New car advice...

catbus

catbus

Well-known user
Jul 1, 2008
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741
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So my wife has decided to part ways with her Beetle.

We went out today to view some Honda Civic 1.8 petrol (8th gen) and Ford Focus petrol (2008 on..)
Until a Mondeo MK4 diseasal caught her eye, which surprised and impressed me at the same time as it's a totally different car than what she went out to buy in the first place (as nice as the civic and focus are)

The car in question is this https://www.p-jmotors.co.uk/used-cars/ford-mondeo-2-0-tdci-titanium-5dr-shipley-201808259838880
Is this spec any good? It sure looks it, but I know nothing of modern cars, especially diesels and which models to avoid. Should we continue searching for the Civic / Focus petrol....
Don't say another Cougar, I've already tried that on, she says the lads need leg room (n) whatever :LOL:
 
I can only speak from experience mate but you won't go far wrong with one of those. I'd like to see proof that the DMF has been changed at some point, but my Mondeo is without doubt the best all round car I have ever had. More than enough power, loads of room and handles like a sports car, parts are cheap and plenty of breakers around should you need anything. I would go and look at more than one, and definetly also consider the previous MK3 as well, there are some very low mileage well looked after ones still out there, they weren't all sold to fleets. Mine of course is an auto which is just superb, box needs a £280 service every 30k though.
 
So the 2.0L diesel Duratorq is ok? It's the manual gearbox as well. The whole thing seemed very modern and a bit Jag like. Too good to be true for the price if im honest :LOL: but don't wanna miss out on a decent buy through being over cautious.
No evidence of DMF change, but anything else to watch for on these?
Been looking online tonight for a petrol version but they seem near non-existant.

Anyone have opinions on the 8th gen Civic, or MK2 facelift focus?
 
Well mine still hasn't got to 90k but touch wood its been fine. Goes really well, typical modern diesel its mostly torque but so easy to drive. Excellent quality interior, best car in its class i think. Im not sure about the later civics but i can't see you going far wrong with one of those, got a 2002 CRV and a 2003 Civic Type-R here and not had a minutes problem with either. Mondeo looks like most car for the money but they are very big, don't know if that is an issue.
 
Titanium was the next to top spec with Titanium X above it.
There is also a Titanium X Sport version, roughly equivalent to the previous model ST's.
The available petrol engines included the Volvo derived 5 pot 2.5Turbo also found in the Focus St. :devilish:
 
I don't even know what all this 'Titanium' thing means.
Is it the modern day equivalent of Ghia minus the vile wood effect thing (no offence intended Matt :D )
 
Being a Mondy Titanium X Sport owner, all I can say is they are lovely to drive, as well as being economical. The Titanium X Sport has all the toys including heated/air cooled seats, cruise control, bluetooth, voice control, electric front seats, as well as global window opening/closing, as well as 19 inch snowflake alloys. Mine is the 2ltr 163bhp turbo diesel, however, I would have loved to have gone for the 2.2ltr which has 200bhp, but was looking at getting decent mpg, so the 2.0 ltr was it.

Looking at the Mondy you are looking at, looks ok, decent price. The DPF can be expensive if needing to be changed, as I had to have the one on our Focus Zetec S changed, cost £750 including fitting by a general garage. Ford charges a lot more, but to be perfectly honest I would take to Ford, as the garage I used f***ed it up, as they had fitted incorrectly. In the end took it to Ford to put everything right.

So, good luck with the purchase. If you are unsure, it's always best to pay either the AA or RAC to give it the once over for you...peace of mind.
 
To ask the obvious question... What is her use-case?

By which I mean, does she do the mileage to justify a Diesel? Does her work often take her into city centres? Where on the scale of sporty to practical do her aspirations lay, (I think I know this one!)?
 
She'll be using it for commuting to work which is only about 10-15 mins away, plus short 10 minute trips if picking up or dropping the kids off. Maybe not very diesel friendly...
She doesn't need anything super quick, but does like a car to have a bit of grunt when accelerating.
A petrol mondy would be more ideal than a diesel but they're really thin on the ground.
I think she's gonna have to test drive all 3 models in mind and see which suits her best.
Thanks for the replies guys.
 
A bit of advice then, don't go diesel, especially if it has a DPF, as short journeys will kill it. I was warned when I bought the Focus, as they need to get hot enough to burn off the diesel particulates. If your wife is going to be doing short journeys, then definitely a small petrol with some grunt, anything that is 1.4ltr and above should see her right. With our diesels, I do 80 mile round trip every day, so definitely gets hot, and the missus has a 30 to 40 mins dual carriageway journey to work and back, so again, gets the DPF hot enough to do the job. As you say, the Mondy petrols are difficult to find, although the Focus is a little easier to find in petrol form. Good luck.
 
I agree.

What she wants is a Focus.

A 1.6L petrol for hauling kids and shopping.

A 1.8 petrol for all of the above and torque.

A 2.0 petrol for "Brace yourselves. Mummy's gonna hit it."
 
Been reading about DPF etc.
Y'all are right. It will die.
Looks like its the 8th gen Civic, or Focus then, unless a Petrol Mondy appears.
 
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