Mondeo - the best car i've ever owned

[Andy_vx]

I've been a Pistonhead's member for 10 years now and never written a "readers cars" thread but I feel my current daily has justified such a post. It's fair to say I've had a pretty varied selection of cars through the years, from an M3 to a stage 4 VX220 and a Caterham but nothing that brings the sort of contentment you get from daily driving a fun, reliable and practical car that you paid less than £2000 for, in an age of lease deals and SUV's driving a "shed" makes so much sense.

After commuting 100 miles a day in a track focussed VX220 I finally had to admit that I needed something more practical. I looked at all sorts, Volvo's, Subaru Legacy's, BMW 3 series, Mercedes E classes and A4's but they were all a compromise. A friend of mine on the VX forum recommended the Mk3 Mondeo so I started browsing the classifieds and found a Light blue Ghia X estate for £350. It had done well over 200,000 miles, smoked like a chimney and hadn't had a wash in well over 2 years. I did about 15,000 miles before the injectors finally let go, I sold it in a day for £250.

That was it, I'd caught the Mondeo bug so the next logical step was to move my way up the model range to the ST! Specifically the ST TDCI diesel, which in standard form produced 155hp and 360Nm of torque. I looked at dozens and spent one day with my brother travelling half the UK looking at a few examples, it's fair to say they were all dogs! A few weeks later I found one that looked good so went for a viewing, by this point I was a Mondeo expert, I knew every common fault and the severity of each one. I was looking for one that had new injectors, aux belt and crank pulley replaced, oh and it had to be an estate in performance blue, obviously! I came across such a car so went for a viewing, everything was as described, I didn't haggle and gave the bloke the asking price, I don't think he could quite believe it but by this point, I was just so happy to find a car that was genuine, it even had a full service history!

I drove the car home and was chuffed, bucket loads of torque... so much so I'm sure it's been mapped, genuinely pulls like a train. I had an EP3 type R as a daily before the Mondeo and I hated it, yes it was pretty quick and the engine was impressive above 7000rpm but that's not much good on the road and I found the chassis so dull. The Mondeo ticks all the boxes for me, the steering feel is excellent and that's coming from a big Lotus fan, yes there's lots of body roll but I don't think that's such a bad thing anymore, you can make real progress on the sort of roads you find around the New Forest. It's such a fun car to drive and hides its size very well, i'm yet to find something I can't fit in the boot, it lugs my dirty mountain bike around, tows the track car around and delivers boats for work effortlessly. All of this practicality and performance in something that looks good and does 45mpg everywhere. Did I mention the stereo is immense and it has heated everything!

Admittedly I've spent a bit of time and money on it over the last couple of years but it's really up together now and wants for nothing. 15,000 miles so far, and they've all been an absolute joy.

Edited by Andy_vx on Sunday 13th January 00:22

[Ilovejapcrap]

always liked these,

my ex girlfriends dad had one from new and loads of issues so put me off year later.

but they look really really good.

[Andy_vx]

Ilovejapcrap said:

always liked these,

my ex girlfriends dad had one from new and loads of issues so put me off year later.

but they look really really good.

Yeah you're not wrong, if you're not into a bit of DIY maintenance then I'd avoid but most faults are easily rectified and parts are hilariously cheap and readily available. I've done all the common things and it's a doddle to work on.

[mwstewart]

It looks immaculate. It's nice that you recognised that the owner had looked after it and paid accordingly - I read so many times of people making silly offers for stuff.

[Podie]

Nice. I have a soft spot for the Mk3 Mondeo. I still miss my ST220. Was such a well screwed together car.

[harrykul]

My uncle had one of the first 2.0 zetecs from new, was an excellent car to drive: such a well set up car. Ended up buy two diesels as stopgaps and couldn't fault them.

This, MK1 Focus and the Puma were the best Fords ever imho.

[anonymous-user]

I’m a fan too, I’ve had three mk2 Mondeos and two mk3. They are excellent all rounders, good to drive, insanely practical and so, so, cheap to buy and run.

If you can find a good one, which is a bit of a task now they’re knocking on a bit, they’re my default cheap car choice.

[Eyersey1234]

Wow that's a nice looking car you have there OP. I'm a Ford fan, 2 Fiestas and now drive a MK2 Focus.

[Northern.N]

Have a Mondeo ST TDCI myself when I’ll never part with it if I can help it.

Having the cat removed and a set of focus ST brakes makes the car immensely better too

[mak250300]

Looks amazing. I am not a Ford man but always liked the look of these as a complete package. Looks like the Boxster owner loves it as well.

