1998 Ford Mondeo ST24 review from UK and Ireland

Loose speaker cable connections. I cure this with a thump to the central console with my knee while driving.

Boot open, button stopped working - now need to turn off the engine and get out and use the key.

Engine developed a power drop at the most inconvenient of times (ie while overtaking!)

Heater fan now only operates in off mode, or full blast - nothing in-between.

Rear view mirror snapped off while adjusting it. A friend with a Ghia 2.5 had the same problem! Then the replacement wouldn't stay stuck in place. we both have our rear view mirrors in the glove compartment. Really useful!

The engine power drop is quite disturbing. On my way home from work, I do 15 minutes motorway driving then 5-10 minutes in a slow traffic jam, then onto a fast country road. At this point, flooring it to overtake, the engine suddenly loses 20-30% of its power! Most noticable during warm and humid weather. Anyone else had this problem?

Apart from the niggly faults, the car drives like a dream - handling is superb, especially at speed. I think the aerodynamics of the RSA body kit help wonderfully there.

Acceleration and brakes are equally effective. I couldn't live without traction control and ABS from now on.

Ford service is almost as bad as NTL these days! (NTL are the cable TV people, for those fortunate enough not to know who they are!). I think it was £180 for an oil and filter change, which they call a full service. Dimwits as they are, I came out on top, as they changed my disks and pads and forgot to charge me! However, I won't be going back to them with any of my faults. How much is that Ford dealer stamp in the logbook really worth compared to how much it costs?!

The price to pay for all this is hefty. Certainly I got a bargain, paying £10K for a 15000 mile 18 month old wolf in sheep's clothing, but it goes through tyres and petrol (and, alarmingly, oil and coolant) like there's no tomorrow.

The ST24 was not designed from the bottom up as a sports saloon, it is a runaround car all sported up. Hence the improbable front heavy weight distribution, the understeer and the tyre wear. Although the recommended pressure for casual driving is 30/30 (psi, front/rear), who drives an ST24 casually? Pump them up to load/speed pressure - 36/42, and see the handling and wear of your tyres improve dramatically.