Ford Mondeo

Bought a Ford Mondeo 2.0 GTDI Titanium 4-door (A) a few months ago. Was looking for a mid-range 2.0L car to replace my existing one which was nearing 9.0 years. Read a lot of reviews before buying. Shortlisted three cars to consider: VW Passat 1.8TSI, Mazda 6 2.5L, and the Ford Mondeo 2.0 GTDI.

Ruled out the Passat 1.8TSI first because on test drive, found the pickup from start rather weak although once it got up to speed the acceleration was OK. The Mazda 6 2.5L I liked quite a lot because it looked good, had excellent interior build quality/fit and finish, was good value for money, and had made-in-Japan reliability. However, engine was a bit vocal at some speeds and Mazda 6 road noise suppression has always been flagged as a problem in car reviews; Also the 2.5L only came with 19 inch wheels so ride quality would likely suffer. Finally settled for the Ford Mondeo because it had excellent reviews and my (short) test drive seemed to corroborate most of the findings of the reviews on first pass.

It has been 3 months now and I am quite happy with my choice. The Mondeo has quite good styling, is powerful (237bhp, 345 NM torque) which translates to effortless acceleration, has excellent ride and handling, and has reasonable interior build quality (although not as good as the Mazda 6).

But I was disappointed with two things about the Mondeo:

1. Road Noise. All the international reviews I read about this latest model of the Ford Mondeo said it was a very quiet car with very low road and wind noise. In fact, one review said that "Noise suppression is also extremely good". So I was quite disappointed to find that the level of road noise was no better than an average 2.0L Japanese car. On smooth roads it is OK but on rougher bitumen roads and on highways, tire noise is quite noticeable and certainly not something I would classify as "Quiet".

2. Fuel consumption. The reviews did say that the Mondeo 2.0 turbo was a thirsty car but I did not expect it to be so thirsty. I have averaged around 15.0 - 15.5 litres per 100km over these past 3 months (mainly in city driving as I live on CBD fringe). This is very high by modern car standards.

Apart from these two issues, however, I am quite happy with my Mondeo purchase. Just have to lower my expectations about road noise and fuel consumption!

I own a Mk 4 2011 EcoBoost 2 litre. In terms of driving enjoyment, it is the best car I have driven - better than Mazda 6 and Camry. I took it on a 2000++ km road trip up north. Excellent power on NSHW (eat 3 series for breakfast and on par with 5 series). Near silent below 120 km/h. Wind noise suddenly set in at about 125 km/h but could be due to the rain guards I installed. Very comfortable seats. I feel like I could drive 12 hours a day in it (caveat: I only went about 6-8 hours each day for 5 days). Good buy at the depreciation of Elantra/Cerato, cheaper than Altis!

A spacious and fairly power car. My ford mondeo is now 6 years and problems are starting to surface despite serving only @ AD.

Battery have died multiple times (even after changing and within warranty period)

Car handle can just drop off when used to open (fixed 2 times in 6 months)

Engine is starting to be noisy due to the engine mount

I used to own a Mondeo, the 2001 model. It was elegant and presentable. However, it lacked power because of its weight and size. Fast forward to 2016, the new Mondeo is equally elegant but with more power.

This is my dream car... Unfortunately the price is a bit too high. So I only have my test drive experience.

The ride quality is super. It glides over everything. Speed strips are nothing to the extremely well-sorted suspension. Ford has always been well known for their suspension tuning. Firm, well-damped yet cosseting and assured. Handling is excellent. You don't feel that you're driving such a large car actually. Visibility is actually very good even out the rear windscreen.

Build quality looks good on the inside. Everything falls to hand nicely. The gauge cluster is really quite good.

Test drive this Mondeo sometime back...

First looks, nicer design than the previous ranges with the front grills bearing the high end relative's looks of Aston Martin.

Exterior styling is nice with the curves and bends and good boot space for 4 door version and bigger for 5 door version.

Inside is a basic design with the necessary details displayed on the dash. LED lights are cool as standard too. Gadgets wise, its purely practical ones that to have many given but seldom to use, perhaps is due to American design mindset to be practical.

The engine starts up sound is ok but when you slight rev, its a little too loud to accept as a Mondeo.

Drive off is smooth and gear changes are ok too but when you start to throttle, the feel given is under powered, partly because its only a 1.5L which you seem to be in a larger Focus than a Mondeo.

Overall, its a new look with a small engine if you do not mind the under powered portion but hope Ford agent will bring in the 2.0L version soon.

Regent offered the 2.0L Mondeo with a competitive price and well specced, which resulted in it being my final choice. Note, a facelift is due soon.

Unfortunately, these SGCM review sections are rather limited so I have to cut my thoughts short to the bare essentials.

Rear still looks like a Mondeo, but both hatch and sedan have a seductively sporty look close to the notion of "Four-door coupe".

The shark-like snubnosed front end is defined by the contentious "Aston Martin" Grille of the recent Ford family, as much as the very advanced Dynamic LED headlamps with their scrolling indicators, although the foglamps feel old.

