Faults:
Absolutely nothing beyond normal wear and tear expected over my 8 year ownership putting average mileage on it - brake pads and discs, exhaust, springs, oil and belt changes.
Cosmetically I thought it was a little weak - the car was a magnet for stone chips, paint seemed thin and not great quality. Interior plastics could also have been better quality in my opinion, the mk1 and mk2 were honestly more solid feeling cars than this mk3 Mondeo.
General Comments:
This was my first introduction to the 'new' mk3 Mondeo. Having owned a couple of mk1 and mk2 Mondeo's and been impressed by their reliability and low running costs, the mk3 was an obvious next choice for me.
Very late year 2000 registered Y registered car, this must have been one of the first built. I bought used in 2002 and got a good deal. Impressed enough to keep it for 8 years, this was overall a good car.
Ghia model is near top of range, electric everything as standard. A bit plasticy, but the interior was a nice place to be, comfortable seats and great driving position. Looking back the interior is kinda dated, but was cutting edge at the time.
2.0 engine was fast enough, economy was poor however. 32 mpg at best. Had it been a manual the mpg would have been closer to 40. But, it was a decent autobox and gave a relaxing drive.
On the outside I think it is a good looking car, particularly if you pick the right colour and wheels. This was about that time in the UK where everyone wanted a silver car for some reason. Mines was black with fairly unique Ghia wheels and looked great, most you saw about were the 1.8 LX's in silver, or even lower specced cars with wheel trims, not the car's best look.
Overall I think Ford played it safe with this one and built on the reputation of the earlier cars, whilst trying not to be too "futuristic" as some manufacturers were at the turn of the millennium. Will always have good memories of the early 2000's when I see these cars about.
30th Jan 2022, 19:42
The Mondeo was always a good car - providing you pick a nice specification and a good engine. Like yourself I have had all generations - mk1, mk2, mk3, and currently have a mk4 which is a great car. Not keen on the mk5 - just far too many electronic gizmos that no one cares about (you could say that about most modern cars to be fair). Probably a good car otherwise though.