Viewing 9 posts - 41 through 49 (of 49 total)
  • Mondeo alternatives?
  • chickenman
    Full Member

    2010 Mazda 6 here which I’ve had for 3 years after having had Passats for 25 years. The Passats were very solid but cornered like bricks and were really not that reliable. The Mazda is about 6″ longer and wider than the mk5 Passat, corners amazingly and you can get 2.2m length of panels lying flat behind the passenger seat with the rear seats down; unfortunately the “lifestyle” sloping rear of the estate means you get less in the boot than you would hope.
    Reliability wise no issues so far except the driver’s seat is not attached very sensibly to its runners. Mine is a 2.2 diesel.

    chris_db
    Free Member

    Sold my 116K Mondeo Mk4 yesterday after seven years from new. Nothing went wrong until it hit 100k at which point I needed new front discs/pads. Then the air con condenser went, then the aircon compressor and the final straw was the offside drive shaft. It was virtually faultless until over £1300 repairs in a year meant it was bye bye time. Waiting on a new Skoda Superb SE Business DSG Estate (company car).

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    What do you think makes the mondeo better?

    Handling is better on the Mondeo but the ride quality is beaten by the Octavia. Build quality and materials go to the Mondeo too. Door cards on the Octavia are thin and creak when you rest your elbow on them. The dash plastics are thin too. Performance wise not much between them but the Mondeo is a bigger car.
    Fuel economy to the Mondeo. I did just over 400 motorway miles in the Octavia today and only managed 48mpg despite using cruise control and lots of 50mph average camera stretches. The Mondeo on the same trip would 9-10mpg better. Whilst the Octavia isn’t uncomfortable it not as comfortable as the Mondeo which you can drive all day and not getting any aches and pains.
    Other silly little things like cabin noise and windows that fog up at a hint of moisture are annoying too.
    it’s not all bad as cabin space is good and the boot is only 5 litres smaller than the Mondeo estate when the seats are up which is impressive.

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    renton
    Free Member

    Ah cheers for the heads up.

    We are looking at going from a 11 plate 2.2 tdci tit x sport estate to a 16 plate petrol vrs estate.

    The wife is lterally doing 4 miles a day in the diesel and its not even getting warm.

    Was your mondeo a mk4 and is your octavia a mk3?

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    Mk3 Mondeo to Mk2 FL Octavia.

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    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.

    VS I have a 12 year old mk3 Mondeo that’s done 163000 miles and has been almost completely trouble free in 8 years and more than 120000 that I’ve driven in it.

    This is why you shouldn’t rule out a car just based on one or two experiences.

    Fwiw I had a new mark v golf before the Mondeo. In six months that car gave me more grief than all my cars in the previous ten years (including my 306gti6 that was hammered on track as well as on road). Once the problems were fixed it was an outstanding car and i’d have happily had another if I hadn’t needed something bigger.

    craigxxl
    Free Member

    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.

    Same Bosch calipers on the Octavia as the MK3 Mondeo. Only problem I had with them on the Mondeo was when the seal went on the handbrake mechanism at 120k miles. A £15 seal kit and all was fixed again, changed the hand brakes cables at the same time for £22. Like most brake calipers if the are not cleaned up and the slide pins re-greased when changing the pads they start sticking which isn’t a problem of the component or the car manufacture but the garage doing the work.

    GavinB
    Full Member

    I’ve done 80k on a Mazda 6 estate, which I’ve owned from new in 2010. It’s been ideal for me: reasonable fuel efficiency, good size and never needed anything doing to it, except for the DPF warning light coming on and needing reset a couple of times.

    The only niggle I’ve had from new is that the headlights (halogen, not HID/LED) are fine for driving in town, but on unlit roads they are awful IME. Even on full beam they are pretty poor, with a lack of depth. If you are buying second-hand, this is maybe worth checking.

    MrOvershoot
    Full Member

    I would agree with you Gavin I’ve owned a 6 Estate for the last 8 years 90k miles, it was first registered 9 years ago yesterday. Its been a great car with only the candlelight headlights letting it down, still it stops you driving to fast at night 😉

    Everything still works on it & nothing squeaks or rattles.

    If Mazda made a jacked up version of the New 6 I would have ordered that instead of an Volvo XC60

Viewing 9 posts - 41 through 49 (of 49 total)

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