Faults:

Failed mot due to excessively worn front brakes and cracked suspension springs. Items were replaced and passed the re-test.

Boot lock no longer works, access to the boot has to be from the back seats.

Can't unlock the car from the drivers side, but you can lock it, has to be done from the passenger side to set the alarm.

Brakes sometimes make a "moaning" noise when driving along.

There is a metallic tinging noise coming from somewhere that is really annoying.

General Comments:

Bought the car last November from a relative for £150 and a 28" CRT TV due to my 416i been scrapped.

Always starts first time and has decent performance.

Has really nice steering with 15" wheels on with just the right amount of weight in it.

Cruises nicely on the motorway, although the steering wheel has started to develop a small vibration at about 70 mph probably due to the wheels.

The interior is roomy with nice big padded seats, but the plastic dashboard does creak a lot.

Probably won't put it through another mot.

Faults:

Rear middle seat belt locked and will not extend at about 60,000 miles.

Need new brake discs at about 60,000 miles. I wouldn't say it's a fault, they just wore out. Old discs were very difficult to release because they were corroded to the hubs. Had to use a big hammer!

Intermittent airbag warning lamp came on at about 80,000 miles. It was due to a loose connection under front seat.

Near side lower arm bush wore out at 110,000 miles.

Anti roll bar bushes wore out at 110,000 miles.

Near side front wheel bearing at 120,000 miles.

Front brake discs warped at about 120,000 miles and had to be replaces again.

Near side CV joint at 125,000 miles.

Developed a slight oil like from about 80,000 miles.

Slight corrosion of rear wheel arches. Not serious but worth noting.

General Comments:

Very under rated car. It is so common people think it's not a good car. Handling is great, much better than the Audi 80 I had before this car. In my job, I drive a lot of other cars, but I always look forward to driving the Mondeo.

On the V6 models performance is good with reasonable fuel economy. The engine is very smooth and sounds good if you push the engine. Ford did a good job at balancing ride quality with good handling. But you do notice the heavy engine up front.

If I was to buy a Mondeo again, I would go for the 2.0L petrol or the 2.0L turbo diesel engine.

The interior trim quality could be better. This is an area Ford need to improve on.

Front tyres do not last very long. No more than 15,000 miles. In the 80,000 miles I had the car for, I am always buying new tyres.

Pull away is not as good as it should be. It can bog down a bit before it gets going again. The clutch is heavy and is not recommended for heavy traffic work.

All problems with the car were low cost repairs, and most of them were things that wore out.

Faults:

Power steering cooling pipe burst. Easy and cheap to replace.

The bumpers are quite weak, and split and crack with ease.

General Comments:

Firsty let's put some preconceptions to one side.

Number 1: The 1.6 Zetec engine is NOT underpowered.

Despite the weight of the Mondeo, the 16v Zetec engine pulls like its bigger brother, the 2.0 Zetec. This is mainly due to a brilliant gearbox, a gearbox that has no problem climbing step hills or cruising quietly on motorways, wether it be fully laden or just with driver in tow. Also the way it goes from 25mph to 60 mph in 3rd gear is quite astonishing, leaving bigger engined car for dust.

The Zetec engine is very reliable; mine doesn't use a drop of oil of water, and I cover nearly 200 miles week.

As far as economy goes, you can expect a general mpg of around 40, dropping to around 35 if you do a lot of city driving.

Sadly the size of the engine means that you have to pay the higher road tax bracket, however as the car is only insurance group 7, insurance costs are not to high.

Number 2: Mondeos are dull boring cars to drive only suitable for 35+ Dads.

Wrong. The handling and feel of the car is very sporty. The steering is very precise, and you never fell afraid to take corners at speed. Despite being front wheel drive, the car handles more like a rear wheel drive, with understeer never being an issue.

The throttle is very responsive and the car has really good brakes.

Also being front wheel drive and having all that weight means doing burnouts is very easy, as when you pull off at high revs all the weight goes to the back of the car, with nearly no weight on the front wheels they spin quite spectacularly.

As I have already mentioned, the gearbox is brilliant.

Number 3: Mondeos look dull and boring inside and out.

A Mondeo can be as personal and exciting as you want it to be, due to its popularity scrap yards/breakers/Ebay all have parts from higher model Mondeos.

So it's easy if you want to install a leather interior or wood effect dash from a Ghia model.

Alloy wheels, spoilers, you get the idea.

As standard the LX comes with a nice bit of kit, electric windows, power steering, drivers airbag, ABS, steering lock, immobilizer and alarm.

Most will come with a sunroof and a good stereo. Both the tape and CD players that come standard give good sound quality. But if you want to replace the tape deck with the CD player, prices on ebay are around £20-£30.

As a last point, it is worth mentioning the sheer size of the interior, I'm over six feet tall and I have yet to be uncomfortable behind the wheel of my Mondeo. Its party piece however, has to be its boot. As with all MK2 hatchbacks the boot space in the Mondeo will put most estate cars to shame.

I can think of no reason not to buy a MK2 Mondeo, especially as prices for a good one will really only range between £750-£1100.

I cannot recommend this car highly enough, if you buy a good one, you won't be disappointed.