Faults:

Wheel bearings, suspension bushes, exhaust, ABS, small oil leak.

Clutch failure was the biggest expense.

A/C not working.

Interior plastic quality leaves a lot to be desired - many broken switches/handles.

General Comments:

I have had this Mondeo a long time. It has been a fine car - very modern I thought when I first bought it. Now starting to show its age, but I still do not want to change it. No point replacing reliable and relatively cheap to run transport these days!

Good looking car this generation of Mondeo. My car is silver, very common, but has unique alloy wheels I added myself, so stands out a little. I also tinted the windows, smart looking car.

Inside is very mid 2000's Ford - tries to look futuristic and to be honest it still looks very 1990's. It's not bad, just a bit too much silver/grey plastics. The seats are very comfortable and the LX model has enough electric options. Quiet and smooth on motorways. I enjoy driving it, nice handling and smooth gearchange.

2.0 petrol engine performs nicely, but you won't get much more than 34 mpg. Pretty poor by today's standards. It is a nice, simple, easy to maintain and quiet engine however, and I much prefer it over the unreliable diesels of this generation.

Ford main dealer was very rude and unaccommodating when I took the car in for service or repair, yet still tried to sell me a new car. In later years at this age and mileage, you are far better off finding a cheaper independent garage to take care of these cars.

In short, I plan to keep this car another few years despite its age. They are as reliable as anything if you maintain them correctly. You won't get a more modern yet easy to run car these days than an old Mondeo.

Faults:

Rear wheel bearing.

Clunking from rear, possible subframe bushes.

General Comments:

After my beloved Terrano finally succumbed to the dreaded red rot, I was in the market for another motor, and after a positive experience with the previous incarnation of Mondeo, I took the plunge and bought this 1.8 LX, one of the last of its model. Initial impressions are that it seemed bigger and unwieldy, yes it's pretty much the size of the old Granada and rearward vision is pretty poor, and it also seems lower even with the seat raised to the max. Standard equipment includes cruise control, air con, and a trip computer, but strangely no front foglights, although most of the wiring is there.

The biggest difference is under the bonnet with the old Zetec engine replaced with a Duratec badged Mazda unit with a chain instead of a timing belt. This is an engine that thrives on revs, feeling noticeably happier above 3000 revs, which happily coincides with 70mph; trawling along at 60mph will give 40 MPG, 70 gives 36 MPG, town mileages is mid 20s at best, but it's not really a town car, being at its best on motorways where it is in its element. It does use a bit of oil, which I'm told is pretty normal with these engines.

Comfort wise the car is pretty good, quiet on the motorway, good lights, decent heater, air con works well in summer, seats aren't brilliant, and the usual massive Ford stereo, which makes fitting an aftermarket unit a pain.

Reliability isn't helped with the move to the dreaded dual mass flywheel, even on a petrol engine, but touch wood it has been OK thus far. Clunking from the rear sounds like subframe bushes, which are a pig to do, but hopefully I will have it for 4 years like its predecessor.