"Morning Guv'nor, Fancy the Mondeo then?" (Ford Mondeo (1996-2000))

Member Name: betterworld

Product:	Ford Mondeo (1996-2000)
Date:	13/07/01 (1657 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A lot for your money, Reliable, Great to Drive

Disadvantages: Rattles, Squeaks, Thirsty

Looking to win friends and influence people? Nope? Well why not consider a used Mondeo? Lets face it, at 19-Grand when new, a less than 2 years old “Ghia” with all the toys you’ll ever need, could be yours for only 6 and a half - tops!

But will you still be smiling into your illuminated vanity mirror with a years worth of “chucky” left to pay? Can you live with the niggles? After all you may be signing up for a 3-year relationship!

Let me explain.

My Mondeo 2.0i Ghia Automatic Hatchback is now almost 2 years old with 34,000 miles up, regularly serviced and always driven conservatively. In fairness, it’s been a pretty good car and I still give it the odd glance over my shoulder when I walk away, although, more often that not these days, to check that the Key ring “plip” has activated the locks.

Here’s what spoiled my day.

Air Conditioning (A/C)

In my experience, the Ford unit is not powerful enough. On a British summer day, with an outside temperature of around 24 degrees, you will have to keep the unit on recirculated air (air being cycled from the cabin interior, through the A/C and back into the cabin again) for at least 10-15 minutes in town (about 10 miles at 70MPH motorway) with the fan set at top speed. You will find it takes even longer if you have been parked in direct sunlight. Admittedly, it’s not exactly a huge problem, but, believe me, the fan is noisy, so, if you are a fan of classical music, be prepared to crank up the volume.

Back Seat Drivers

Rear legroom is no problem in a Mondeo, not that there’s loads of it, but a 6 footer will have no problem, so, plenty of room for your mother-in-law. The real hassle, particularly in the Hatchback, is headroom. If you have a toddler and use a car seat, take it from me, you will regularly bang your kids head – oh yes you will!

There is a comfortable central armre
st, which, unfortunately, affords no access to the boot, which would have been handy if you needed to reach into the boot for children’s books, towels, etc;
TIP: If you have a baby/toddler seat in the back, keep the armrest folded away – it could keep the seat trapped in place in a side

Electric Sunroof

In reality, and with A/C, it’s not something you will use very often. What will annoy you driving with the sunroof fully open – wind squirts into the space between the roof lining and the outside metal. Result? Vibrations that will drive you mad – sounding like you have a helicopter in the back. Do manufacturers really test their models over millions of miles?

Steamy Scenes

In the winter, even with the A/C fully on, I found it extremely difficult to demist the rear window. I’ve often found quite a lot of moisture under the boot carpet and cannot be sure if the steamed up window is caused by a leak. At this sort of money, though, should there be leak at all?

Tradesmen’s Entrance

If you are shorter than 5ft 3inches you will have difficulty in reaching the Hatch door to close it, other than that it has a great boot, built for Sales Reps golf clubs you see!

Motion Lotion

Fuel economy is definitely a contradiction in terms.. As an example, around town, 15 quid will get you about 100 miles and that’s a meagre 23mpg (based on 78.9p/litre.) having said that, you will get much better results on a longer run. Manchester to Edinburgh averaged around 35 mpg for me.

If you do a lot of town travelling, one thing to note is that the Auto gearbox does not go into top gear until 37 mph – so, if economy is important to you, mind that child!

Summary

Forget, understeer, oversteer, cornering ability, top speed – you got all that out your system years ago, right? Though, in all probability, the Mondeo will perform better th
an you will, with more than enough action under your right foot. Brakes on the automatic need a shade more bovver than the manuals though.

In the right colour, the Mondeo’s a lovely looking car that is as comfortable to drive as it is to be driven in. It’s low maintenance, and parts, being Ford, are easily available and relatively cheap. (Labour seems relatively dearer than it was on a Sierra though.)Unbelievably, it backfires occasionally!

You are going to get a shed-full of gadgets, Electrically heated windscreen, CD Player, Electric mirrors, electric drivers seat adjustment, electric roof; but, do bear in mind that they can be expensive to repair/replace should you have to.

And finally, if you can live with the rattles and squeaks – and there are many, very many – get down to your local dealership and do the deal.

At 6 and a half G’s, it’s worth the gamble!

Summary: