[Closed] Tell me about Mondeos.

Thanks for all the input so far, very informative (& entertaining)
So say I had 8-9K to spare, what can I get, diesel Mondeo estate wise?

(may need roof rails for the canoe)

I suppose my Passat handles poorly*, given the way people talk about it, but the bottom line is that you can't really chuck it about because it's just too big, and there simply isn't the room on windy roads.

* although it is really fine, just neutral

I think the thing that tells you that Mondeos handle decently is that you don't notice it. I remember driving a works Passat about 15 years ago and swinging into a corner at what would have been a comfortable speed in my own car (a Corrado at the time) and it just plowed straight on. No harm done but it was a horrendous handling thing and quite alarming, it surely had enough rubber on the road to turn in but it just didn't. These days I think almost everything is at least safe and grippy it's just a case of whether there's some degree of finesse and balance about it.

Nowt wrong with the Passat's handling. Just the Mondeo was better.

Grunty, I've a set of aerobars I'd let go for a nominal fee, together with (hatchback) Mondeo feet.

esselgruntfuttock - Member

So say I had 8-9K to spare, what can I get, diesel Mondeo estate wise?

2 ST155s and a bucket of injectors
Or an ST220 and shares in BP.

[quote=esselgruntfuttock ]Thanks for all the input so far, very informative (& entertaining)
So say I had 8-9K to spare, what can I get, diesel Mondeo estate wise?
(may need roof rails for the canoe)

That was my original budget when I bought 18 months ago, and you seemed to get something 3yo with ~80k miles. Though you're best off just looking on Autotrader to see. Roof rails is a slight issue, as they're not standard fit, so you're looking for somebody who's got them as an option - mostly that means you're looking at higher spec. models as there was an option pack for the Titanium which included them, though there are a few lower spec ones about with them if you get lucky. Unless of course your budget will get you an update one (sometime in 2011 on IIRC) which I think now all come with integrated low profile rails - not sure of the merits or otherwise of those as they were well out of my budget.

Depending on what you're carrying though, you don't need rails as you can just fit roof bars the same way as on a saloon - I'd be more than happy to use those if I was just carrying around slalom boats or playboats. However nowadays I mostly carry a 6m surfski or a 6.8m double sea kayak (after carrying two of those up to Fort Bill on my old 406 I had to pull the rooflining to tighten the rails, though the rails on my Mondeo are a lot more solid) for which roof rails provide a lot better stability as you can space the bars a lot further apart.

Mondeo DPFs... Are they a pricey service item on fords? (Our current diesel is just old enough to not have one)

The only problem with it in an SMax is fuel economy. He's getting mid 20's/low 30's at best. Also tax is twice as much.

Hmm, that's not so great, I guess, although the petrols are a bit cheaper to buy though - at the three year mark it seems to be 1k or 2k difference... 1 or 2k buys a lot of petrol.

Why do you want roof rails, incidentally? You can fit bike racks to cars without them.

EDIT D'oh, just read aracer's post.