2001 Ford Mondeo LX TDDi review from UK and Ireland

Rear exhaust box fractured, fell off.

Squeaking clutch when depressed.

This Mondeo had led a hard life prior to purchasing it, originally an area managers company car, than used as a taxi for a year. It was however very cheap, I literally had to race to pick it up to beat dealers also on the road to buy it, they were not at all happy!

The car now has 127000 miles, the interior shows no wear, apart from the steering wheel, everything still works.

Being the 2.0 TDDI diesel it is noisy when cold, but I'm more than pleased with the performance, it overtakes very quickly without changing down, eats up the miles on motorways at high speeds with ease. Economy was a main reason also for choosing this car and I've not been disappointed with its 45 MPG even though I tend to drive it fast. The boot is huge, interior space very generous and even my basic LX is well equipped. My only problems have been the back exhaust box fracturing (forgivable at 124000 miles) and the cluch squealed when depressed, I was told it needed a new slave cylinder so I had a new clutch fitted too, this all cost £370, some garages quoted up to £680 so it pays to shop around!

Ultimately I love my Mondeo and plan to replace it with another diesel engined one, hopefully a TDCI 130 when this one bites the dust.