2002 Ford Mondeo Zetec TDCI from UK and Ireland - Comments

Tyres, various engine failures from perished hoses, brakes and poor build quality issues. Heavily corroded alloy wheels after just two years.

The car is a typical Ford. How many times do you read "Ford's best car yet" or "Incredible improvement over previous models". It's a Ford Mondeo which is by far less reliable than it's German and Japanese rivals.

The diesel engine performs well however gives little economical advantage over it's petrol equivalent (36-40mpg). Interior looks awkward and boy racer-ish. Exterior is bland and looks nothing more than the rep-mobile it is.

The car suffers from constant niggles however the dealer often puts them right free of charge. The gearbox feels fragile and I don't have much faith in its long term reliability.

Talk to anyone about your concerns and they just want to blow sunshine off its behind. The UK is still Ford crazy, not sure how or why with this very, very average car!

Can't agree with any of this.

Acquired mine as a company car in June 2003. Put 96,000 miles on it in three years during which time it needed nothing apart from routine servicing, tyres and a couple of bulbs. Bought it off the lease company for a very good price and decided to opt out of the scheme. Still using it. Now on 102,000 miles and still running fine.

Why did you buy it if it was so "average"?

I bought the car through lack of availability of alternatives. It was around at the right price and age at the time of buying. The reviews made it out to be a milestone of engineering. Guess what it isn't. It's and average 4 door saloon, nothing more, nothing less.

Strange you cite lack of availability of alternatives in what remains one of the biggest selling classes of car on the roads. Forecourts are awash with Vectras, Passats, Accords and all manner of alternatives.

Obviously I can't speak of any ownership experience beyond my own, but as a drivers car, the Mondeo knocked spots off anything else you could buy at the time, and arguably a few you can still buy now. Drive a B5 Passat or Vectra alongside a Mondeo and in dynamic terms they feel 10 years older.

I guess that's what's meant by engineering.

Well the wife has a Mazda 626 and it is by far more comfortable and more reliable than the Mondeo. Better still it cost almost half the price used. It has been cheaper to own and needs servicing every 18000 miles. It is a petrol, but returns almost as good MPG as the Ford.

Get a grip there is life beyond Dagenham. Read the other reviews, just because you have had luck doesn't mean a Mondeo can't be a lemon.

I am fully aware "there is life beyond Dagenham", thank you. The Mondeo actually has nothing to do with Dagenham, but the ignorance you display in so many other aspects of your "review" disinclines me to pursue this actually perfectly valid point. Yes, I like the Mondeo. It's the best "cheap" car money can buy in my humble opinion. Of course it's cheap and tacky next to an Audi or Merc, and has no image whatsoever, but these are blatantly obvious when you first see the thing. Again, buy something else if it bothers you. At the end of the day, what do you want for a couple of grand - a car that drives well and is practical and you won't find much better for those criteria.

The fact is you have posted a "review" on this site basically stating that you have bought a car that you dislike because of "lack of available alternatives". Do you know how ridiculous that statement is? This is the biggest fleet sector in the market and the most healthily represented in the sales charts. It has the biggest choice of used cars at all price ranges.

Then you repeatedly whine about how "average" it is, but give no concrete argument for why this is so, apart from what you claim to be a less than perfect reliability record. I can't comment on that, as I acknowledged before. You then completely ignore all the car's "real" strengths and weaknesses (yes, of course it has them, it's a cheap car at the end of the day), instead just repeating it's an average tin box. Every comment you make smacks of nothing more than personal dislike of the car which is irrelevant to any potential buyer looking to make a decision.

The only legitimate complaints in your review relate to reliability. Everything else you claim that makes this car so "average" and not worth anyone's attention should have been picked up on a test drive if they bothered you that badly. You could have then chosen one of the hundreds of thousands of similarly sized cars that are not Ford Mondeos which are for sale at any time in car dealers across the country. It's not that hard. Do a search on Autotrader for Honda Accords, Mazda 626's, Vauxhall Vectras, VW Passats, Audi A4's, Mercedes C class and go and look at some of the 100+ that come back in your price range. It takes minutes.

