Faults:

Nothing. Really, I mean it... nothing failed, broke, wore out or cost me money.

General Comments:

The most reliable car I have owned. Drove like a dream, and caused me no problems.

It performed extremely well, and was not as heavy on fuel as I had feared.

Spent many hours driving it towing a caravan, which did cause some problems (with fuel consumption and general stability)

During my ownership I had a couple of accidents (not my fault :-) ) but I was pleased with the fit-and-finish of the replaced parts, and the structural rigidity of the vehicle in the crashes.

Faults:

The windscreen washer pipe came away from the pump.

Water leak in the boot.

General Comments:

I was very impressed with the company Mondeo's when I drove them and I just had to get one for myself.

The car is fantastic, it's comfortable, plenty of room and it's got lots of gadgets for the money. This model LX has traction, ABS, electric windows, mirrors... etc etc.

Bought it when it was 11 months old at half the original price.

The downsides are that the seats (in cloth) stain really easy, even with rain. The performance is nowhere near as good as the manual, and the fuel consumption around town is a bit on the dear side.

Otherwise I love this car, it's the best car I've drove and the most reliable.

Faults:

Two problems with this car - both suspension. One has been fixed by the dealer, the other one Ford won't help with.

Strange 'clonking' noise coming from the front suspension when on full lock. Dealer just replaced the front CV boots - why should they need replacing on a car that has done 10,000 miles from new - dealer wouldn't say.

Second problem - squeaking shocks at the back. Can only hear this in the summer when you have the windows open, but it drives me crazy so all summer I have windows up and air conditioning on to keep cool. Several trips to two Ford dealers produced nothing. First visit 'we road tested the car but could hear it'. Second visit I demonstrated it to the mechanic - they just lubricated the shocks (didn't fix it). Third visit - they rang Ford Customer Relationship Centre who told them it was a 'characteristic' of the vehicle' and they weren't allowed to fix it. Took it to another dealer - mechanic walked me around their sales yard looking similar cars (2000/X Mondeo) we both bounced them up and down on their shocks - they all squeaked!

So the moral is don't buy a Mondeo if you want to drive around with windows open (do they still make convertibles?).

Apart from that, it is generally very nice to drive, excellent value and so far totally reliable.

General Comments:

Overall excellent - reliable, and drives very well.

Relaxed and cruises beautifully on motorway, plus the steering is very 'precise' and the chassis feels 'agile' - makes it feel fun to drive.

Driving position perfect, seats OK (a little soft). CD/radio very good.

Economy good - 450 miles on a full tank - that's about 40mpg.

Interior trim quality average.

Car was very good value - £12000 plus brilliant finance deal for what is basically an LX.

Overall very, very good, just a shame about those squeaky shock absorbers!