Faults:

A week after owning this car, it started driving very sluggish and had quite a loss of power.

Had a look under the hood and it turned out to be the top turbo hose that was split (yet another common fault on these)! £150.00 later it was fixed and driving like a dream.

A month later it started getting very sluggish again, and assumed it was another turbo hose. It then started going into limp mode, and then cutting out completely; not fun in the outside lane of a motorway.

Had a look under the car and the exhaust pipe from the cat had sheared off at the flexi. £100.00 later and this was fixed.

A couple of weeks later, back to sluggish again and cutting out again. Took it to a mechanic friend (note I said mechanic, not a modern mechanic who just follows what the electronic diagnosis machine reads)! Left it with him for a few days, stripped and cleaned the turbo vanes, checked the fuel pump, fuel filter... all OK. Played around with the injectors and this was found to be the fault. Injectors needed replacing. £800 for all 4 + fitting and then having to be programmed to the car.

It was at this point I've decided to cut my losses and am now selling the car.

Such a shame, as when it's driving as it should, it's beautiful to drive and so responsive. I was averaging 525 miles to a tank, which is pretty impressive.

My biggest regret, having read the reviews before buying, was that I wish I'd listened to them!!!

I'm going to be roughly £1,500 out of pocket, but I'm not plowing a thousand pounds into a car, which in all honesty, still might not solve it!!!

My advice to anyone wishing to buy one of these... Don't waste your hard earned money, read all the reviews and believe them!!!

General Comments:

A lovely car to drive, when it's not breaking down!!!

Faults:

This is an initial review - so I haven't had the car long, but as a result of the test drive, it needed a new throttle sensor, which the dealer fitted.

General Comments:

The cabin is a nice place to be - the controls are well laid-out, and it's easy to gather the information you need. The CD/radio is intuitive and easy to operate, giving a good sound.

However, rear visibility in the hatchback (which this is) is very poor indeed, and reversing is as much a matter of luck as judgement!

It feels very underpowered, and much gear changing is required to extract any sort of performance from the car. The brake pedal is very heavy, yet the clutch is very light. Throttle response is quite slow.

The steering and suspension are pleasantly communicative and crisp, giving reasonable handling, yet given the large, unwieldy feel of the car, I wonder if a softer feel to the whole setup might not actually be more appropriate. This is of course a matter of personal preference, though.

The car has returned 35 - 36 mpg, and this is mostly on my wife's very leisurely driving. I compare this with my Clio 172, which, whilst it is a smaller car, is a bigger, much more powerful engine, and is driven fairly hard. It gives 37 - 38 mpg. This doesn't reflect well on the Mondeo.