1999 Ford Mondeo ST24 5dr 2.5 V6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Sills crushed by dealer when jacking car for first service and then not repaired correctly.

Otherwise no problems in 20K miles.

General Comments:

Excellent performance. The handling is very positive and secure with the wide tyres and firm suspension. The braking is also excellent - powerful and progressive, and the ABS works well. The traction control can be useful in the winter, for example when climbing steep icy hills that defeat other cars. The acceleration is very rapid between 50 and 70mph, providing plenty of safety margin when overtaking. Fuel economy is no worse than you would expect - similar to that on my previous car, a 2-litre Galaxy.

The comfort is obviously not quite up to the armchair standards of most family saloons because of the firm seats and suspension. I recently drove a Mondeo 2-litre diesel GhiaX courtesy car. The contrast between the two is quite extraordinary - it's not just that the diesel has such a lumbering performance, but the handling is of a completely different order. The ST24 just feels so much more firmly attached to the road.

Like other reviewers, I also appreciate the high quality stereo system with the 6-CD changer. The speakers are the most impressive component. The stereo is additionally enjoyable on account of the quiet ride and absence of engine noise at normal cruising speed.

The A/C is a little annoying in that after you switch over to normal heating there is a tendency for the windows to mist up until the system has dried out, which can take quite a long time.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th January, 2000

1999 Ford Mondeo ST24 2.5 V6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Brilliant Car! Drives great, sounds great, looks stunning (4dr with full body kit and new '99 interior) and loads of room for the kids in the back. Until it was delivered, friends couldn't understand why I was going to replace my A4 with a Mondeo! Could have had a BMW, Merc, Saab etc. If company car choosers could get past the 'badge' block there would be a lot more ST24's on the road. Their loss..

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th February, 1999

11th Jan 2001, 15:39

My dad has a S Reg black 4 door ST24 with full body kit and the car is brilliant. It accelerates like something that accelerates quick, my dad has done it to 60mph in 7sec and got 148mph out of it, about the quickest it will go. They are quality.

21st Jan 2001, 10:29

Totally agree with that.

The official figures for the ST24's performance are all wrong. For a start all the ones I have driven all accelerate differently off the mark and do it in a much quicker time than 8.2 seconds as quoted by some silly car magazines!?

On the older ones you can also remove the rev/speed limiter from underneath and it's even quicker then, just don't blow it up!

23rd May 2001, 17:32

I totally agree with all the above, I purchased an st24 5 door in Pepper Red in December 2000 and just can't stop driving the damn thing, it's awesome.

10th Dec 2005, 18:10

ST24 on an R plate - saloon version with twin 4" powermax exhausts one each side split at the rear swing arms (not one into the other. Blinding from 0 - 140mph. No more bottle!!!

Bought it 2 years ago with 77K miles - now has 107K miles on it and I've done nothing to it (bar oil tyres and brakes)

I'd have another one in a heartbeat.

Mart - Worcestershire.