General Comments:
The car was chosen as a replacement for my former Scorpios. I didn't want another Ford, so we tried a lot of other cars, but the Mondeo was the only car that made me feel at home. So we bought one, despite its bland looks and low performance from the diesel engine.
The car is outfitted with a 5-tronic automatic that can be shifted manual from the gear lever or buttons at the steering wheel if one prefer.
The shifter unit was broken when I got the car and didn't work in auto mode, only manual. I fear the replacement is now also on its way out - it's starting to make these vibrating sounds when set into Park that the old unit did.
Every shift, up or down, takes ages and is really annoying at times. It is possible to come to a complete stop, start again and be 30 yards down the road before the car selects first gear! And although it is supposed to lock up solid in every gear, it jumps in and out of lock mode like crazy at times, and sometimes simply refuse to lock up at all in the lower 3 gears.
Engine power varies. There is no difference between 1/3 throttle and full throttle in performance. Stomp the throttle at 60 mph and it shifts into 3rd gear, which gives far less acceleration than 5th gear. Even 4th fails to get the car much more excited than 5th. But the lousy box will kick down even in manual mode, so the best thing is to use little throttle and just accept the slow progress.
The suspension squeaks over bumps, but no wear is detected. Annoying.
The engine sometimes warms quickly, sometimes "never". 3 thermostats later and it's the same thing.
Diesel engine heater has been overhauled twice.
All 4 doors let in water. One of the repairs had to be redone recently.
Antenna had to be replaced due to water leaks.
Boot lid let water into the boot and had to be adjusted. Boot is larger, however, and easier to use than that of the Scorpios.
Air inlet for the cabin had been poorly fitted and let water into the front footwell.
The Sony stereo has such bad speakers that you do what you can to avoid listening to music - it gets slightly better if you shut off the rear speakers.
The overall build quality of the interior doesn't quite match that of the Scorpios, but overall one must say that it is good.
The seats are big, just like in the Scorpios, and adjustable for lumbar support. Unfortunately, this is placed to high for my sway back for optimum comfort, but seats are still superior to most cars. I'd like for the seat pillow to be adjustable for angle, but that requires a Ghia X edition.
Back seat is as roomy as that of the Scorpio and comfier for 3. Also, proper seat belts and head supports are offered for all 3.
Ground clearance is excellent and suspension compliance pretty good, especially considering how well it handles. The car is, however, no Mercedes or BMW in this respect.
Fuel consumption varies enormously despite identical driving conditions. Cruising on the motorway - same road and speed - have given consumption from 4.8 litres / 100 km to 7.2 litres. Overall consumption around the home (mostly city and suburban) have varied between 7.0 and 9.0 litres per 100 km. Lowest registered consumption over a tank has been 5.0 litres and highest have been 9.2 litres.
The diesel injectors are noisy periodically, but it's difficult to understand what and why. They have been cleaned several times, which sometimes help and at other times don't.
I really dislike this car because of all its faults that the garage fails to find a solution for. My guess is that all the water that has leaking into the car has corrupted the main computer.
This is my 5th Ford. My first was a 1976 Escort MkII, and I said never again. Silly enough, I ended up with a 1976 Granada a few years later, and this time I was sure it was my last Ford. That lasted for a decade when I could afford a used Scorpio, the last edition (1995-98) and probably the prettiest reasonably priced family sedan of all times. This was followed by another Scorpio, but two years ago we decided we wanted something more modern and also with air condition.
I have regretted the sale of the Scorpio, and even more the buying of the Mondeo for 2 years now. I really should listen to my inner voice and stay away from Fords for the rest of my life.
However, I have such a soft spot for Scorpios that I am looking for a well-equipped example with low mileage. With proper upkeep, it should last me a decade. By then, hopefully there will be something tempting to buy - and modern advanced electronics have become somewhat reliable.
