Mondeo ST220

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one of these for a while now, they seem like a hell of a lot of car for the money. Does anyone on here own one? How reliable are they? Cost much to fix/maintain? Whats the fuel consumption like? How do they drive? etc etc.

<doesn’t have an ST220- tested one for a bit, liked it a lot but decided against it because it was singlehandedly inducing peak oil>

Depends what you want it to do really but for a lot of people the ST155 should get a look in too. I’ve got a mildly tuned and slightly worn out Ghia X 155- It still comes up about 40 horses short of the 220, but the range of power is huge so it loses 0-60 top trumps but for real world driving it’s not far behind at all.

In return, it can do 60mpg when asked (real world average is around 45, driven with no thought to economy whatsoever). According to legend, an ST155 towing an ST220 is still more economic than driving an ST220 😉 Cheaper to tax obviously and for me, a lot cheaper to insure. Though obviously Ford diesels do have some downsides.

Both very good, just taking different approaches to the reasonably-rapid-big-car thing.

I have the slightly detuned 3.0l V6 Titanium X, looked at the St220 but decided against it.

Road Tax is £430pa and you’ll get around 28mpg if you’re careful. If you can live with those things then they all drive very nicely although they are slightly underbraked for the weight/power.

If you can get one built before the tax threshold – cant remember what year that was – the tax is cheaper. My 330i is “only” £260 tax as its a ’52 reg.

Apart from the boot space and mpg (30 from mine) that age 330i is maybe a better bet than the st220. It’s certailnly quicker, I know this.

Hora will be along shortly, with all the ‘advice’ you’ll ever need…

Not the quick, rust issues, rear subframe problems average around 35 on a run and around 20 around town.

A better motor is the diesel ST, tuned they are quicker and nearly double the mpg. Have had both and prefer the diesel

Had one at work. Used as a “traffic” car and run pretty much 24hrs a day 365 days a year for about 4 years.

My thoughts when compared to Volvo V70 T5 are that it handled great but not as quick in a straight line. It’s clutch broke regularly – seemed unable to cope with stop/start hard acceleration response style driving. The engine was lovely – nice flat torque curve, nice noise and reasonable fuel consumption in the low 20’s per gallon (T5’s average mid teens), but again, this is response driving, so I’d expect mid twenties to low thirties if it was my own.

Great carrying capacity and comfy place to sit all day. Having said that, I bought a Volvo as they’re far more robust (new ones are not…..!!!!!). I’ve not driven the diesel version but a mate has one with some sort of chip that “over fuels” it. He used the petrol too but bought the diesel after musing that for 90% of his driving the diesel is better. He says with the chip attached its much torquier at legal speeds, which makes it a far more useable car without a performance loss.

Thanks for the replies.

I did have a look at the ST TDCI but you are looking at least a grand more for the same year and condition as an ST220, so their goes your fuel economy saving straight away, plus you lose the sound of the V6, they aren’t as well spec’ed, and you are potentially looking at expensive repair bills. I only do about 6k a year so a diesel really isn’t worth it.

The car I was originally after was a 330i, but after reading about the rear subframe mountings corroding and ripping holes in the boot floor, I decided against one. Also a saloon isn’t really practical for MTB’ing. After a quick google it seems the ST220 is actually quicker too, but the 330i has slightly better fuel economy.

I have read clutches are a bit weak on the 5 speed box, but I plan to go for the face lift 6 speed.

Any other problems I should be aware of?

Trust me, the ST220 is only quicker on paper – a mate had one, I won every time – I think mainly die to the RWD on the pull away and the torque range through the higher speeds – although there’s very little in it TBH.

Not sure about the sub frame issues, mines fine and is 10yo. BTW, I use mine for MTB’ing every where – Thule up top, its had three people, 2 bikes 2 sets of kit and camping gear no problem.

S60 T5 all day long IMO

mildred I didnt know they let you PCSOs out in the cars?

😉

Really happy with our ST TDCI. Had it for 4 trouble free years, previous to that the longest I’d kept a car was 9 months!

Does everything really well. Few small mods make it even better, such as a decat pipe. Real world performance is a match for the V6.

Might be more expensive to buy, but it will hold its value and be much cheaper to run. Over £200 a year less to tax for starters. Then insurance, fuel, etc.

bookwyse – Member
Not the quick, rust issues, rear subframe problems average around 35 on a run and around 20 around town.

Rust issues on the back doors in particular (fixed eventually but I can’t remember what year). Open the door and look around the drain holes in the bottom, you wont miss the rust if it is there!

Mondeos have well known problems with sub-frame bushes. Easily fixed though, and replacing the normal ones with polymer bushes will see them last way longer. There can also be a knocking noise from the drop-links, but they sub-frame bushes would always be the first thing to look at.

They also have problems with sticking handbrake cables. These can end up needing replaced on a yearly basis if you’re unlucky.

