1998 Ford Mondeo ST 24 from UK and Ireland - Comments

Absolutely nothing.

This car is in sound condition and I am remarkably pleased with the way it has remained well screwed together despite the hard ride and mileage covered.

The only thing I could possibly complain about is the annoying squeaks that come from the drivers seat on bumpy roads. I've heard from other ST24 drivers that this is quite a common problem.

I paid £5000 for this as an ex-company car with Full Service History - I was a little concerned about the mileage, but this was unfounded. This car is as good a new (well, maybe not quite!)

Very hard ride perhaps too hard for use as a family car.

Handling is good, but not as good as you would like when pushed to the limit. This is after all a souped up family hatch.

Equipment is excellent nothing left out, everything you would expect.

Engine sounds superb and delivers a gutsy, torquey and enjoyable experience.

No sign of some of the engine problems reported by others this one is on song throughout the rev range.

Remarkably light on the petrol considering the monstering it gets. Normally returns over 28mpg (honestly).

Tyre wear is very light - I took advice and keep pressures at 33psi all round - I've done 6000 reasonably hard miles with virtually unusual wear.

This loves to be driven hard, but I find it tedious to drive around town.

Annoying engine management issue where engine revs don't die off between gear changes means you need to change your driving style to suit this trait. Probably a trade off of having air con and using the same mapping as for the auto version.

I have a 97 ST24 and mine also has an annoying squeak coming from the area of the driver's seat. Can't complain though because those seats are very comfortable.

I also agree with your comment about driving around town. It can get very tedious when as soon as you get going you need to stop again because the car is faster than a quite large percentage of other cars. Its also quite hard to park sometimes due to the wide tyres and wider turning circle.

However, these are just small things. I love the car overall.

I Have a ford mondeo st24.It is a 1998 model, And yes the drivers seat squeaks, I have had this fixed on two occasions, but it keeps coming back.

Fuel economy 26/29 around town. A solid car with many extras.

I have had this car for 6.5 years, and it is registered as a taxi (this is my job)

If anyone is thinking of getting one, then do you will not be disappointed.

168bhp from a 3.0 v6 is pathetic.

It's a 2.5v6, not a 3.0.

How many v6's return 30+ mpg?

Completely agree with these comments.

Owned a V6 Ghia X, wanted the Cruise control and softer springs because I wanted motorway cruiser, and it was excellent transport for a year. Crossed to the Alpes twice, covered 37k, drove well, went quick, (Very when the occasion wanted, Alpe D'Huez to calais 6.5 hours) and was replaced by an Audi S6. Faster, bigger, less toys, stiffer, less well balanced, now replaced with another Mondeo, ST TDCI.

I will never underestimate a diesel again. The V6 was substantially quicker of the line, but from 70 upwards, there really would be nothing in it. I found the V6 quite economical, but ST TDCI is a whole different level. Combine that with ST220 handling, and it's a belter.

However back to the point. The V6 is definatly a way of getting very cheap, fast executive motoring. And its not a bad steer.

People can sneer slightly at mondeos if they want, but honestly both mine have been slightly better all rounders than an Audi S6, and I think that says it all.

I absolutely agree, the people that sneer at Mondeos, have usually never owned one. They are so numerous and common for good reason, they work, and they work well!

Top of the line Mondeos ie, Ghia X or the sportier ST24 are not just a plain old Mondeo, they are superb driving machines, easy to drive and very well thought out. Look at the Reviews for Vectras and Meganes on this site - See how many dissatisfied owners have put comments forwards - negative ones. The Vectra, which is also sneered upon, is Rubbish and deserves to be put down, The Megane - 2003 on, is Ugly, unreliable and very heavily slated by owners who have bought them. The Mondeo on the other hand, has so few bad reviews in comparison, and it has had a huge number of good reviews, so it must be doing something right.

As regards so many negative comments about costs for dealer service, whether it be Ford, Vauxhall, Renault or anyone else, you must remember that for any one major Town or City, there will only be one dealer, and if the dealers offered cheap servicing, they would just not be able to cope with the huge demand from customers wanting oil changes, brake pads, cambelt changes etc etc, so they have to be expensive to reduce the demand to acceptable levels, ie, people will then go to Kwik Fit for brakes and small garages for cambelts and head gaskets and the like. The dealers are there really to support the warranty work for newer vehicles which cannot be done anywhere else, so they don't really want John Smith in his 10 year old Fiesta wanting a new exhaust tying up their mechanics who are then not available to do warranty work for Joe Brown in his 4 month old Mondeo who needs a faulty engine sorting under warranty. This is why the dealers are so expensive, in order to spread demand for less important jobs amongst other companies and smaller independent garages. It's a matter of Economics - Supply and demand.

Yes, the lower models in the range are a bit plasticy and they do have a few niggles such as Wishbones and Tyres wearing quickly, but so do other cars.

The Mondeo is a repmobile, why? because it does what is required and does it well, that's why so many companies love them for their fleets, and parts are readily available without having to wait weeks for them to arrive - I get everything I need for mine next day from Ford, not mega cheap I must admit, but they get the parts quick. When I had a Peugeot 406, the service was a lot slower and most parts could not be obtained next day.

The Mondeo, just like the Sierra and the Cortina before that is very common, as is the Vauxhall Vectra, But the Vectra is not a patch on the Cavalier before it for reliability. The Mondeo excels the Sierra, so Ford got it right where Vauxhall got it wrong.

Its not a BMW and does not sell for BMW money, but if you drive a higher spec Mondeo, You will change you mind that they are dull and boring, they are just as good as the BMW but for a lot less money.

In terms of value, used, you just can't beat the Mondeo.

Get it serviced every 10,000K at a small garage that can be trusted and don't use Ford Dealers (as they are very dear for labour costs), and you will be laughing.

I don't work for a dealers by the way, but find it a bit unfair on the dealers by other reviewers on this site constantly dragging them down for bad and expensive service, when there are so many other good garages that can do the jobs just as well, but people just think that they must take their Ford car to a Ford Dealer, or their Renault to a Renault dealer.

I use a small garage with one mechanic, who has done everything for me, for very cheap, If you check out the "Good Garage Scheme" on the net, it lists trustworthy garages in your area. The garage I use is a member of this scheme and he has never done a bad job yet. I really recommend this scheme - leave the Main Dealers to do the new cars, and try your local garage, you may be surprised!