Long-term update: Vivek's 2008 Ford Mondeo

Long-term update: Vivek’s 2008 Ford Mondeo


So it’s been just over a month and over 3700 km with the Mondeo -– time flew by and so did the odo readings in the Mondeo, accounted for by just one long drive through Kalba, Khorfakkan, Dibba, Masafi and Dhaid last weekend, and a vast majority of the rest accounted for by my routine commute between my home in Sharjah and my office opposite Dubai Media City.

After a month with the car, I had finally decided to take it for a long drive through the Western region –- and so I set out with my pregnant wife in the front passenger seat and my buddy who was as tall as 6-foot-3, in the back seat. They say pregnant ladies are sensitive to long road travels due to which doctors do not recommend it; however, all throughout the 385-kilometre journey, not even once did my wife complain about any sort of uneasiness. Not just this long drive, but she has never ever had a problem travelling in the Mondeo regardless of how long the travel is. And probably this is the only car in which she does not have a problem since she has complained of uneasiness even while making short travels in several vehicles, including the Mazda 6, Toyota Prado, Nissan Tiida and Toyota Yaris. My 6-plus-footer buddy was more than happy in the rear seat all throughout the journey and even praised the Mondeo for the high levels of comfort it offered. The cabin was silent even at speeds as high as 160 kph with only a slight hush of wind to be heard, although it was not intrusive enough to even take our attention.

Negotiating the mountain roads was a walk in the park and I was actually taking the corners at higher-than-usual speeds. The car cornered flatter than the Altima and Accord while it offered much more comfort than either. And if not for my passengers, I could have actually beat my own “record” times with an Audi A6 on the same roads by a significant margin. The trip computer recorded a mileage of 9.2 l/100 km, and considering that a good part of the drive was through winding mountain roads while the highway drives were done at mostly over 140 kph, the figures are pretty good.

Every car I have driven till date has had some positive and some negative points. Nothing’s perfect as they say and so I believed. Those with more positive points has always impressed me despite their minor negativities –- such cars include the Honda Accord, Toyota Yaris and Nissan Tiida. The previous generation Mondeo was one of my favorite cars too, solely because it was supremely comfortable while offering outstanding handling. However, an underpowered engine, average fuel economy and noisy interiors were some of its major shortcomings which made me rate it below cars like the Accord and Altima. But the new Mondeo has changed the game altogether and has already won my heart. I am seriously not able to find a car better than this. One fact that I have come to realise is that the Mondeo is truly a driver’s car, not only when it responds precisely to your inputs while not letting you down even once regardless of the situation, but also due to that bond it creates right from the very first driving experience one has with it. It’s a feeling no other car in its segment can ever give. Be it a sharp corner, a dead straight highway or an unpaved stretch of road, the car responds to every situation in a way which puts a smile on your face while communicating to you about every bit of the path it traverses. Reliability is the only factor to be looked upon -– if that too goes right, then I would declare this as one of the finest cars Ford has ever made. Lets see.

Original Mileage When Bought: 22,132 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 25,833 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 9.8 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: 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

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Comments

  1. Looks like there is something special about a mondeo.
    Well, the interior looks much better in this photo than the old ones you posted. Is it lacking rear A/C vents? Will the summer heat affect the rear passengers?

    • I took the photos. I tried to clear out as much of Viv’s “second house” as I could but I missed the tissues and the bear. I checked my stash of pics and there doesn’t seem to be rear vents in the centre-console.

    • Mashallah you have some right sense to get some pics.
      I feel the rear A/C vents are the only thing Ford should bring up next. My bro or sis doesn’t get happy even with that.

    • the rear a/c vents are standard across all variants for the 2010 Mondeo and onwards…it wasn’t there for the basic ’08 and ’09 models and only the mid and higher trims were getting it then :)…

  2. You went 160kph and did cornering tests with your pregnant wife…sorry dude..its not a Volvo..and its not a thing that you want to highlight in a review.