These last two points can be easily avoided though, by buying an Estate version instead (Admittedly rare in ST form)

I kept my ST tdci for 14 months. Always felt something was waiting to go wrong. Never had a V6 but always fancied one. Loved the car but the worry of that engine was too much. Thought there was a turbo whistle when I sold it.

With that type of mileage I’d get a V6. Diesel has good pace but its still a stressed diesel at the end of the day.

Try and get one with xenons and recaros.

ST TDCI here bluefin and decat makes it just as quick as a 220.
Great cars had it nearly 3 years massive inside loads of toys 45-60mpg really comfy but wished i had the recaro seats.

I piled 160k miles on an STTDCI estste over 4 years. Agree with the earlier post about it feeling fragile but it was unfounded in my case. I had several egr valve failures but that was all. Overall a good car, even took it round the Nurburgring!!! Had the Recaro seats as well which were ace.

we also looked at the ST220, but opted for the 330i touring. So far we are averaging 31.3MPG, so pretty happy with that, but must say the boot is pretty cramped compared to the mondeo (used them a lot for work).
Musts in the BMW are the sport seats in my opinion, mainly for the adjustable leg support, I find most seats too short.
Having maintained my own cars for years now the BMW is by far the best built in terms of quality of bolts, etc, but parts are a bit more expensive. Even on on 2000 model it still feels very tight and well put together, not something I would say for the 2004 mondeo we demo’d.

Just a thought, may not be up your street at all….but have you looked at Honda Accord 2.4iVTEC Type S Tourer?

Seriously bulletproof, nice places to sit, prob better on fuel than a 6 cylinder but still smooth and sound nice thanks to balancer shafts.

It’s what I’d buy if I needed a “fuel-no-object” fast, cheap wagon…

Know a bloke with one. He’s over 60 and uses it for his job as a local heating engineer. It eats clutches.

OR a Mazda 6 2.3 or 2.5. The latter are SERIOUSLY cheap for the size of car and age.

It eats clutches

I’m calling user error on that one. 220bhp is hardly brutal power

Well I just bought one, pick it up Monday, slightly excited to say the least, and got it for a bargain sum of £3250.

Its an 04 facelift in immaculate condition, had two owners from new (current one has had it for 3 years), full ford service history, 46k on the clock, in silver with cream leather. Its had a new clutch 2k ago, has xenons, sunroof, and all the other usual ST goodies.

Can’t grumble for that price.

I looked at them but apparently you can’t put a towbar on the ST220…?
You can on the ST155 diesel model but not the V6 petrol one. Not sure how true, was on either the caravan forums or the old pre-Talk-Ford Mondeo forum.

There’s a silver ST hatch parked at work, best looking car on the car park. Even now. Ford got that one right.
The fears over DMF’s & engines are a bit overplayed, & pretty much any garage can fix a Mondeo.

My Mondeo has been the most reliable car I’ve had. It’s going to have to rack up some miles because I can’t find anything any better for the money.
ST220 weren’t spec’d for towbars as standard so insurance is a bit of grey area if you fit one. I know a few ST220 owners who tow with them.

Whats the real world an mpg

May be a bit cheeky but if anyone in the Edinburgh area wants a set of winter tyres that I think will fit either – came off the tdci.

Waiting for it to start snowing before putting up for sale but feel free to give me a shout….

On that note it was horrendous in the snow on standard ones but does take a fully built medium bike in the boot which is always nice!

Well I just bought one, pick it up Monday, slightly excited to say the least, and got it for a bargain sum of £3250.

Nice one. Enjoy it!
Didn’t think they were still getting that much money. Maybe I have undervalued our TDCI!

Whats the real world an mpg

25 round town and 35 on a run driving sensibly, combined is 27 ish, not bad for a 3 litre V6 weighing 1.5 tonnes.

Nice one. Enjoy it!
Didn’t think they were still getting that much money. Maybe I have undervalued our TDCI!

Thanks bud, Most with that mileage are selling for between £3500-£4500 depending on condition, colour and spec. ST TDCI’s are about 1k more.

I’ll post some photos up when I get it, this thread wouldn’t be complete without photos (hint hint)

Another ST TDCI here. Great car. No issues. Plenty fast.

Former ST TDCI owner here. Nice cars… did 35k in 18 months in mine until it started to fall apart which coincided with me getting a new job where I didnt have a 120 mile round trip commute each day so got rid.

Not exactly ‘drivers cars’ – great for motorway progress though which is where mine spent its 18 months. Dead comfy, lots of toys and stuff.

For the money sounds like you got a good car although I’d have gone for a beemer I think. E46 Touring would still have a smaller boot than the Mondeo but BMW really did get it right with the E46… beautiful looking car.

The beemer is a generation older, not as safe, not as well equipped, more common, more expensive to fix, more expensive to buy, not as good looking (in my opinion), personally I think they are not as nice to drive, and have the potentially terminal subframe issue which is more common than you may think.

I think I’ve made the right choice anyway.