the million(artistic licence) mile Mondeo Taxi
Discussion
Glasgowrob said:
your right though the mk4s are built like tanks, these well lets just say specced by beancounters
This is what worries me about Ford now. Beancounters nearly killed Ford in the early 1990s with the Mk4/5 Escort era and it's drift into mediocrity. Fortunately Richard Parry-Jones made them see the light, development became engineer-led and we ended up with the Focus, Mondeo, Puma etc. As a result, Ford as a whole was still profitable when GM etc were losing billions. Slowly though, the managers, accountants, finance people and focus groups have insinuated their way back in. The result being that everything now seems to be developed in the US, to the lowest possible cost. I suspect they now engineer cars to fail at around 70k miles, which is just after the point when most fleets get refreshed. And sod the next owner, or owner/driver who wants to do higher mileage.All those European chassis people and designers that made cars which really handled, did it reliably, and with a cabin that looked modern an businesslike, seem to have been given the boot.
A few weeks ago when I was looking around for a replacement Mondeo for my dad (never did find the right one, decided just to spend £1k on a new clutch and stuff on his V6) we looked at so many Mk.4/4.5s that looked practically new, even after 8 years and 70,000 miles. They had the feel of an older Mercedes.
Zad said:
This is what worries me about Ford now. Beancounters nearly killed Ford in the early 1990s with the Mk4/5 Escort era and it's drift into mediocrity. Fortunately Richard Parry-Jones made them see the light, development became engineer-led and we ended up with the Focus, Mondeo, Puma etc. As a result, Ford as a whole was still profitable when GM etc were losing billions. Slowly though, the managers, accountants, finance people and focus groups have insinuated their way back in. The result being that everything now seems to be developed in the US, to the lowest possible cost. I suspect they now engineer cars to fail at around 70k miles, which is just after the point when most fleets get refreshed. And sod the next owner, or owner/driver who wants to do higher mileage.
All those European chassis people and designers that made cars which really handled, did it reliably, and with a cabin that looked modern an businesslike, seem to have been given the boot.
A few weeks ago when I was looking around for a replacement Mondeo for my dad (never did find the right one, decided just to spend £1k on a new clutch and stuff on his V6) we looked at so many Mk.4/4.5s that looked practically new, even after 8 years and 70,000 miles. They had the feel of an older Mercedes.
the Mk4.5 Mondeo was almost perfect as a load lugger all rounder, handled well drove sharply enough had a decent range of engines and pretty much covered every base.All those European chassis people and designers that made cars which really handled, did it reliably, and with a cabin that looked modern an businesslike, seem to have been given the boot.
A few weeks ago when I was looking around for a replacement Mondeo for my dad (never did find the right one, decided just to spend £1k on a new clutch and stuff on his V6) we looked at so many Mk.4/4.5s that looked practically new, even after 8 years and 70,000 miles. They had the feel of an older Mercedes.
I rue the day I bought a mk5
Sa Calobra said:
I once had a 04 Focus Zetec then a Puma 1.7. I've not hand a Ford since. I drove a friend's diesel 2010 Focus on Sunday (he was driving me to his house for beers and naturally I asked if I could drive) and I liked it.
I think it's time for another Ford in my life. My first Mondy.
My first car was a MKII Cortina, then some years later I had a MKII Granada 2.8 Ghia followed by a MKII RS2000 Escort, Capri 2.8 Injection, another Capri 2.8 Injection, a Granada 2 litre as a stop-gap then a Granada Scorpio 2.8i, and finally a 2.0 GLSi Sierra Sapphire. I think it's time for another Ford in my life. My first Mondy.
The common denominator being they were all RWD - so if I ever buy another Ford it will be a V8 Mustang for the same reason!
Glasgowrob said:
2007-2014 with a facelift in 2010
2l tdci is the pick of the bunch in my eyes or the 2l petrol turbo if you want to go fast and rev more than 4k
2.5T is the pick of the bunch if you want to go fast. It's got less power than the 2.0T but is quicker with more torque (the 2.0T extra power is all at the top end) and can be mapped for lots more if you want. Plus it's available as a manual while the 2.0T is auto only.2l tdci is the pick of the bunch in my eyes or the 2l petrol turbo if you want to go fast and rev more than 4k
Only available in from 2007-2010 though and rare as rocking horse poo.
Fastdruid said:
2.5T is the pick of the bunch if you want to go fast. It's got less power than the 2.0T but is quicker with more torque (the 2.0T extra power is all at the top end) and can be mapped for lots more if you want. Plus it's available as a manual while the 2.0T is auto only.
Only available in from 2007-2010 though and rare as rocking horse poo.
Hmmmm...the 2.5T is NOT the pick of the bunch if you're a high miling taxi driver though, which is probably more Rob's point.Only available in from 2007-2010 though and rare as rocking horse poo.
I ran a 2.5T S-Max for 5 years with only 20k km/year. Not cheap to do so.
RC1807 said:
Fastdruid said:
2.5T is the pick of the bunch if you want to go fast. It's got less power than the 2.0T but is quicker with more torque (the 2.0T extra power is all at the top end) and can be mapped for lots more if you want. Plus it's available as a manual while the 2.0T is auto only.
Only available in from 2007-2010 though and rare as rocking horse poo.
Hmmmm...the 2.5T is NOT the pick of the bunch if you're a high miling taxi driver though, which is probably more Rob's point.Only available in from 2007-2010 though and rare as rocking horse poo.
I ran a 2.5T S-Max for 5 years with only 20k km/year. Not cheap to do so.
My point is purely that the 2.5T is better than the 2.0T (apart from on mpg).
soon be hitting 100k had a nice round trip to Dornoch today along with some regular work so 800 miles 
and as for the mk4 the 2.5t is a pig of an engine liner issues thirsty and apart from the noise not that great all round
the 2l tdci will happily map to 200 bhp return good mpg and is in my opinion (formed over 350k of trouble free miles) bullet proof
the 2,2 tdci 200 is a corker of an engine maps well and put down some decent performance with a few tweaks map and FMIC has been known to see 250 bhp and 375 lbs/ft of torque but they are rare and expensive when they pop up for sale
and as for the mk4 the 2.5t is a pig of an engine liner issues thirsty and apart from the noise not that great all round
the 2l tdci will happily map to 200 bhp return good mpg and is in my opinion (formed over 350k of trouble free miles) bullet proof
the 2,2 tdci 200 is a corker of an engine maps well and put down some decent performance with a few tweaks map and FMIC has been known to see 250 bhp and 375 lbs/ft of torque but they are rare and expensive when they pop up for sale
For those who don't do moon-liner mileage and don't need anything remotely new, I still have a soft spot for the V6 engines. Smooth with a huge power band, responsive, and really suit the chassis. Don't mention the fuel consumption though. Or the whole rigmarole of a clutch change. The ST220 was very conservatively rated. e.g. http://i47.tinypic.com/149cp3m.jpg
The diesel engines take very well to being remapped (I know I'm preaching to the converted here) as does the 2.5T if you don't mind uprating the clutch and, ideally, sorting the liner issue. 300bhp isn't much of a stretch. Not really ideal for a 60,000 mile a year car though
The diesel engines take very well to being remapped (I know I'm preaching to the converted here) as does the 2.5T if you don't mind uprating the clutch and, ideally, sorting the liner issue. 300bhp isn't much of a stretch. Not really ideal for a 60,000 mile a year car though
A remap always helps, but that can be a "how long's a piece of string" thing when it comes to selecting which map. Removing the DPF and patching it out in the map (otherwise you are probably going to get dash warning errors) can generate better exhaust flow, but that depends how much particulate emissions bother you.
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