1997 Ford Mondeo LX TD review from UK and Ireland

O/S/R door failed to lock with the central locking, quick and cheap DIY repair.

Couple of little bodywork problems such as paint peeling on rear bumper, but I bought this car as a cheap daily hack so nothing major... covered with a touch up pen and it is fine.

I bought this car to use as my daily runabout as I was getting depressed at the increasing running costs of my 2 litre Honda Accord. I wanted something fairly cheap to run, preferably diesel.

Having owned a few Fords in the past and being a fan of them, I went to have a look at a few Escorts and Mondeos with the 1.8 Turbo Diesel engine and eventually settled on this £500 R reg example from a local garage, which was a part exchange bargain they were trying to shift on.

The car itself drives great, with good, composed handling and it is extremely comfortable on long journeys. With regards to fuel consumption, it will do about 500 miles to a tank at a cost of £50 per tank, which works out at 10p per mile, which in my opinion is good going.

However, for the price of economy, you do pay with regards to performance. This car is very sluggish, especially in lower gears around town. 1st gear pull aways are very slow and some corners in 2nd gear are very slow as well. Once in 3rd gear however and accelerating on the open road, the turbo kicks in and its not that bad, although it does feel a little held back. Lots of gear work is needed.

For what I use the car for however, it is absolutely perfect. It is economical and comfortable and has been extremely reliable in the time that I have had it (touch wood!). If you intend to buy one of these however, make sure that you get the cambelt changed ASAP, as these are prone to failure on these engines.