1998 Ford Mondeo GLX review from UK and Ireland

Poor starting due to faulty glow plugs.

Remote central locking would not work. Renewing key fob rectified the problem.

Play in wish bone bushes (common fault) accompanied by knocking from suspension. Never replaced.

Gearbox self destructed, probably due to constant hard driving over the many miles.

Engine mount deteriorated. Accompanied by deep rumbling noise coming through bulkhead. Easily replaced if you have mechanical experience.

I was more than happy with the reliability of the Mondeo. After the glow plug problem was addressed, starting in any condition was easy and fuss free.

The car coped with motorways with little fuss and had plenty of get up and go at seventy miles per hour.

I was impressed with the low down torque of the engine. Would easily pull in third at ten miles per hour without judder.

The boot space was very useful and practical.

The engine bay had adequate space to carry out routine maintenance and servicing, unlike many other modern cars that have an over cluttered engine bay, thus making much needed components inaccessible.

The electric sunroof was useful on warm days.

Gear changes were smooth and easy.

Handling could have been better as it was easy to understeer.

Seats were reasonably comfortable, but did cause a bit of back ache on much longer journeys.

The biggest drawback with the car were interior rattles. Doors felt a bit flimsy when closed, and didn`t have the lovely door thud of my old '83 Volvo 340.

The interior layout was good and felt uncluttered, thus allowing one to activate much needed and essential controls when driving.

The various intermittent wiper speed settings, although could have been useful, only required the use of one setting.

Visibility was good.

Fuel economy around town with average driving was around forty miles per gallon. Very reasonable.

Despite the high mileage of the car, paint work seemed to hold well and only showed a few chips here and there. The engine didn`t smoke and never used much oil.