Mondeo Diesel

Crawlin · 22-01-2010, 01:05 PM

Hi folks

First time poster.

I'm looking at getting a mondeo and have come across this site during my research.

I am not sure which motor I should go with petrol or diesel.

I have read a few posts on here and have noticed people raving about their fuel consumption figures etc.

What to current mondeo owners suggest, should I go for the petrol or diesel?

Thanks
Crawlin

RicOz · 22-01-2010, 01:33 PM

Personal choice really. I have a petrol, its a bit thirsty but not as bad as a large car or SUV. Runs nice and smooth though. Not as much touque as diesel but enough power for my needs.

My observations with other Mondeos on the road are about 3 to 1 in favour of diesel funny enough.

love my 8 · 22-01-2010, 02:15 PM

Mate my last car was the TDCi Mondeo hatch, It was a good car with plenty of room for a family of four. I would get normal city driving on average
8-900km and out on the highway could make it 1300km's on good runs normally 1100kms without the light telling me it needed fuel. It had plenty of torque and would not have any trouble cruising along at 110km/hr.
My biggest concern and not sure if isolated case but the air con was not reliable and would struggle in summer to the point of pumping out air that felt as thou it was comming in from outside the car and not touching the air con unit, FORD looked at it several times and could not find a problem but they never drove it around to know.
If fuel economy is the biggest issue get the diesel but if you will be doing long hauls take it out on the highway and put your foot down on a hill with the air con on low and feel for air flow change in pressure and temp.
I liked the car but have gone back to the V8 Falcon

Crawlin · 22-01-2010, 02:34 PM

I will be taking both for a test drive - again! tomorrow. Will take note of how the A/C performs. The dealer is telling me the petrol is the popular choice.

wusyc · 22-01-2010, 02:40 PM

It is true that the petrol is more popular as the diesel engine is a $3000 option. A secondary reason is also due to availability of a diesel Mondeo with the spec and colour you want.

I have a diesel Titanium and love it. Due to me only doing short trips most of the time, I have to take it out for a run at 80-100km/h for at least 30 minutes every now and then to allow the burnt off process to complete within the diesel particle filter (DPF).

mpsol · 22-01-2010, 03:03 PM

Get an XR5...More $$...More fuel...More Fun !!!

wusyc · 22-01-2010, 03:16 PM

Actually, the Titanium diesel is the most expensive model in the current Mondeo line-up.

RicOz · 22-01-2010, 04:13 PM

My observations are not scientific but I swear 2 out of every 3 Mondeo's I see are Diesel. I wouldn't believe the sales person trying to claim petrol is more popular, but I may be wrong.

On the otherhand there is nothing wrong with either type. Mondeo's as a whole are a great car.

Dusty1 · 22-01-2010, 04:56 PM

Diesel since Jan 2008, averaging about 8l/100 kms across nearly 40K.
That's with the A/C on all the time, sunroof on tilt, and normally 2 adults, child, pram and usually bag.
It is a $3K difference over the petrol, but I think it's worth it. The waiting time might speed up your choice though, as I understand the diesels are hard to find.
If there is a Titanium diesel wagon coming, I'll be getting one of them.

obione980 · 22-01-2010, 06:57 PM

Depends whether you're a 'boy-racer', thrifty family man, or indeed a green environmentalist. And the $3K difference needs to be factored in - to both initial cost and running costs.

Rapscallion · 22-01-2010, 07:17 PM

Mine's petrol. I average around 8.5 litres per 100ks but do a lot of freeway driving. When I bought mine, July 2008, diesel fuel was much dearer than petrol and this, combined with the additional $3k for a TDCi, made the petrol cheaper to run. I'm not a diesel fan - noise, dirty refueling - but can understand peoples attraction to the torque.

BTW my air con works fine. It seems that it was the earlier build dates that had problems.

If I go Mondeo again, which I probably will depending on how the Falcon shapes up post July 2010, I will go for an XR5.

Happy car hunting!

ivorya · 22-01-2010, 07:25 PM

I think your doing the right thing by test driving both the petrol and diesel. In the end YOU will know which one to buy and i'm sure you enjoy every bit of it.

XtRmn8 · 22-01-2010, 07:30 PM

We got a an 07 Zetec sedan patrol. Great car and great on fuel for its size. Average under 9L/100km.

