180 and maybe even an Alfa Romeo 156 or something?

You also might want to check out an MG ZT 190.
4 door
7.5 to 60
20mpg round town and 30 plus on motorway if your gentle.
They can be picked up pretty cheap and there are some high spec examples floating about.

I have looked at Various MGs and i do have a bit of a soft spot for them. Are parts getting scarce or are they likely to become scarce? If not then they are really good value as there are lots of 20k - 40k examples for under £6k - Was it only the 1.8 engines that suffers with the head gasket problem?

[Howard-]

I've yet to find another 'performance saloon' in this category that offers such an all-round excellent package as the Mondeo, tbh. You get good build quality, good reliability, good looks, reasonable service costs, a bit of exclusivity, lovely engine noise, decent performance, excellent handling, not as many complicated mechanics like high pressure / direct injection or turbos to go wrong, excellent equipment levels, lovely seats...

None of the other cars in this thread can offer this IMHO.

Edited by Howard- on Tuesday 22 February 16:16

[VladD]

Howard- said:

I've yet to find another 'performance saloon' in this category that offers such an all-round excellent package as the Mondeo, tbh. You get good build quality, good reliability, good looks, reasonable service costs, a bit of exclusivity, lovely engine noise, decent performance, not as many complicated mechanics like high pressure / direct injection or turbos to go wrong, excellent equipment levels, lovely seats...

None of the other cars in this thread can offer this IMHO.

I think the S-Type Jag beats the Mondeo in most of the categories that you specify there.

[Howard-]

I edited my post because I forgot handling. Did you mean the X-Type though? The S-Type is a totally different car, unlike the X-Type which is Mondeo-based.

[VladD]

Howard- said:

I edited my post because I forgot handling. Did you mean the X-Type though? The S-Type is a totally different car, unlike the X-Type which is Mondeo-based.

No, I meant the S-Type as I have one. It fit's the budget and I'd take one over a Mondeo for all the reasons that you mentioned.

[Howard-]

OK. I was comparing the Mondeo to other cars in its class, however. Vectra, Mazda 6, Octavia, etc. Not cars in the next class up that are designed differently.

[CharlieHotel]

OMNIO said:

Decent Post code
Off street
mum & dad on premium
Mum main driver - which is true - none of this fronting malarky. Hopefully we can arrange what we arrange with the RAC when I passed my test which is I can get NCB even as a named driver rather than the main driver. I am assuming it was a perk of passing my test with RAC then using RAC insurance but its worth a go!
Up to 7,000 miles a year

£1200 fully comp.
£2300 - me as main driver which it too much
£3500 - Named driver but re-mapped! NO THANKS!

Might be a bit steep but tbh the stories in GG & Readers cars about 18 - 20 year olds paying £2000 - £3500 on a corsa makes it look ok.

£1200 is quite cheap for your age but like you say, your mum will be driving it most of the time.
Funnily enough me being a main driver would come to £2300 on a ST220. Is it Admiral that are quoting you?
I really don't think any other car compares with the ST220 in this price range. I'd be driving one in a couple months time if the insurance was a bit more kinder to me.
I'm sure you've looked into the faults that can crop up with these cars? I looked into it a couple months ago and there was a couple of common problems that occurred with these cars...

[V88Dicky]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...