Faults:

Head gasket issues/block cracked - I presume because of incorrect coolant and engine oil specs. Mechanics have no clue how to maintain (older) foreign cars in Australia.

There is an overheating issue after longer drives - suspect either a sensor or thermostat fails to switch the fan on time.

Noisy on rough roads - gravel.

Clutch and gearbox tend to be 'disobedient'.

Tacho few times failed to work on start up.

Clogged injectors from bad fuel - use premium if possible.

General Comments:

Decent quality for price.

Good performance (manual), low fuel consumption.

Maintenance is key - many drivers don't even change the oil nor service their cars on time, thus leading too bad rep of vehicle models.

Overtakes on highway like a Formula 1.

Electrics still working.

Top speed 205 km/h (tested).

Faults:

The car was very slow to start, so I tried replacing the glow plugs and pre-heater, but that didn't help.

With hindsight and having owned another Mondeo 1.8TD, I believe that this car was suffering from compression losses.

Other than that, it was fine.

General Comments:

Quite a nice balance of features on this model. It may not have the air-con or alloys of the Ghia in 1995, but it did have velour seats, lumbar adjustment, central locking and a sunroof.

All in all, it did the job very well for me, in that I needed a cheap car that would give good fuel economy and no trouble. I did miss the air-con in the summer though!

My only concern was that it was very slow to pull off (see possible compression losses above), and so when I took a job in a built-up area on fast roads, I found it very difficult to safely pull into moving traffic.

Soon after I sold it for a 2.0 petrol Mondeo that had no such issues.

Faults:

Squeaks when you change the gear to Drive.

Idling while engine is on was terrible.

Timing belt snapped and damaged the engine at around 168,400km (new engine got fitted in after that).

Oil and handbrake switch was not indicating when you start the engine (replaced the switches).

Air conditioning fuse was not working, but good thing there was a spare fuse, the back left joint on the suspension creates a loud noise when theres something rough on the road (the joint was replaced).

The engine sometimes shuts down at a red light or in traffic.

Radiator got hit at a bump in a mall parking (the bump was really big) and caused the radiator to start leaking.

General Comments:

This car is on top of the notch in the European Ford world. Reliability is spot on, comfort gives more room, yet it's really nice, Performance is excellent! A great car to spend time in. And perfect for a mid-size car fanatic or someone who's willing to spend on a worthwhile vehicle.

Doing crazy sharp corners in this car makes it a bull's eye turn, proving this car has the best handling, especially when there's an idiot on the road who is about to cause trouble, in either wet or dry conditions. The car is very smooth and is enjoyable to drive.

Overtaking or doing high speed on the road or on a highway, it seems powerful enough, but the manual seems to do much better power than the automatic transmission. A spot on car for families or as a group of 5 hanging out, or anything!

Cabin and boot is spacious, doing Sport mode on this car just makes you feel like a Schumacher. Air conditioning is very powerful, especially on hot days.

The only problem with the Mondeo is that: spare parts or repairs coss a lot here in Australia. But the rest, is spot on!