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With regards to Mondeos from 2000 onwards, what is the best engine, I understand that the earlier ones were not all that good, when did the better ones come into production ?
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The best engines are the TDCi's which began production in December 2001. There are very few 51 plate TDCi's, they only started to arrive in volume for registration on 02 plates. These were 130BHP/330NM torque.
Before that the TDDi 115 was on sale. It's not actually as bad as some would have you believe - its noisy at idle and under power compared to the later common rail engines and not quite as economical, but it has plenty power and torque and its pleasant enough when crusing.
Many TDDi's are mis-advertised as TDCi 115's, so you need to be careful. Check the sticker on the timing chain cover to be sure.
In late 2002 Ford released a 115BHP version of the TDCi, which ran alongside the Di until the facelift in summer 2003. In late 2004 a 2.2 litre version of the TDCi was launched with 155BHP.
The 130 is the best of the 2.0 bunch, but the 2.2 is the best of the lot.
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I am really interested in the 2.2 ST TDCi to replace my 2.2 petrol Vectra. Anyone with ownership experience of this model ?
Thanks,
Steve
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Funny you should say that Steve...
Quinny's got one!
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Thanks - come on Quinny - Ownership, driving, handling and performance characteristics...........?
Steve
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I've had mine since December 05, bought it at 5 months old with 7k on the clock to replace an 02 TDCi Zetec 130. Mine is the 2005.5 model with the extra chrome bits, the brakes are improved and parts of the interior have been improved.
Ownership has been pretty painless up to now. It has spent a couple of hours in the dealers - the high level brake light was misting up a bit due to water getting past the washer jet gasket. I had to replace one of the foglamps last week after hitting a pheasant on the motorway - cost £80 for the part which is double what a normal Mondeo one would cost. I haven't had it serviced yet but it I've booked it in and been quoted £120 for the 12.5k service including a pollen filter change - Ford say their 2005 onwards cars only need one every 2yrs but haven't changed the design or anything, so the dealer suggests getting it done. Front tyres still have plenty left at 12,000 miles - they are 225/40/18 Extra Load Continental Sport Contact 2 which will cost about £125 each to replace, but I knew this before I bought it. As a private buyer the running costs were a factor in my decision to go for one of these.
Driving it is by far the best bit. I take the scenic route to and from work every day because its so rewarding to drive on twisty back roads. The ride is firm at low speed but the damping is excellent so its never crashy in the way an Audi A4 Sport can be, and I would say it actually rides more comfortably than my old Zetec. Everything about the car has so much feel - the steering is quickened over the standard model and it provides excellent feedback so you are never in any doubt as to what the front wheels are doing. The chassis and suspension give excellent body control - there is almost no roll and the car remains flat through corners. The gearbox is slick and drops into gear with a smooth mechanical feel about it, the ratios are spot on and it will pull quite happily from 50mph in 6th gear which gives about 1800rpm @ 70mph and the engine is barely audible below 90mph. Inevitably given the size of the tyres there is a bit of road noise but its nothing like excessive, and I have noticed this car produces far less wind noise than my old one did. The brakes are also much improved in terms of feel and initial bite. It has a bit of Jekyll and Hyde character about it - it is a great car for blasting around country lanes but it will also cruise effortlessly on motorways and A roads.
Inside it is well finished and there is plenty of equipment as standard. The in-dash Sony 6CD changer is very good for standard fit kit, the standard seats are excellent for comfort and support with big side bolsters to hold you in place. My car has the 8 way power adjustment on the front seats which I?d highly recommend as it gives far more fine adjustment of the seat angles than the standard manual controls. However, if you don?t like dark interiors forget it because it?s pretty much all black with a splash of aluminium look trim.
Performance wise it isn't all that quick off the mark as the engine management limits torque in 1st and 2nd gear to protect the tyres and gearbox, but the advantage of this is that its very smooth in these gears and that makes it much more pleasant to drive in heavy, slow moving traffic. It only really comes alive in 3rd gear and pulls hard through 4th and 5th as well. I shift from 4th to 6th if I'm accelerating quickly up to 60 or 70mph. 6th is useable above 55mph and I've never found the need to shift down on the motorway to overtake or go up an incline. The engine provides lots of usable torque above 1500RPM and normal driving is effortless with no real need to go about 2500rpm in any gear unless you need to overtake quickly. When the ST TDCi was first launched I managed to get a test drive in one being used by a director of one of the big Ford dealer groups, who told me he had had a few ST220's prior to it which were ultimately faster, but at normal road speeds there wasn't much in it and the TDCi was easier and smoother to drive. Once your moving you only need second below about 15mph otherwise its quite happy in third. 30-70 through 3rd and 4th is despatched with ease.
Strangely the ST has proved to be slightly more economical than my old 2.0. The trip computer shows 47mpg on my day to driving which is B roads, dual carriageways and some town work. I have managed to get it down to about 42mpg driving it very hard, and have had it over 52mpg on 70mph runs on the motorway.
I considered a fair few cars before I got the ST, as a £15k budget was my only real essential criteria ? used Audi A4?s, BMW 320/330/530d?s, Saab 9-3 TiD, Merc C 220/270CDi?s, VW Golf TDi, Citroen C4 VTS HDi amongst others and whilst they all had their good points and were in some areas better than the Mondeo I felt the ST had the best overall package of looks, driving dynamics, running costs and equipment.
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Thanks Quinny, an excellent review - just what I was looking for. My 2.2 petrol has roughly the same BHP but far less torque. Given your comments about it limiting torque in 1st and 2nd gears I would expect it to be about the same performance off the line, however once on the move the diesel to have the advantage being c100 lbs/ft more.
I will test drive to do a back to back comparison, however I think I am unlikely to be disappointed - I hope .......!
Steve
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The best engines are the TDCi's which began production in December
IIRC the first TDCi's were October 2001 for the 2002 Model year, cars made from December 2001 were the 2002.5 model year which added a few minor enhancements.
These were 130BHP/330NM torque.
350nm actually.
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With regards to the sticker on the timing chain cover surely this could be changed to one that said the engine was a TDCI, I presume the engine number would be different between the TDDI and TDCI
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