2003 Ford Mondeo Ghia X Estate from UK and Ireland - Comments

Tailgate lock motor failed.

Persistent cold-starting problem.

Having owned a succession of earlier Mondeo estates and loved ‘em all, this review is written essentially as a comparison between the old and new versions.

For me the main advantage of the Mark III is its larger proportions, particularly with the considerable increase in rear legroom (having always been particularly poor on earlier models). The load bay is slightly larger, too, in both width and depth.

Contrary to what you may read in the press, however, the rear seat is not wide enough to comfortably accommodate three adults - though three children or two adults plus one child will be comfortable.

The ride quality is superior to previous Mondeos: pot-holes and speed humps being deftly handled. Road noise from the 17-inch alloys and Michelin lo-pro tyres is barely audible. Given the car’s enlarged dimensions, I was amazed to discover the handling is even better, too!

At last all four windows and the sunroof have one-shot opening and closing - a chronic penny-pinching omission from previous models. The anti-dazzle chromatic rear-view mirror is a real boon on motorways after dark.

Performance is reasonably good for such a large, heavy car, while I average 28mpg - admirable for a vee-six self-shifter.

The seats in Mondeos keep on getting better! Lateral, thigh and lower-back support is further improved on the previous high standards.

However with this pre-"facelift" model other aspects of the cabin are the car’s downfall. Ford continues its practical jokes over “executive” fascias: the “black wood” panelling representing a new low in tackiness. The shiny gearchange surround becomes a nuisance at night as it distractingly reflects street lamps as you pass under them. The plush leather cushioning one previously found on the door trims has been replaced with something akin to cheap hardboard that would disgrace a modern Lada.

The dashboard controls are logically situated as ever, but there is an unnecessarily long “throw” to the headlamp control paddle. Canted slightly away from the driver (presumably to suit left-hand drive markets), the “classically styled” (according to the brochure) ovoid analogue clock is impossible to decipher at a glance, especially after dark.

The climate control’s LCD readout for the cabin temperature is rather difficult to read ("Does it say 18.0 or 18.5?"). On the other hand, the amazing CD changer/Radio unit has an excellent display.

The trip computer display is now sensibly located within the instrument cluster, but the instant MPG, date and stopwatch functions have been dropped.

Previous Mondeos had an airflow feed direct to the front doors to provide side window demisting. This godsend has bizarrely disappeared from the new model.

The soft, pleasant warning chimes of earlier Mondeos have been deposed by a repertoire of frankly hideous tones. Thirtysomethings may remember a toy in the mid-1970s called “clackers”: I am reminded of these every time I activate the direction indicators – it even irks rear-seat passengers! Engaging reverse gear, running low on fuel, leaving the lights on and releasing the seatbelt all invoke crude peeps and bleeps that are just the wrong side of irritating. (The latter was so annoying that I disabled it permanently.)

To be honest the Mark I car had a more refined cabin for 1993 than the Mark III has for the new millennium. My guess is that in order to plough money into the Mondeo’s safety features, Ford have cut corners in quality and refinement. In fairness, though, a complement of six airbags and improvements to the bodyshell are all welcome.

Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the interior is well screwed together. In fact the fixtures and fittings of the load bay are better than the agricultural approach of earlier Mondeo generations.

The 5-speed Durashift auto box needs more development work. Most of the time it works reasonably well, but can “jolt” noticeably when downshifting. This is a particular problem when descending steep hills as the box, presumably working in "intelligent" mode, downshifts to invoke engine braking. The effect of this is to cause the car's occupants to lunge forward. Even worse the box forgets to change back up a gear once on level ground. The box tends to "hunt" quite a bit too when travelling over constantly varying gradients - it's almost as though it has too many gears to choose from! Switching to "manual" mode provides smoother and punchier progress. Although the 3-speed-plus-overdrive set-up of yesteryear was a tad heavier on petrol, it performed perfectly in comparison.

Note for owners of sat-nav systems: although the Mondeo retains the extremely useful heated windscreen, I can attest that it does NOT cause signal interference problems for dashboard-mounted GPS receivers.

My car has manifested two faults so far. The tailgate locking motor packed up on the fourth day of ownership. This is apparently such a common problem that my local dealer always keeps a healthy stock of them! More annoying, however, is a persistent cold-starting problem which the dealer has been unable to diagnose. I’ve not been left stranded yet, but...

To summarise, if you’re expecting executive refinement on the top-of-the-range machine, look elsewhere. However if you’re in the market for a cheap, reliable, versatile, smooth-riding, well-built, fully-loaded, practical, performance family ultrafreighter, the Mondeo has to be on your list!