    • you dint get my point..I obviously wasn’t doing any cornering and speeding tests with my pregnant wife 🙂 – the line where i talk about the Audi seconds that!…i was just highlightin the fact that despite me goin at higher than usual speeds over the corners, we still never felt as if we were taking those at high or even moderate speeds; it was well composed, settled, smooth and flat – unlike other cars in it’s segment which would have exhibited some roll and even some tyre squeals..and 160 was on dead straight highways; funnily enough, all of us still felt we were going slow!…i was just appreciating the piece of engineering for the kind of levels of comfort and handling it exhibits, rivalling even some of the well-known premium marques while being several grands cheaper!

  3. and yea..it ain’t a Volvo..its a Ford! :P…

  4. yea ur right…accepted :D…but those lines were misleading in a review..hehe

  5. i accept mondeo is an excellent value for money car..but my personal view is that it aint as good as the focus..and obv, you don’t want a go-kart effect on 4 door saloon..yea??

  6. i just curiously want to know why did your wife didn’t find the prado more comfortable than the mondeo????

    • not only her…even me myself and my Prado-crazy friend had realized it…initially i thot tat was just the case with my in-law’s 2.7 Prado…however, it was the same with a friend’s 4.0L Prado…compared to the car, it was firmer – probably to make it more off-roadable coz otherwise it’ll be like the Explorer which kinda bounces a lot in the dunes due to soft suspension setup for max on-road comfort!

    • That’s nice. So, now I got a new car in my recommedation list.

  7. could not get the purpose of this update…sorry dude misleading 🙁 too long sentences and most of information is already in old updates

    • if you had read the previous updates “right”, then “a part” of this update is just an elaboration of a couple of sentences in one of the previous updates :)…

  8. @ vivek mazda was much better!

    • have you driven both the Maz 6 and the new Mondeo? 🙂

    • when it comes to looks, i lean towards the Mazda 6 coz I choose funkiness over elegance.Maz 6 has optional HID Lamps..the M6 Ultra has space and an optional V6 monster too; both Japanese 6 and Ultra has nothing more in it’s favor other than these over the Mondeo!

  9. Dude- you accept or not – Mondeo is for /mid aged/ old guys.soo boring design.mazda6 is for youth & fun to drive..both have their + & – but a car represent the personality. many psychologist have proved it.

  10. Ford used to own volvo so they might have borrowed some tech for the mondeo.

    I would wait and see the performace as it ages.

    Ford had an interesting marketing campaign in the US. They would call up customers who had made a new purchase and ask him what his neighbour/friends thought of his car.

    Their logic was any customer who buys a new car undergoes a phase wherein he justifies to himself on the purchase and eventually winds up praising it saying my neighbours love it.If the same question were put on how the he felt of the car he would have some critisims and complaints.

    Not implying anything on Vivek’s purchase it is just that most new buyers have a fascination in excess for their new car clouding their judgement, eventually it wears out though and that is when they look at it more objectively..

    • I definitely wouldn’t say this is the ultimate machine. BMW would sue me if i do :D..as you said, performance n reliability over time are the only aspects that need to be looked upon, its good otherwise for the money you pay..Hope all goes good – and I shall update you guys with every minor and major niggles that may pop up, if any!

    • BMW is not the ultimate machine. They are very good to drive.. well most of them, mayb the best but as far as the rest of the stuff goes, they really dont provide value.The interior is just disgusting for that price, and frankly the feaures and comfort is also nothing to praise.Reliability of Beemers and Mercs has been pathetic in recent times. They are great drivers cars, but not worth the price. Except for people who just want to show the badge. They are not the ones looking for real driving fun anyways. For the money you can always get a good sports car. Audi offer the best complete package today, if u want a badge. Just my opinion.

    • After trying out an Audi A6 2.0T and BMW 530i, I found that Audi’s interior fit and finish is significantly better than BMW..comfort-wise too, i found Audi on the better side – probably due to better interior space and comfortable seats..but again, they too face reliability issues..I am not too sure, but I guess its the overuse of electronics thats killing it – add to it poor dealer support…

    • and yea..the 2.0T is a front wheel drive and for a FWD, the price tag is sort of high..

    • ^You forgot to mention that the cars you drove were rentals, maintained by the lowest-bidder garage and abused by people…like you! :p Quality varies among rentals, but the brand new Audis I drove back in the day (2006 A3 and A4) were nothing more than economy cars with high price tags. Only the A4 was updated recently, while the A3 is still the same.
      ^^And saying Audi is “reliable” would contradict with what long-time fanboys themselves are reporting on owner forums.

