Long-term update: 2008 Ford Mondeo

So it’s been over two months and about 7500 km with the car. The experience has been a very good one indeed, so far. The car provides a smooth commute as always and has been functioning very well. There hasn’t been any niggles except for some slight squeaks from the gearbox area as mentioned in the previous updates, which has now been fixed.

Clocking a little short of 30,000 kilometres the beauty had its fourth service completely covered by Al Tayer as per the service & maintenance contract. Yes, you read that right; it was the fourth service since the car already had its third service done somewhere in mid twenty-something kilometres taking into consideration the time factor for service interval – the interval is either every 10,000 km or every 6 months. The service contract and the warranty info weren’t uploaded onto their systems initially; a friendly talk with the sales guy was all it took – thanks to my instincts for that stamped paper which I took from the same sales guy showing that my car has an extended service plan and warranty. Same crap has occurred before with me when I had purchased my old Mondeo brand new from their Garhoud Branch along with extended warranty. So to those who opt for Al Tayer’s extended service plans and warranty, beware! A misaligned bonnet and a torn seat which came with the car when I bought it has been completely taken care of as promised by the sales guy though it took them over a week’s time. I had mentioned about the squeaks to the dealer and that appears to have been taken care of too. Contrary to what I have been hearing from the public regarding Al Tayer’s professionalism, I generally had a good experience with them. They kept their word and did their job to perfection.

Back to the car, something that I discovered recently was an auto sport mode which is activated by pushing the gear lever to ‘S’.The Sport mode generally results in higher revs, delayed downshifts, slightly quicker upshifts and obviously lesser fuel efficiency, all contributing towards a sportier driving experience; all that combined with some good low-end kick makes it even more fun to drive. Only by pushing the gear lever from ‘S’ towards the +/– the manual mode gets activated, which is when you may control the gear shifts as you like and even red line it should you wish to chase someone or get chased. Manual shifts are nearly instant with only a slight hint of delay.

There is an information display housed between the speedo and tacho which shows the time, audio information and trip computer information. Besides, it also displays information and a few warnings in text format instead of visual signs; warnings are distinguished from general information by a bright “i” icon that lights up between the fuel and engine temperature gauges.

This is indeed “one of the best” midsize sedans around; the most underrated one too. However, not everything’s perfect – like the temperature gauge which shows ludicrous readings whenever the Mondeo manages to get stuck in standstill traffic, especially during the afternoons. There was an instance during a warm afternoon when I was stuck in a traffic jam in one of the interior roads of Barsha caused by some roadwork in progress; while the temperature outside was a pleasant 32 degrees, the gauge in the Mondeo soared to readings as high as 40 degrees! However, this changed once the car started to move, which is when the gauge settled down with fairly accurate numbers. I remember my old-generation Mondeo having the same problem while the gauges in the Japanese Mazda 6, Korean Chevrolet Cruze LT and the Australian Toyota Camry do not seem to suffer from this issue.

The A/C seems to be fine with the increasing warmth and does not take much time to cool – the real test for it is only yet to come though. More to come as time goes.

Original Mileage When Bought: 22,132 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 31,762 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 0

Read all 2008 Ford Mondeo long-term updates