Does it really matter that you can't read the 0.5oc difference on the climate control display?? I can read mine! See an optician.

UPDATE. The car has now covered almost 30,000 miles. The gearbox started to improve after 20,000 miles and is now almost perfect in operation. The cold-starting problem has disappeared entirely. Both problems have ameliorated "naturally" - ie not through dealer fixes.

Other than that, the car has remained utterly fault-free and relatively cheap to run. Am definitely going for the aesthetically-superior "facelift" version next time! (Very annoying that the sunroof is no longer standard even on the top-spec model, though!)

Thanks for the review, I'm mad on Mondeos too, I've owner too many to re-call, my most loved a 1998 2.0 Ghia X Estate, so the comparison is very useful.

I'm thinking about going for a car the same as yours, but a manual. So thumbs up for helping me make my mind up, I'm almost there now, just need to justify the fuel costs!

"I'm almost there now, just need to justify the fuel costs!"

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That's right!!

Fuel drink IS a MAJOR problem On Mondeo's... among others!

I am the poster of the original review. The car has now covered just over 40,000 miles...

A few faults have emerged since my last report...

The tailgate locking motor had to be changed early on in the car's life and, strangely, the replacement one failed in exactly the same way at around 35,000 miles.

About the same time a hairline crack was discovered in the catalytic converter - apparently the car would have failed its MOT had this been spotted by the examiner! My dealer surmised that the cat must have always had this problem and was caused either by faulty manufacture or had been damaged during original factory fitting.

The dashboard switch for the passenger heated seat started playing up a few weeks ago. Getting inside the switch body proved to be very difficult: they are clearly not designed to be readily disassembled. But I managed to get in and sort the problem. The internal design of the switch seems quite clever, but the mechanism is of a very "delicate" design and it's clear to see why it would be prone to drifting out of adjustment, so I'm surprised this doesn't seem to be a common problem.

Other than those niggles, I have experienced no other faults.

The original rear brake pads were replaced at a very reasonable 40,000 miles. Oddly, for a front-wheel drive car, the front ones still have a lot of life left in them, though will certainly need changing some time before 50,000 miles.

Meanwhile handling, performance and ride quality continue to be top notch.

UPDATE.

I somehow forgot to post an update at 50,000 miles - the car is now approaching 60k!

I'll get the negatives out of the way first and leave the best until last...

I originally reported that the timbre of "helpful" warning bleeps was annoying. Amusingly something has gone wrong in the bowels of the dashboard in that the tones are now distinctly raspberry-like! (I'm guessing a little loudspeaker somewhere has developed a fault).

Occasionally when I fill the tank, the gauge and trip computer continue to insist it is still empty. The needle on the gauge gradually starts to rise but I need to cover a good twenty miles before it reaches the correct position. I'm guessing that the float in the tank is getting stuck. This glitch will doubtless become more frequent but I can live with it for the time being. (Besides the accuracy of the gauge has always been poor - but I've never commented on it until now because this has been the case on every Ford I've ever owned!)

On starting from cold, the car exhibits two minor problems: the auto gearbox holds on to first a little too long and then causes the car to lurch forward when it does shift up. After that, though, the 'box behaves itself for the remainder of the journey. Will get the auto transmission fluid changed at the next service.

On pulling up at the first junction from a cold start, there is a mild clonk from the front of the car. I'm guessing a suspension bush needs changing somewhere. Again, though, this only ever happens once during a journey.

A small area of paint under the front passenger door window rubber has become a murky brown-red discolour. I suspect it's actually rust caused by water being trapped under the rubber. Tinworm has also started on one of the roof rails - quite bizarre considering they are completely covered in a plastic/rubber compound, which now exhibits telltale bubbling.

If all this seems rather nit-picking, well it's only because I can't find any other faults with this five-year-old car, which remains brilliant! The handling seems as sharp as ever but the ride comfort along the twisty and pot-holed roads close to home actually seems to have improved even further over the last ten thousand miles. Perhaps the tyres have reached some sort of optimum tread depth and/or condition?

Actually that reminds me that "consumables consumption" on this car has been amazingly low. Aside from the usual oil and filter changes, the only other replacements parts have been a set of tyres and brakes pads - not bad for a V6 monster!

The cabin remains completely devoid of squeaks and rattles. Despite regularly ferrying four adults, the leather seats and all other trim remain very fresh-looking.

I had originally intended to run this car for three years and then trade it in for a nearly-new Mk IV model (launched in 2007). But my car remains so reliable and great to drive, swapping it would be not only a pointless expense, it would seem an act of utter betrayal for the loyalty it has shown me!