Things that go wrong despite being maintained really piss me off and the Mondeo is starting to really piss me off

It’s got to go and I’m looking for some similar that isn’t a Mondeo – big saloon, adequately comfortable, adequately quick, zero hassle to own and totally innocuous.

No BMWs Mercs or Audis and no French cars

Shortlist so far:
Mazda 6
Passat
Skoda Superb
Insignia (hmmmm maybe)
Possibly a Jag XE if they’re *really* good

Anyone who’s owned any of the above or can suggest alternatives please chip in

Ta

Why no french? Why no mondeo but a mazda 6? No audi but skoda?
Just get the Jag.

Mondeo

Looking at buying a mk4 estate so interested in what answers this generates.

What went wrong in the Mondeo and which model/year?

I had a MK3 which had constant calliper problems on the rear and never bought a Ford again, but very car can have a fault.

The Passat is nice.

Anyone got one of the new mk5 Mondeos? Feedback and comparison to the Mk4?

To the OP’s question, all cars have issue and individual cars can always be problematic even if the model in general is considered reliable. Interested to hear what problems you’ve had with yours though.

Had a Skoda Superb as a courtesy car last week. It was an estate though. I really liked it, big, comfy, cruisey, well equipped, loads of room, quick enough (2.0D) liked the DSG box too.

2010 mazda 6 here. Brilliant car. Sport version 182 brake 2.2d. Half leather all the gadgets the Germans have you paying 3/4 grand more for. Great roof bars big boot. Has taken us on a two week two stay holiday with 4 bikes on the back and all the surfing/biking gear plus normal holiday stuff in the boot.

I have a Mazda 6. It’s nice and has a massive boot.

There is a nice mk4.5 mondeo estate for sale in the classifieds ……

I had a sit in the new mondeo whilst having mine serviced. Nice enough car but the seats felt quite narrow for some reason.

We had a Mondeo estate. When it died (at 180K) we went to Car Giant (massive 5,000 vehicle used car market in West London) and sat in every big estate we could find.

Ended up with another Mondeo – mk4, 2.0tdci. Comfy, economical enough, fast enough, and most importantly, massive boot. Nothing else really makes use if the space like the mondeo. Long, flat and wide, manages to keep the wheel arches much less intrusive than anything else.

Based on the OP’s original list you can narrow that down to one alternative: The Skoda and Passat are all effectively the same car, the Mazda 6 is a Mondeo in different clothing, an XE is too small, so you’re looking at an XF which shares alot of Ford parts and engines, so potentially same reliability risk as a Mondeo. So that narrows it down to the Insignia. I’ve had one as a hire car a couple of times. Drives fine, not sure on reliability, but upto you on aesthetics.

That only leaves the Japanese options or even the Korean options. If you’re not fussy on brand or badge then the Korean option could be the dark horse. Very reliable by all accounts and pretty solidly built these days, well spec’d and uber reliable backed up with good warranties.

My Mk4 Zetec 160 is one of those cars I think

Some of the problems that spring to mind (purchased @ 6 months old, done 60k in it)
Door seals
Clutch pressure plate
Power steering pump
Air con
Instruments
Interior trim
Brakes
Engine warning light (cooling)
Engine warning light (turbo sensor)
And don’t get me started on brake lights

Mazda 6 is a Mondeo in different clothing

Yup – potentially better build quality?

Tell me about the brake lights!! I have a mkIV and its been very good but brake bulbs keep going – Am I in for an expensive bulb habit…?

To be fair, I’ve replaced a fair few brake bulbs on my m4 too…

And the DMF which was fairly early at 60k but then I did a lot of town driving with mine.

Mazda 6 is a Mondeo in different clothing with a bone-jarring, crashy ride

New model 6 has one of the worst rides of any current car. The Mondeo rides so much better.

Not as well as a Citroen C5, but there you go.

Mazda 6
Passat
Skoda Superb
Insignia (hmmmm maybe)
Possibly a Jag XE if they’re *really* good

You could probably fit the XE inside a Superb 🙂

And while the XF estate looks good tbh there’s almost the same amount of room in the saloon.

I’ve had one go. But they’re hardly expensive, the dash display tells you when they’re broken and take all of 30s to change, so I’d certainly not make a buying decision based on that.

Having test drove or borrowed most of the above I’d say the 6 has a firm positive ride. Doesn’t wallow about in corners, it was the only one that could save my soul after selling the impreza as I couldn’t afford/justify an s4 avant

Mazda 6 is a Mondeo in different clothing

Surely the only similarity between the Mondeo and the 6 is the shared floorpan? It doesn’t share anything else does it?

Honda Accord?

I’d imagine the Mazda 6 shares common suspension, engines, probably core electrics and other things. I’m not sure build quality is an issue with cars these days – they’re basically kits built up from parts from suppliers come in sub assemblies and bolted together on the semi-automated lines. If you’ve had A/C problems on a Mondeo then the chances are the issue is not necessarily isolated to a Mondeo as the same A/C system will probably be fitted to other brands of car.

Though that does seem like a very long list of issues for a 60k miler of any brand.

