Mk4 Mondeo 2.5T

[RB5]

Has anyone driven one of these? Can pick up an early 2008 one for under £10k, so it seems like a good buy. I've had a very reasonable insurance quote too.

What I'm wondering is:
- How does the engine feel to drive compared to the Focus ST?
- What kind of MPG would I be looking at? I hear the Focus ST has very poor fuel-economy, so I can only imagine the Mondeo is even worse due to the added weight?
- Any reliability issues? I know that it's an old Volvo engine which is known for being reliable, but I assume Ford have made a few changes to make it more modern.

I'll be test-driving one when one comes up for sale locally, but they're fairly rare cars.

Thanks.

[Podie]

I've driven one, and it seemed to have a reasonable level of poke, but didn't feel as lively as the Focus (unsurprisingly). Can't comment on economey (or lack of) as it was a pool car.

S-Max also has the 2.5T engine, but I'm not sure if it's de-tuned in eithe rthe Mondy or the S-Max, in comparison with the Focus. Then again, I imagine you can tune it...

Cabin is a nice place to be, although it is a big car...

[killsta]

After a quick google it seems the 2.5T in the SMAX/Mondeo is 215bhp, so 10ish bhp down on the Focus, also missing a few torques.

[anonymous-user]

If you can I'd wait, the new Ecoboost engines look rather handy, hopefully an ST or at least a Titanium X Sport version next year........

[RB5]

I believe the ~10bhp difference between the Mondeo 2.5T and the Focus ST is due to the exhaust and possibly slightly different intercoolers. It's easy to get these engines up to ~260bhp, and not too much harder to hit 300.

I have heard about the new 2.0 turbo petrol models, although I'm only looking to buy a 2/3 year old Mondeo. The depreciation is scary on Mondeos! I'm still worried about the further depreciation of a £10k 57-plate 2.5T, not sure how fast they're going to continue to fall - hopefully the worst should be over as soon as it hits the 3 year mark when the warranty expires.

[Podie]

They do depreciate hard.

Look good with the bodykit though, and 300bhp would be quite nice

[anonymous-user]

Although the ST versions do hold up a little better, I guess if you can wait until next year once the new Ecoboost versions start filtering through the old 2.5 will plummet further

[RB5]

I phoned a large local dealer today about a 2.5T Titanium X estate that I saw advertised online. They said the car is being held off-site and I couldn't even view it unless I put a deposit down immediately, which could only be refunded if the car turned out to be in "poor condition". Needless to say I didn't hand over any cash - never heard of anything like this before. Looks like I'll have to wait a little while longer until another is advertised...

[monkeyra]

Long discussion on the differences here:

http://www.talkford.com/topic/131634-difference-be...

The crux of it though was that Ford had to make sure the 2.5T Mondeo came in under 224g/km CO2 for tax reasons.

[travo]

I owned a 57 plate 2.5t titanium x estate for a year or so, really liked it and it wasn't all that bad on fuel, I used to regularly get over 400 miles from a tank without trying too hard (70 litre tank mind) and at a push could see 500.
If you get one your gonna definitly want a bluefin on it, the standard car doesn't feel all that quick, with the bluefin it'd slowly pull ahead of a standard focus st, the bluefin makes a big difference to the performance but the fuel economy stays pretty much the same.
My biggest gripe was tyres and rear pads (probably soemthing to do with the bluefin), it did it's first set of tyres in 7k miles and when i got rid of it with 13k miles they were almost due again. the rear pads we're shot too, the dealer reckons you can expect to get 15k from the rears at a push.
I had a few problems on mine, the ABS light coming on and staying on can be a common problem, turned out to be a faulty abs sensor which took almost a month for the dealer to get and replace, the converse display can get a bit funky but this was fixed with an update, again a common problem, other than that it was a great car.
cheers

[RB5]

How did you find the seats? I sat in a Titanium model at weekend and they felt a lot nicer than the ones in the Zetec model I'd been in previously.

[travo]

Seats were pretty good, you get the leather/alcantera ones in the titanium x, with better support and a bit more adjustment than lower models, although the ones in my st220 feel comfier on long journeys.
Also i'd definitly get one with the dvd sat nav if you can, it all works really well and is excellent for the phone menus/music etc, and is linked to the converse display on the dash, showing you basic directions and distances to junctions etc with out having to keep looking at the main unit, its the biggest thing I miss from the car.

[RB5]

Yeah I'm definitely looking for one with sat-nav, they make the interior look a lot nicer if nothing else. I'm surprised that the Titanium X model didn't come with sat-nav as standard!

The buttons on the standard radio also felt very flimsy in the Titanium model I sat in last week, although it may have just been that car...

Edited by RB5 on Thursday 16th December 18:20