Even the rear windows forego unnecessary struts.

The handling, although less dynamic than the previous Mondeo, is still very accomplished. This car never feels lazy or unwilling, while retaining a pleasant, if somewhat bouncy ride. It runs on the soft side of Germanic firm. You can really throw this front-wheeler around confidently with its active torque vectoring, despite its 1.7 tonnage but feedback is still rather light.

The engine is a powerful 238hp/340Nm last-gen turbo, providing lots of go for the weighty body but the turbo lag takes about 2k RPM. Then you get a serious pull. However, refinement is top notch, and it revs smoothly and eagerly. Likewise, the aged 6-speed Ford-GM 6F35 transmission is smooth, but can be lazy to kickdown or get confused, and shift quality has deteriorated over my time.

Unfortunately fuel economy is a weak point for this older drivetrain, with the heavy body. There is also a sound symposer that enhances the engine sound with high revs.

Interior is a slight throwback to the previous gen, with above-average fit and finish, but this is no Mercedes. Safety is top notch here with collision mitigation and BLIS.

Was attracted to the aston martin look but missed the chance to try the 2 litre turbo which i believe should be the more desired version. Tried the smaller capacity model, find that the car is not as well equipped and the rims is terribly small for the body size and its a shame because the whole car just look akward.

The drive was very normal and not exciting because of the smaller horsepower, handling is not bad and it didn't help when i switch to sports mode, acceleration improved slightly but can feel the strain of the engine.

Seat is well cushioned and there are no gps inbuild.

lastly price is not competitive given its market share.

Parts for Ford are all genuine. No modified parts available in Singapore. There are stockist such as Hoover, however the price of the parts are significantly more expensive than their japanese counterparts. Beware of certain of Ford models which are less common, parts are really hard to find. For example, fuel pump which must be imported from overseas while your car is kept unusable at the garage.

Had a chance to test drive the Mondeo Titanium before it was phased out locally. The car looks great and drives even better. Exterior wise, its Aston Martin look alike front grill was a statement of what lies beneath the hood and the interiors.

Ford is the only Europe car that not common, very reliable car model with not much complaint. Not bad. Can consider.

I currently own a Mondeo, which has a couple of years left on its COE. I thought i would give the new model a try and see how it is.

First of, i love the look of the new one! Its very reminiscent of an Aston Martin, and overall looks really good. The inside is somewhat familiar in terms of its really spacious interior. Equipment is alright, its no audi or bmw. But its comfortable.

Driving it is a slightly weird experience. On one hand, its really powerful. The numbers based on its specs are frankly rather mad. The power and torque matches up to much bigger and more expensive cars. So power is never going to be an issue. The ride is alright, comfortable enough. The steering feels like an afterthought though. Where it used to be a really good drivers car (i love driving my mondeo, steering is so sweet), the new one seems to have sacrificed that for comfort. I dont really blame them, but it just seems like a waste.

Price is really attractive, and if i can get over how differently the steering feels, i will seriously consider getting this new one.

Sierra RS Cosworth reborn? Perhaps.

For those who don't know what a sleeper is - they are unassuming cars with enormous engine outputs that can outpace notoriously fast, loud and even modified cars that you'd expect to win drag races. The power and torque figures on this 2.0l Ecoboost are crazy and most interestingly almost on par with the BMW 528i M-Sport. Why would Ford do something like that?

I'm a bit confused with the difference between the Mondeo's 5dr and 4dr (I assume the 5dr refers to a LWB). The vehicle was large, really on-par with a 5 series and it becomes most apparent when the electric tailgate is opened. A huge bootspace fit for 3-4 golf bags gives it a Porshe Panamera level of spaciousness. However, the sillhouette is still very 4dr sedan.

The rest of the interior was equally opulent. Beautiful seats, soft leather trim, everything was nice to touch. If I must be very particular, some buttons are not fully up to standard. German car owners can heave a breath of relief like how Thor did when Captain America cldn't lift the MjöLnir. The instrument cluster was a beauty - and together with the electric assists, adaptive cruise control and lane keeping assists, exude an advanced-feel far more than necessary.

The new Mondeo sits in such a fantastic price point that the only difficulty I have now is to go for it. Looking around at the roads - it's very rare. Most people I believe would either buy something below this or above this - and go for perhaps the CLA next door. However, all that power and the muted exterior mean that Ford is probably the only maker who actually ensures that you can have your fun blazing on the roads without being picked on by TP or paying loads to the Government in terms of road tax.

It lacks the Yakuza aura of the 2.5l sleepers such as Mark X, Legacy or Accord which have far lower outputs than the Mondeo. It lacks the prestige aura of the German makes but matches in performance. So this slots directly in competition to artworks like the Alfa Romeo where owners don't want the Japanese cheap-feel and are moving from Asian to continental makes. Only that this is a lot more reliable than the granny-tranny Alfas or VWs.