Hi Folks
Greetings from Australia!
I am considering buying a new Mondeo Turbo (a TX5 here), but as they are few and far between over here, there is little local experience.
After being bitterly disappointed in the build quality of my last 2 cars (a Mazda 6 and then a Subaru Liberty/ Legacy) am I risking fate with a Mondeo?
Allegedly I have been the lucky owner of the only known examples of BOTH these cars to have developed so many rattles and squeaks. Given the general experience, perhaps I have been unlucky, though in the Mazda's defense, some dodgy work by the dealer led to the whole dash being replaced....twice. Having had 3 Mazda's prior to this, the experience was surprising.
Am I going to be driven batty by a Mondeo? Remember that our roads can be ordinary, but at least we don't have as many speed humps.
|
|
If you were unhappy with build quality on a Mazda 6 and a Legacy, I'm not sure you'll find a Mondeo any better. Incidentally, are Australian Mondeos built down under?
|
My own Mondeo IV has been very good so far, its external noise suppression is excellent and the only stuff that rattles inside are my CD cases :)
Some people report a rattle from the B-pillars but not happened on mine yet.
|
|
I hear good things about the Mondeo IV though UK opinions might be worthless if the OZ model is made elsewhere - which I suspect it is.
|
|
|
|
Thanks for your replies.
Here in Oz we are getting the same Modeo as everyone else (Belgium?). Ford only make the bigger cars like the Falcon and GM the Commodore (from which the VRX comes from).
Yes I hate rattles but I'm not overly pedantic. Both Mazda and Subaru admit they existed and tried to fix them without long lasting success. I'm going to have another go next week when the Subaru goes in for a service.
Are any models these days free of rattles and squeeks? My first 3 Mazda's were perfect, as was a MkIV Golf I owned while living in the UK. After that it was downhill with an Alfa 147 (asking for trouble) then the 6 and the Subaru.
My other options are in a higher bracket...I am looking at a BMW 125 convert or the TT convert.....does paying double the cost of the Ford (or Mazda 6) really mean getting decent build quality, or am I going to be getting more upmarket rattles?
Cheers!
|
The BMW 1-series and Audi TT are simply mainstream cars.... not premium in any real, tangible way over and above a Ford or indeed a Mazda or Subaru.
Buy a larger Audi or BMW and you'll get better quality but not with the cheaper vanity products you mention.
Especially with the Subaru, I think you were merely unlucky. The Ford is a good car, but you may well run out of luck again. Impossible to say; the build on the Ford is comparable to the Japanese cars you mention.
|
|
|
From what you read and hear, it seems pretty much every car is built down to a price, and not up to a quality these days.
I like my Mondeo IV and the interior is nicely done, but only the bits you touch and see.
The quality of non-facia plastics etc is poor, however, and little things like the lack of lining or trim in the door pockets is cheap.
My previous Passat 5.5 had slightly better materials on the tactile bits, but that quality was carried through to the bits you didn't see too, like rubber mats and lining in the door pockets etc.
Also little things like a gas strut for the bonnet, where the Mondeo uses a wire prop. But that wire prop probably saves 3 euros per car made ....
|
Also little things like a gas strut for the bonnet where the Mondeo uses a wire prop. But that wire prop probably saves 3 euros per car made ....
My Mondeo has gas struts, does the MkIV not then ?
|
Cheddar, no, the IVs don't have gas struts .... the accountants have been at work :)
|
... the accountants have been at work
>>
True, cos the MkIVs also have cambelts ;)
|
|
|
|
|