Criticising a car because it's been dog unreliable, or it has real problems is one thing, but you say nothing in your review to back up your claim that it is "average". If you are seriously suggesting a Mazda 626 is a patch on it in any respect apart from reliability or build quality, then frankly I know I am wasting my time here. It's whatever makes you happy at the end of the day.

I find the review most entertaining to read especially since the comment on the Mondeo not being as good as the Mazda (have you bothered to do your home work, Mazda is owned by ford which means they're one the same car. OMG these folk have no idea what they're talking about on this site!!!

Actually, the Mondeo and Mazda 6 are not the same car. They will share some components, but their chassis are different.

It's the Focus and the Mazda 3 that share the same chassis.

The review mentioned a Mazda 626, not a Mazda 6. The 626 is a much older design which has no relationship whatsoever to the Mondeo.

The 6 shares a floorpan, engines and suspension with the current (mk3) Mondeo, but is a completely different car to the 626.

Handbags - Gentlemen please!

Dear Sirs.

I have a Ford Mondeo TDCI and I am full satisfied for it. It is an excellent car and great stability. I am based in Romania and for it is very resistant in any conditions. Anyone who thinks that it is not suitable I suggest thinking twice before say something.

Sure, the tastes are different from person to person and each person has the right to have his own opinion.

Myself I like my car!

Best Regards.

Reliability wise you will fare badly with the mondeo compared to more expensive rivals. A ford is a ford, you have to expect a lot of problems. We have had 3 mondeo patrol cars and have found them all to be excellent in terms of handling and speed. However the lack of flexibility has let us down a few times. We have replaced track rods, gearboxes, clutches, steering racks, and tyres (far too often) in all of them. We have AC idling issues and bad starter trouble. A neighbouring district has 2 Toyota Camry patrol cars, the 3.0 V6, they're twice as fast and haven't given much cause for trouble. As you can imagine, we've ditched the mondeos and applied for Toyota as the new supplier.

Son't get me wrong, Mondeos are great cars, but they're so fragile! Some people drive them easier, and get better distance our of them, but we have had 3, each for about 180,000 miles and they've been obscenely expensive to keep, and downright dangerous at times. The shoddy build quality is insane.

Gents

I have had my 2002 mondeo 2.0TDCI for 18 mths and just to report it has done 35000 with no service (short of money). I drive it quite hard and it is often fully laden or towing someone or something. It stills accelerates very well all the way through the range and handles quite well too whilst returning 450-500miles out of a tank. Work done consists of replaced front left suspension spring after driving over a hammer, A HAMMER, on a country road and rear brakes sticking on. I have had 2 vectras (P & T reg), a laguna (51), BMW 318 (X) and BMW 330 (X) and I must say for the cost I LOVE IT. Thanks for your time.

What is with the attacks on the reviewer? His review seems fair enough he had a car with problems. He stated he didn't like the car, big deal.

What a shame people feel the need to attack somebody because they don't share the same opinion of a car.

How sad on a usually very helpful car survey site.

As for the reply about Ford owning Mazda. The only part of a Mazda 626 which is supplied by Ford is the automatic gearbox. The most failed part on a US 626 is an automatic box. Says alot doesn't it.

Looks like the Ford owners club patrols this site.

I personally agree with some of what the reviewer says. My father has a TDCi and it certainly isn't anything special. But the way I have heard people banging on about them you would have thought the car had been re-invented.

It's a diesel saloon car, nothing to get excited about in my opinion. If the reviewer or others are looking for thrills they need to think again about their choice of vehicle.

'What is with the attacks on the reviewer? His review seems fair enough he had a car with problems. He stated he didn't like the car, big deal.'

He doesn't like the looks of the car... so why did he buy it in the first place?

Reliability, build quality & economy are things you find out about during ownership. But looks, performance & things like the feel of gearbox, are things you should really find out about on a test drive, BEFORE YOU BUY IT.