Faults:

New thermostat at 80,000 miles. Broken rear window winder. That's it!

General Comments:

Had this car a long time and put many miles on it trouble free. For a car at 20 plus years old, it's still getting used as a daily driver. Why don't I drive something more modern you might ask? Well until this car dies I see no point replacing a reliable car that gets me about in comfort. The car was already pretty old when I acquired it, but looked like new and still does today apart from slight paint fade on the bonnet.

The MK1 Mondeo is not bad looking, but very 90s inside and out, however it is a comfortable and reliable car, which is its main appeal. Get an LX or above with alloy wheels and a nice colour to sharpen things up.

The 1.8 Zetec engine is an absolute belter in regards to reliability, using little to no oil or water whatsoever even as I approach 200K miles. It has been serviced on time, oil changes every 10K miles or less. Performance is only adequate and I would prefer the 2.0 Zetec or V6 Mondeo which are faster. It does manage 38 MPG on average though - for a 1.8 petrol engine it's pretty decent for its time.

Compared to my previous car (BMW 3-series) there are shortfalls in interior trim quality, but the Ford more than makes up for that with reliability. The interior is a nice place to be, I've always found it comfortable enough, and bright. I have biscuit velour with contrasting dark metallic red paintwork on the outside, and a nice set of alloy wheels. Electric front windows and a few other options may be standard on modern cars now, but this was well equipped at the time; if you want the lot go for the "Ghia" models. To drive the car is typically front wheel drive with understeer if pushed too hard, but feels very safe, balanced and predictable.

Overall if you are considering one of these cars, go for it, a 90s Mondeo is what solidified the Ford's now long running Mondeo as a world renowned car in overall ability. Try the 1996 - 2000 models though, they have a fresher appeal with updated front and rear design, which is much better looking in my opinion than the dull 1993 - 1996 models front and rear end.

Faults:

The car was very slow to start, so I tried replacing the glow plugs and pre-heater, but that didn't help.

With hindsight and having owned another Mondeo 1.8TD, I believe that this car was suffering from compression losses.

Other than that, it was fine.

General Comments:

Quite a nice balance of features on this model. It may not have the air-con or alloys of the Ghia in 1995, but it did have velour seats, lumbar adjustment, central locking and a sunroof.

All in all, it did the job very well for me, in that I needed a cheap car that would give good fuel economy and no trouble. I did miss the air-con in the summer though!

My only concern was that it was very slow to pull off (see possible compression losses above), and so when I took a job in a built-up area on fast roads, I found it very difficult to safely pull into moving traffic.

Soon after I sold it for a 2.0 petrol Mondeo that had no such issues.

Faults:

My front wheel bearings just been replaced.

Front springs have been replaced.

Burns a bit of oil.

The factory fitted alarm never works.

General Comments:

This is one quick car, but rattles at high speed.

The cabin is gloomy, but spacious and the seat are uncomfortable on long journeys.

For the cars age its still in good condition apart from a couple of rust spots.