Faults:

Turbo failed. Oil seal failure allowed engine oil into turbo, inter-cooler and on into the combustion chambers. Engine 'ran away'.

Engine "hydraulicked". In other words it started burning its own engine oil. Car went out of control on the motorway. Unable to stop the engine even with ignition turned off. Engine was revving beyond the rev limiter.

Very dangerous situation. Eventually managed to stop the engine by stalling it on the hard shoulder, plus the engine also seized due to lack of oil. The car is just ten months old.

No problems up until then.

General Comments:

I would advise anyone thinking of buying a new Ford to look very closely at the 'Contract of Assistance'. If your new Ford goes badly wrong UK Ford Assist is contracted to the AA who can provide a hire car for only up to two days. My Mondeo was supplied in France. Here Mondial are 'Ford Assist'. They can arrange a loan car for up to four days.

The problem is that my car broke down in the UK on my way back to France. Mondial did not know what to do with me. I had the car towed to a Ford dealer in the South of the UK on a Sunday. They would not even look at my car until the Wednesday. I have had to pay for a hire car and now I have no car at all, yet I am paying for my new one and have nothing to drive. I do not know when I will get it back.

If your Ford is a UK one and it goes seriously wrong like mine, your dealer may sanction a loan car through Ford's warranty department, especially if any parts are on 'Back 'Order'. Ford France will not give you anything, they do not care. I have never experienced such arrogant and uncaring customer service. My Mondeo cost me over 29,000 Euros ten months ago. I might as well have bought secondhand.

As a footnote, I collected my Mondeo from the Ford dealer in the UK and drove it back to France. Coming off of the A16 autoroute at a junction ramp, the brakes completely failed. The foot brake pedal went straight to the floor. I very nearly crashed the car. There was no warning at all, no warning light and no secondary or back up braking system. My car is now waiting to go into a Ford dealer in France and I am without a car again.

After investigation it turned out that the mechanic(s) who replaced the engine, had not noticed that the front r/h/s flexible brake hose was not fastened into its clip. On my journey back to France, the hose had rubbed against the wheel until it ruptured and the brake fluid simply sprayed out of the hole when you pushed the brake pedal.

As a warning to all potential Ford purchasers in France, parts supply is very slow. The Ford dealer in the UK was able to get a flexible brake hose and courier it over, a day before the dealer in France could obtain one from their own parts distribution network! Imagine how long my engine wold have taken to fix in France? Then to add insult to injury, my garage in France charged me for the labour and brake fluid to do the job!! They wouldn't give me back my car key until I paid up. They said it was not a warranty claim and the cost was down to the dealer in the UK. You couldn't make it up.

Faults:

Absolutely no major faults with this car, we haven't even had to replace a bulb yet. Minor problems include rear ashtray broken (after the kids stood on it) and the plastic surround for the cigarette lighter has come off due to the cheap plastic clips breaking. The drivers side window (on the left in France) sometimes stops about 2mm short of fully closed, and takes a couple of attempts to get rid of the resulting annoying wind noise on motorways.

The air conditioning didn't work too well, but investigation showed it to be the pollen filter (which I didn't know it had). Replacement part costs 15 euros, and fitted easily in under 20 minutes.

As part of general maintenance, I had the belts for the air conditioning, alternator, diesel pump and power steering at the same time as the timing belt and tensioners/pullys. The total for parts in France was 220 euros and labour costs took this to the reasonable total of 420 euros.

General Comments:

I had an Audi A6 2.5Tdi estate before moving to France, and had to downgrade to the Mondeo. Having said that, the Mondeo has been no problem to adjust to. Initially, the low-down power is very sluggish, and you have to keep the rev range above 2000RPM to keep the turbo spinning. If it drops below this, especially on a steep hill, the car almost grinds to a halt. Once you're used to this, it isn't a problem. The car is very economical for it's size, easily covering 700Kms on one tankful of diesel. It's very roomy inside, and the seats are very comfortable. We've driven a few times between Nice and Calais, a distance of over 1300Kms (800 miles) in 12 hours and I swear it's THE comfiest car I've driven, with no backache or anything after a day behind the wheel. As well as a roomy cabin, the loadspace in the estate version is nothing short of spectacular. Now it's 5 years old and not as cared for, we carry all sorts of gubbins in the back, ranging from dishwashers to my wife's excessive IKEA shoploads. The Mondeo swallows all of it with ease...

The engine only produces 90BHP, so it is good on tyres. Fronts have lasted 60000kms and rears half as much again. Most of that is country road driving with occasional very long motorway trips.

The Ford stereo CD6000 is a great sound system, and can be controlled from the steering wheel. An optional CD changer is available.

Faults:

The driver's seat squeaks!

General Comments:

I previously had many new Saab turbos, the last one a 9-5 3L turbo (I lived in Sweden).

I bought a new Peugeot 406 HDI in 6/99, which was stolen and recovered burnt out. I had intended to keep it for 10 years, and lost money on the insurance settlement.

I bought this car for GBP 8000 because I needed transport quickly.

I find it as follows -

Comfort - OK but loud tyre noise

Equipment - good for the price, would like cruise control.

AC - adequate (just, but I live in South of France with occasional 40 C days).

Performance - poor compared to Peugeot.

Fuel economy - poor compared to Peugeot, but still 500 miles for GBP 25 (French prices).

Value for money - great!

I will probably keep it.