    • Before criticize German technology & reliability, somebody should be aware on what basis they are criticizing. BTW – “The grapes are sour……..”

    • @Mash: it wasn’t abusing..it was test driving yo…hehehe :D..but the interior quality was good though..come on, if they never gave atleast that then I would have personally blown up the Audi showroom for pricing a fwd over 170k! 😛 :P…reliability issues are on the large – from what owners and even the rental agencies say.

    • @Fazl: we are not interested in grapes anyway!! 😀 😀

    • @Vivek: you are right..we are aam janta (mango people 😀

    • Never said Audi’s are extremely reliable. They are just the best overall package in german cars as of now. When you look at looks,luxury,interior design and quality and performance. And I believe the A4 costing 170K is quattro not FWD. The FWD costs 140K. Which is much better value than the stupid base model 3 series starting at 150K or so. Other than the driving dynamics, what to you really get for that money, there’s not even enuff power in the 320, opting for anything above you will see an exponential increase in prices.I love german cars, but they dont make practical sense, frankly with what options we have nowadays, Unless you go for the expensive stuff like the S class etc, german cars are not a sensible choice. But they are still a dream come true !! 😉

    • ^^^i was talkin about A6..tats the (only) Audi I have driven..

  11. Good Job Vivek, Projecting Mondeo as super comfy. I almost bought it 🙂 not the car, ur words dude.

    Anyways I am on ur side, aye !!

    • In theory, this basic Mondeo would be more comfortable than the higher-end “Titanium” model simply because this one has smaller wheels and thicker tyres.

    • I can confirm to that…I’ve got the Titanium. If Mashfique approves, I’ll be adding my one year worth of experience with this car soon… ^_^

  12. Well Vivek…
    Your 6ft3″ friend would like to say that it was “SUPER DUPER COMFY” behind there & I could just easily laze down & relax throughout the drive giving me a chance to fiddle around with your DSLR… 😀

  13. Thanks for the post man.

    However, my friend owns a basic black mondeo 08 model, and the car broke down twice on him!!
    although he cares a lot about his car.

    First time the dealer said there was a problem with the fuel tank and claimed the problem has been fixed.

    the second time they replaced the fuel tank completely!

    I mostly go with him to the university and I took the car for some rides.

    Pros: It’s heavy built, silent in long runs.

    Cons: steering is heavy compared to the Japanese steering, A/C doesn’t cool like Japanese cars. (You will know what I mean in the Summer! Good luck!)

    In terms of design, it’s not my taste.

    I just wanted to add this info for the people out there!

    Thanks.

    • not sure about the a/c in this one though it has been doing good in current pleasant conditions – and as you said, the real test on a/c can be done only during summers..the old Mondeo I had was suffering from an average A/c which takes as long as 6-8 minutes to cool down the interiors;..however, my Japanese Mazda 6 had a strong A/c – even with leather interiors it would hardly take about 2-3 minutes to cool down the cabin..let me see how this Mondeo fares..thank u 🙂

  14. Helloo guys,

    As Vivek had suggested the Mondeo. I have recently bought the Titanium Version of Mondeo 2010.

    It is simply superb, done almost 1K driving around. It feels so silent inside. Very Very Happy.

    Extremely satisfied, although I must say still navigating my way through options.

    Regards,

    Ravi

  15. It is sad that Skoda does not have a good representation in this region. Its become one of the most sought after brand on the affordable side of normal germans. If skoda had their proper lineup here, competetively priced, It would kick A!@ of all the others, including the Japs. they have a new dealership in AUH, but the prices are still premiumed and engine options are sad. Mayb VW doesnt want to lose sales here 😉

  16. Hi ther…

    Firstly congrats on ur car…

    Wats ur 6’3 foot frend doin @ the back seat? hehe
    okay, Jokes apart!

    Anyways, nyc to see the review.
    Now my simple question to u 😛
    Looking for an honest answer.
    Wats ws the top speed u were able to achieve with the Mondeo? 😉

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