However all that said the AC in these cars is rubbish. For example, last Sunday we got to about 42 deg here in Perth. The car was outside in the heat for about 3 hours so it pretty hot. Had the AC on full ball and recycling the air and it took a good 30min to cool the cabin down.

obione980 · 22-01-2010, 09:27 PM

I love the remote 'hold down' feature. Hold it down as you approach the car - all windows open, and the heat dissapation starts. Put your stuff in the boot and it's already almost bearable.

We live in Brisbane - never as hot as Perth (but humid!).

AlanD · 23-01-2010, 07:55 AM

I'm betting the sales person has the petrol version in the yard and no stock on the diesel - so this is why the petrol is more popular

according to the sales person.

We didn't bother driving any of the petrol versions as we wanted the diesel and ended up with a new MA TDCi sedan - and very happy we are as well - but don't get me started on the dealers service facility.

Worst economy has been in the high 7s around town and best was mid 5s coming home from Warrnambool (through Melbourne on the M1 at 4:00 pm) across 5,000 km so far. Warranty issues have been restricted to the A/C unit and dash readouts that have mostly been due to service hamfistedness

:

The torque is amazing and although it is not frighteningly fast off the line, in the mid range speeds (overtaking) it is as good, or better, than other car we have owned. Remember it is geared for European AutoBahn type travel. Although you can't easily test this in Oz I'm sure it would hold 140 kph (or better) all day without a whimper.

So if you are looking for a largish (It has more leg room than our old AU Falcon and enormous boot space) four/five seat vehicle, excellent build quality and good economy, then I'd advise that a diesel Mondeo would be an excellent choice.

Happy car hunting,

Cheers

phoonfan · 23-01-2010, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty1

If there is a Titanium diesel wagon coming, I'll be getting one of them.

Mid year Dusty!!! With a few more tweaks as well!

TheColonel · 23-01-2010, 11:59 AM

The Mondeo will be getting a face lift mid year also, the factory has already started preparing for this with new moulds for the pressing etc...

csv8 · 23-01-2010, 12:07 PM

Wouldn't a Titanium diesel wagon be about $50k ? might be a tough sell. But a petrol Titanium would be more affordable. The XR5 wagon IF it ever comes here would also be in the $50k price range. Sportswagon SS v XR5 wagon, i'd like to see that !!!

Joe5619 · 23-01-2010, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoonfan

Mid year Dusty!!! With a few more tweaks as well!

You saying mid year for Titanium diesel wagon? Has that been comfirmed? I know they have said Diesel Wagon is coming, but I havn't see anywhere that the Titianium (petrol or Diesel) Wagin is also coming.

Dusty1 · 24-01-2010, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phoonfan

Mid year Dusty!!! With a few more tweaks as well!

This is what is great about this forum. Thanks Phoonfan for the info, I'm meeting a mate who works for Ford tomorrow, so I'm going to pump him for info, he's in the engineering area, so should be able to give me a heads up. When times up on the lease you'll be getting a call if the Titanium wagon is out.

Rapscallion, I understand your views, but I don't find the diesel, noising and the filling it up isn't dirty. There are a lot of women now driving diesels from large 4WDs to small cars, and this had led to a change for deisel drivers. Pump placement aren't tucked out the back any more, and the state of the pumps I go to aren't dirty. If you have to use the truck fillers they can be, but not where the petrol pumps are. Besides, I fill the car up and my partner doesn't have to worry about it.

Do any other diesel drivers find them noisy and the re-fuelling dirty?

AlanD · 24-01-2010, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dusty1

Do any other diesel drivers find them noisy and the re-fuelling dirty?

Not in this household.

Yes, if you are outside the car at idle (or inside with the driver's window open) you can tell it is a diesel, but as soon as the revs build and the car is moving, it is just like the territory, except it is quieter owing to less road noise.

Filling? no problem, most stations now have a low rate nozzel among the other pumps and this works just like a petrol pump

and with the mondeo you don't even have to open a fuel cap to then, maybe lose the darned thing (but I believe the current models have returned to a filler cap owing to user feedback in the EU)

And with a diesel, you get to fill up less often

:

Dusty: I'm still working on the XL economy file, but it takes a little while to input 300 formulae - there must be a way to repeat a formulae set with indexing, but I ain't found it yet!!
Cheers

4Vman · 24-01-2010, 08:58 PM

Im interested to know what type of economy people are getting from diesel mondeo's from city driving?

