ST220 vs 4cyl Ghia X

[jamoor]

We need a new family hack, looking at 2003-2004 st220 or 2005 ghia x 4cyl petrol models.

Are there any major drawbacks on getting the ST220, are there any reliabiltiy niggles with them?

[mondayo]

Wasnt the car facelifted around this time? I thought it was done around 2004, as I had a 54 plate, which was different to an 03 plate.

Also, I guess the biggest difference between the 2, will (as mentioned above) be cost...fuel, insurance and general bills would be bigger I think? The 4 cylinder cars are a much lower insurance group.

[Spoonman]

I've had loads of Mondeos, and covered well over 300,000 miles in them. Our ST220 has been least reliable of the lot, needing a clutch much sooner than the four-cylinder cars and a fuel pump - which is the only time a Mondeo has left us at the side of the road.

(Admittedly, they're the only two things that have gone wrong.) It's also very thirsty and a fair bit more costly to insure.

That said, the ST220 is comprehensively better than any other Mondeo I've ever driven. It's the most complete car Ford has ever built.

[Witchfinder]

jamoor said:

Are there any major drawbacks on getting the ST220, are there any reliabiltiy niggles with them?

The 220 drinks like a fish. If you want cheap, reliable family motoring, I'd go for one of the four cylinder petrol or diesel engines. A mate of mine has an ST TDCI and with Bluefin, it's not really any slower than my ST220, only he averages 45 MPG and I average 19.5 MPG. I probably have more fun with the V6 and the lovely, lovely Recaros, but in terms of actual pace, there's not much in it.

All Mondeos suffer from some niggling problems - stuff like the rear subframe bushes are a consistent problem. The 220 is a more complicated car, so there's more to go wrong with it. That's the chance you take with any car of that kind though, I think.

[anonymous-user]

Realiable and ST diesel in one line, that's funny