[Andy_vx]

Glad to see there's still love for the Mondeo's. I've certainly warmed to the brand, would love to try a new Fiesta ST one day, bet they're great fun!

Unfortunately, the bodywork on the Mondeo is pretty bad now, lots of lacquer peel and car park dents, might have a good at spraying the rear bumper in spring.

[Andy_vx]

Northern.N said:

Have a Mondeo ST TDCI myself when I’ll never part with it if I can help it.

Having the cat removed and a set of focus ST brakes makes the car immensely better too

Don't give me ideas haha, I've tried to keep in standard but the brakes are a weak point.

[Palmers]

I had a mk 3 as a stop gap whilst i decided what car i wanted.

My criteria was:

A nice place to sit inside
Estate
2.0 diesel for economy
Must have cruise control

In the end i couldnt justify paying a premium for an audi / mercedes / bmw and ended up with a mk 4 titanium x. Very good value for money and full of gadgets.

They are leaps and bounds ahead of the Mk3 and coming down in price rapidly now.

[Northern.N]

Andy_vx said:

Northern.N said:

Have a Mondeo ST TDCI myself when I’ll never part with it if I can help it.

Having the cat removed and a set of focus ST brakes makes the car immensely better too

Don't give me ideas haha, I've tried to keep in standard but the brakes are a weak point.

De-cat is about £60

Brakes, £150-200 with carriers, decent disks and pads etc.
Honestly, do it. You will not regret it- single best change on the car. Standard ones are awful in comparison

Also some advice:
-Run it on decent diesel (shell regular, premium diesels) and use a dephi or Bosch fuel filter when you service too. They don’t like the cheaper filters and can really upset the car.
-millers eco max diesel. I scorned the idea of additives too, but this really does make a difference! Improved mpg (marginally), less smoke on start up and the car seems to run a little better too.

Peanuts to live with. I service mine every 5/6k and do the fuel filter every other service. Tyres are low cost )£200 a set for falkens I use) and genuinely a brilliant car.
Enjoy

[LosingGrip]

I've had mine since the end of September, and although its had a fair bit of work done to it (rear springs snapped due to a pot hole), brake caliper, shock absorber and its going to need its brake pads/disks replacing in a few months. I love it.

MPG isn't the best (around 35 for me, mixture of around town and country roads). But its comfy. Quick enough (I came from a BMW 330D), radio is fantastic. Heated seats are great. And I love the quick clear button on icy days!

I paid £1395 for mine. 144k miles and just about to hit 150k. I know my next car will be a Mondeo. Maybe a ST220 though. Couldn't find a decent one in the time frame I had.

[stevemcs]

I like the way it puts the heated front and rear screen on automatically when its 4 degrees or colder.

[thebigmacmoomin]

Loved mine when I had it back in 2008. We got rid on 185k miles but think its still on the road, it was still on original injectors but just replaced the wheel bearings on the rear.

Good to see some mint condition original wheels, obviously had a refurb as they don't look diamond cut. The original finish doesn't last that long. Best ST colour aswell, Performance Blue.

Focus ST Mk2 front brakes are a must, the standard Mondeo ones are rubbish. They bolt straight on, disks, pads, calipers, carriers & lines i think it is.

Edited by thebigmacmoomin on Monday 14th January 13:58

[LosingGrip]

thebigmacmoomin said:

Good to see some mint condition original wheels, obviously had a refurb as they don't look diamond cut. The original finish doesn't last that long. Best ST colour aswell, Performance Blue.

Edited by thebigmacmoomin on Monday 14th January 13:58

I'm guessing it may have something to do with where the photo was taken .

OP are you local to there? I'll properly see you around as over in Poole.

[cerb4.5lee]

I've always fancied one of these and I've had 3 Mondeos(V6 Ghia X/ST24/1.8LX). I love them and yours looks great, they are brilliant cars for me.

[njw1]

I love a mk3 Mondeo, I got to drive them when they were new at work as the managers had them as company cars and then had two myself, the first one was a 2.2 Titanium X;



I instantly regretted selling that car so did the logical thing and bought an ST TDCi;



I spent a few quid on that car replacing tired parts, nearly every suspension item got replaced, new shocks and lowering springs, new steering rack, new clutch, new aux belt and tensioner and added some 'go faster' bits such as a de-cat, egr blank, bigger intercooler, straight through exhaust and a re-map, it didn't half shift for a diesel Mondeo after that! I regretfully sold that car too a while back as I've bought a van, it hasn't gone far though, a mate bought it off me so I still get to drive it now and again.