FPV8U · 24-01-2010, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by csv8

The XR5 wagon IF it ever comes here would also be in the $50k price range.

XR5T Wagon with a DSG style Auto would be a nice Daily for the Mrs

:

Crawlin · 24-01-2010, 10:09 PM

WoW!! great to see so many people pleased about their mondeo's. It makes me feel much better about my choice to look at one even though I am not seeing too many on the road. I took a both a petrol and a diesel for a test drive. I'm leaning towards the diesel.

Superoo · 24-01-2010, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Im interested to know what type of economy people are getting from diesel mondeo's from city driving?

My wife mainly drives the Mondeo and it's basically all city driving with a number of short trips. I've never seen usage go much beyond 10l/100km. In comparison, when we had a territory for a week and she used it in similar circumstances, the consumption was up around 18-19l/100km.

I get around 14.5l/100km in my XR6T. Using the Mondeo instead for the same trip lowers that to about 8l/100km.

I've had consumption as low as 5.2l/100km on a flat stretch of highway straight after a fill and trip computer reset - that was with 2 adults, 2 kids and a full boot.

I always think shopping for a car is a matter of compromise - one does things better than the other so you have to prioritise. We needed some decent space, a large easy access boot, best safety we could afford, economy but also a little grunt. The TDCi was the best fit I could find for the price at the time (even if it took me a little while to get used to the look of the dash). I've also just managed to fit 3 baby seats across the back (no.3 due in the next few weeks) so for us it has ticked all the boxes thus far.

Bakis · 24-01-2010, 10:46 PM

Girlfriends got a TDCI Hatchs 08 with full leather, in black. We just completed a 1900km journey from melb to Adelaide, to watch and follow the cycling and the car was faultless and never missed a beat. it averaged 6.2l/100 with 2 ppl and boot full of luggage, ok it was 70% hwy but them adeliade hills are fun to drive on and the rest was city driving, so was a great mix.

More then enough pulling power at 100 - 140 km/h and in the hills was really fun had it in sport mode... handled very well too.

As for the A/C it's not the car's fault or that the unit isn't working properly but apparently since the car is made in Europe there focus isn't the A/C as much as the heating... Meaning its built to suit there climate, ensure if its just the mondeo or might be the Focus too.

If these were manual i'd by one for a daily but the auto is a little sluggish and in a diesel its pretty noticeable in response, if you need to overtake suddlenly at 80km/h and floor it there isn't much go at 1800rpm and till u get kick down and moving feels like an year but that happens very rarely.

Personly i'd go diesel cause if u were to go petrol, there would be a massive point in doing it over a G6E for example its a bigger car, more power sameish price and only 1 - 2 l/100km.

NZ XR6 · 25-01-2010, 04:04 AM

My personal preference would be the diesel. Drives very nicely with the 6-speed auto, even though diesels are usually better with a manual. There's quite a few TDCI on the roads in NZ.

I understand that the facelift this year will include Ecoboost petrol engines and DSG type gearboxes. But I suspect that the base model will continue to use the current petrol power train to keep the price down..

RicOz · 25-01-2010, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawlin

WoW!! great to see so many people pleased about their mondeo's. It makes me feel much better about my choice to look at one even though I am not seeing too many on the road.

Mondeo has never been a high seller, but I don't mind this, I like having a more rare car on the road. I have a new MB wagon and only seen two others on the road so far.

I considered the Mazda6 as well. Nothing wrong with Mazda's but you see so many of them these days that you don't look twice at them.

**Silver Ghia** · 25-01-2010, 01:14 PM

Hi guys,

Those who have the newer Diesel hatches and wagons eg Titanium models, what is the airconditioning really like? One of the prerequisites for my replacement car is an aircon system comparable to the AU and BA Ghias. I would buy an FG wagon but Ford dont make those so am looking elsewhere.

I read about Mondeos with a/c systems that are not quite up to it, and suspect these are the older models. Also lack of gas on delivery and leaks. The Mondeos are supposed to be 'global' cars, therefore supposedly tested for all conditions.

Any feedback please from newer owners, especially after the hot days recently?

apstar · 25-01-2010, 02:05 PM

Torque is what it is all about between the two for me at least,hoping resale value will be better than petrol when its time to trade mines a 08 May built car and have to say the air-con is fantastic showing 42 deg on the readout had the temp set to 24 perfect oh color helps having a red or black car expect slower response from the air-con

apstar