2010 mazda 6 here

[quote]I have a Mazda 6[/quote]

Hello Mazda 6 people

Can you tell me more about your 6s in terms of reliability

Honda Accord?

Did think about an Accord but allegedly they’ve been discontinued

I’d imagine the Mazda 6 shares common suspension, engines, probably core electrics and other things.

2.2 engine in mazda is their own, in ford it’s a renault derived one. 1.6 is a PSA group, only 1.8 is a true ford.

mondeo suspension more in common with transit (further back it was cheaper to get jag X-type parts) than mazda 6.

No idea about electrics.

For reliability doesn’t toyota come out top a lot?

The only thing that’s packed up in my mazda 6 is the ridiculously overpriced bose amp. Had it three years in February. Ex lease car but now we’ve had it the mileage is back where it should be. Gets the odd good thrash up the a38 so no dpf issues whatsoever. Four quality tyres 90 quid a corner. It’s never had anything else other than oil, filters and basic service stuff in that time.

OK thanks

Had my Mondeo 3 years and replaced the DMF and clutch, but then they’re basically a wear item on any of the cars mentioned (it had done over 120k miles when I bought it), other than that only tyres, the bonnet release cable and the aforementioned brake light. Not too bad I reckon.

…bonnet release catch

Yes I forgot about that

but allegedly they’ve been discontinued

Made in Japan, doncha know. With the crap exchange rates they are too expensive for the UK market.

Your friendly Honda dealer will happily steer you tomwards a UK made CRV, all the way from Swindon

Catch, or cable as I corrected? Catch is fine, cable wasn’t the easiest thing to replace, but definitely within my range of DIY jobs – I understand it is one of the standard things which fails on a Mondeo. On minor niggles, I presume we all have the seal on the body at the bottom of the doors coming off regularly (I have a supply of clips in the glove box).

The trouble is, I suspect you could get a duff one of any of the other cars mentioned.

Can you tell me more about your 6s in terms of reliability

Ours is a 2010, but we’ve only had a it for a couple of months. It’s had a new battery and one of the tyres had 5 or 6 punctures. Our stereo is the non-bose one. It’s good enough 🙂

I like being able to drop the rear seats from a switch in the boot, but we usually have booster seats in the back so it doesn’t make it much more convenient.

I had a 2010 60 plate Mazda 6 2.2 sport. Lovely car. Really nice to drive and still quite compliant around town and on bumpy roads.

It gave good mpg as I recall. Circa 49-54.

The only reason I got rid was because of the paintwork. It was absolutely shite. Really thin and very easy to chip.

The front of the car looked as though it had done 3 times as many miles compared to the rest of the car.

Catch, or cable as I corrected?

The catch on Saturday – the cable was one of the first things to start playing up

I understand it is one of the standard things which fails on a Mondeo

You said it 🙂

…the seal on the body at the bottom of the doors coming off regularly

That’s been fine on mine but the seal at the top of the door really doesn’t want to be there

“Made in Japan, doncha know. With the crap exchange rates they are too expensive for the UK market.
Your friendly Honda dealer will happily steer you tomwards a UK made CRV, all the way from Swindon”

I don’t think they will be made there for too much longer as Swindon is going to be the world centre for Civic manufacture, the Jazz has already stopped being made there.

Passat=Superb
Er……. no, not really.

I assume you are looking second hand? In which case it will most likely be the Mk2 Superb

The superb has a lot in common with the passat in terms of components, but they are quite different in other areas, particularly the saloons. The Skoda has much more legroom in the back and has the double lifting tailgate/bootlid which is the best thing since sliced bread or a pain depending on who you ask. The Skoda is a softer riding car and the interiors are very well made but more functional in appearance.

I have a Mk II Superb Estate.I did consider a Passat but the Skoda was the better choce for me at the time.
The boot has a bit less practical space because of its shape than a Passat estate with the rear seats up(our next door neighbour has one and so have done a bit of a comparison ) because of the extra rear legroom, but when the rear seats are down it is huge.

Mine is a 4×4 and the equivalent Passat Alltrack was thousands more at the time, if you could find one second hand. I think they are more common now and their prices seem a bit depressed.

Be aware that almost all of the Superb and Passat diesels will be requiring ‘upgrades’ because ofthe emmissions scandal if that is a concern.

This year I went from a Mondeo Titanium X to an Octavia VRS. Other than the DSG gearbox the Mondeo was superior in every way and wish I’d kept it. Citroen C5 as mentioned earlier is a really good car but big too. Even still if have one over any of the other cars mentioned above except another Mondeo.

Just bought a Mondeo, closest equivalent in terms of diesel economy was a Subaru Legacy or Outback exact same figures but with more toys, I very nearly ended up in an Outback. Size is near enough identical as well, just dont expect the interior to look anything other than Japanese.

Craigxxl thats interesting to note as Im considering doing the same.

What do you think makes the mondeo better?

Just sold my mk4.5 Mondeo. Bought 6 months old, 8k miles; sold at 4 years old, 48k miles. Nothing but routine servicing in that time, good car, I’d still have it if it wasn’t for a company car inbound.