Ford Mondeo 1.8 TD

Now over 100,000 miles and still as reliable as clockwork and good to drive as ever.

The most impressive aspect of the Mondeo is still its chassis. The ride is as supple and well damped as on many premium sector cars, but the handling is crisp and sharp with good steering feel and superb brakes. Suspension works quietly too. The overall impression from the way it glides along the road is a car that has been well engineered, and very well set up. Having driven many newer cars including the VW Passat, Audi A4 and the Vauxhall Vectra, I don't think any of them get close to the Mondeo's fabulous ride and handling compromise.

The car has lots of space front and rear and a cavernous boot. Split fold rear seats work well, although some blatant penny pinching by Ford means the fuel gauge sender wires are exposed when you fold the rear seats down, meaning loads can snag on them and disturb them. This is a poor oversight when a 20p piece of conduit or rerouting of the wiring would have solved the problem.

This design fault however is about the only one I can find. The dash ergonomics are faultless, the driving position adjustment range is huge, the seats are comfy, and even in LX spec, it's got everything you need. Air con, ABS, heated screen, electric drivers seat adjuster, electric mirrors and a decent CD player. It's done 100,000 miles and everything still works. No squeaks or rattles either.

My biggest gripe is the engine. In its defence, the 1.8TD was never sold as a performance model, but if you catch it "off boost" you can literally weld the pedal to the floor with next to no effect. If you keep the engine between 2k and 4k, the performance is actually fine (in the context of family motoring), but on a diesel engine, it's easy to drop below 2k and there's absolutely nothing there. It's also unrefined when worked hard, although good sound insulation means it's not too intrusive. Fuel economy averages around 43 mpg, but it can drop to 35 mpg if driven too hard.

I have a fully equipped workshop at home, so service the car myself. Apart from the belts (cam-belt and pump belt), everything is easy to get at, and parts are unbelievably cheap. A 10k service using genuine Ford / Motorcraft parts and oil costs less than UKP50. Reliability of the car has been beyond criticism. Part of the reason I chose a Mondeo is that the ads are awash with examples which have covered 150,000 miles plus and still in excellent order. My father has had one for nine years and has been delighted with his too.

Very highly recommended. A great all round family car which is better built and engineered than many badge snobs would believe. Their loss.