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Don't underestimate the Mondeo, they are a very good car to drive. Nimble handling, and excellent ride on motorways.
Also, the Mondeo is an order of magnitude bigger than the 3-series: huge cabin, masses of rear legroom, huge boot. The clincher for me is the offset pedals in 3-series BMs plays merry hell with my back.
If you're definitely getting a petrol engined variant, my money would be on the Mondeo every time. Just my 10p worth, your mileage may vary, etc.
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I also would query the implied superiority of the BMW. My 3 series (2litre petrol) was the most disappointing car I ever had. Not the worst, just nothing special. It was new in 2002 and I had it for 3 years. It never broke down and was economical but I had expected more. Large models may be better but I found it very uncomfortable on long journeys and if you get one then look for one with upgraded seats and adjustable length in the seat base if it's still offered.
It was truly awful in snow with limited grip and every warning light I didn't know I had lighting up in climbing a 200 yard long hill in 3 inches of new snow to get home. Depending where you live this might be important to you.
In contrast the three Mondeos I had (petrol and diesel 2litre and V6 petrol) came with less expectation but were much more missed when I handed them back to the company. Again as Craig says the size is might be an issue so look for one with parking sensors. Even the Titanium doesn't currently have these as standard.
Finally with the Focus the limiting factor there might also be space but in the other direction. Boot space is poor for the class as is rear legroom. The estate might solve the first issue a bit but legroom is limited across the range.
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For "Large" read "Later" in line 3.
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This doesn't really add up to me :
I tend to buy cars at 4 years and 50-80k and keep them until circa 150k or 12-14 years, which is when they start to fall apart for me.
I do about 18k miles pa, so these cars last me 3-6 years.
So one sentence you say you buy at 4 yrs old, and keep until 12-14 yrs old (so 8-10 years of ownership).
Then, immediately after, you say you keep them for 3-6 years. Which would mean selling at 7-10 years old.
The fuel economy difference for (as an example) a 320d compared to a Mondeo 2.0TDCi will be minimal. Realmpg seems to show roughly a 10% difference in favour of the BMW, which, on 18k miles a year, would be less than £200 in fuel cost difference.
Another consideration with the BMW is that they are all RWD. That transmission tunnel takes up quite a bit of space in the back. Plus, the E90 isn't the most spacious car in the back anyway, compared to other cars of a similar size.
The 5 series is another matter entirely. Worse on economy than the 3 series (assume 10% worse, the 5 is a lot heavier, so similar economy to the Mondeo), but absolutely fantastic for comfort if you drive long distances. A lot more space in the front and back, with a much larger boot.
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This doesn't really add up to me :
I tend to buy cars at 4 years and 50-80k and keep them until circa 150k or 12-14 years, which is when they start to fall apart for me.
I do about 18k miles pa, so these cars last me 3-6 years.
So one sentence you say you buy at 4 yrs old, and keep until 12-14 yrs old (so 8-10 years of ownership).
Then, immediately after, you say you keep them for 3-6 years. Which would mean selling at 7-10 years old.
The fuel economy difference for (as an example) a 320d compared to a Mondeo 2.0TDCi will be minimal. Realmpg seems to show roughly a 10% difference in favour of the BMW, which, on 18k miles a year, would be less than £200 in fuel cost difference.
Another consideration with the BMW is that they are all RWD. That transmission tunnel takes up quite a bit of space in the back. Plus, the E90 isn't the most spacious car in the back anyway, compared to other cars of a similar size.
The 5 series is another matter entirely. Worse on economy than the 3 series (assume 10% worse, the 5 is a lot heavier, so similar economy to the Mondeo), but absolutely fantastic for comfort if you drive long distances. A lot more space in the front and back, with a much larger boot.
2 cars back I had a 320D and often used a mondeo 2.0TDCI. The Mondeo is much bigger than the BMW and therefore MPG was about 10% worse as you would expect.
Both car drove well, but from a driving point of view the BMW was much nicer, sharp and nibble. Mondeo more comfortable less precise.
Issue wise no faults on the BMW in 150K and Mondeo a few niggles. Potental issues.BMW timing chain recalls 2007-2011 and Mondeo rear suspension bushes both expensive jobs.
Personally the BMW was nicer call all round
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Yep youre right, what I should have said is that cars tend to last 150k and/or 12-14 years in my experience before they get uneconomical to repair. We run 2 cars and the other has a much lower annual mileage so reaches a greater vintage before we end up trading it in. We keep the lower mileage car longer (till about 12-14 years old).
Based on a 3 series ED, I estimate the fuel economy is about £300 less than the mondeo, which takes out much of the higher purchase cost difference over the life of the car. My point is that the cars have broadly similar total owership costs, which I found surprising. I had written the BMW off of my potential new car list as I assumed it would be a lot more expensive to own.
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Its a good point about the RWD. Although I live fairly rural, the roads are flat and well gritted. Im guessing I would have to consider winter tyres with the RWD which is another expense.
Im no badge snob and I'd definately test for myself which is better for me, Im not a gadget person, apart from having an accetpable stereo, Im interested in drive, ride, comfort, engine response, efficiency etc, a base spec model of either wouldnt horrify me if it drove well. If the mondeo pipped it for me I'd have it, but being a larger car I wonder whether it would be a fair comparison.
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Yes this is my "compile a list of cars to test drive" stage, if the mondeo turned out to be a nicer car IMO then I'd certainly get it! The BMW badge is a bit of a turn off for me if I'm honest, but I wouldnt cut off my nose to spite my face.
I've driven a 2008 Mondeo a while back and it was a good car, but I've also been in my friends BMW F30 as a passanger and it was sublime. In particular the seats were unbelievably comfortable for me, something I didnt expect.
I bought my current car when my annual mileage was quite a bit less. I've been steering clear of diesels because of all of the horror stories with DPF, DMF, EGR etc etc. However, it is very hard to actually find petrol varients of cars like the Mondeo and lesser extent 3 series as so many buyers choose diesel. Plus, with my 18k mileage, fuel cost becomes a significant factor, my Mazda 6 does ave 36mpg, compared to a 50+mpg car that starts to bite at my mileage. Also, almost all of my driving is on fast flowing motorway and dual carriage way, so I'm guessing a diesel may well be a better tool for this
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Im considering a diesel now as I drive almost exclusive motorway and dual carriage way (40 mile commute).
Space is always nice, my current car is close to mondeo size, but all its useful for me is keeping my little boys muddy boots off of the passanger seat back! Its a bit wasted on me, hence why im considering something smaller.
Spot on with the seat comment. I actually like a firm ride, but unconfortable seats completely write a car off for me. I had a VW golf Mk5 and the seats were excrutiating, I had to sell it in 12 months as it was giving me back pain. My mazda seats are firm but so supportive.
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