2002 Ford Mondeo Ghia TDCi review from UK and Ireland

Injector no. 2 replaced at 68000 miles at a cost of £387.

Injector no. 1 replaced at 70500 miles at a cost of £354.

Handbrake cable replaced at 71000 miles at a cost of £49.

Button in binnacle for resetting trip computer very 'iffy' - needs to be pushed 'just right' for it to work.

When the car is working it's awesome, the power delivery from the TDCi engine is fantastic, making for easy motorway entry and overtaking on all roads.

It's also quiet and refined so you can talk to your passengers at speed without too much intrusive road or tyre noise, although wind noise around the rear windows at 70mph or above is a bit high.

Round the twisty bits the car handles well, although mine didn't seem too keen on wet roundabouts! Perhaps I was a little overconfident as I was having too much fun! I would have to say that my previous car (2004 Vectra 1.8 Club) did handle better though - it just felt tighter somehow.

The seats are very comfortable and supportive, the cabin quality is good and the 6 CD changer gives excellent sound quality.

Mine blew 2 injectors in 8 weeks. These are extremely expensive parts and only Ford have the necessary software to calibrate them, a license to print money if ever I saw one!

When taken to Ford, the answer was 'it's just failed, it's one of those things'. Where would garages be without 'one of those things'? A catch-all statement to cover anything they can't or won't explain! Try as I might I couldn't get them to give me a reason for the failure.

I'd definitely recommend the driving experience, but I'd never ever buy another Ford diesel without a manufacturer warranty - the risk of injector failure is a gamble too far for me!