mondeo ST220 or 2.5T?
Discussion
..the prices of Mk4 Mondeo 2.5 turbos have taken a tumble and on auto-trader now, you can buy one for not much more than a tidy Mk3 ST220. Just wondering how people have owned these cars rate them? I have always fancied an ST220 as I think its such a good looking car, but obviously the 2.5T will be a newer machine and has the added benefit of turbo power for, I guess, quicker real world acceleration. Then of course, for a few thousand more there is the 2.0 ecoboost, another under-rated and rare Mondeo...hmmm...decisions.
I'm with ruggedscotty on this.
Try to drive a 220 and you may be surprised at its 'real world' acceleration. It's also worth remembering that the engine in the Focus is tuned differently to the engine in the Mondy with the 2.5 Mondy having less power.
The 220 is very easy to drive and you can be very lazy on the gears if you want. just keep a lookout for a well looked after ST as there are loads about.
Try to drive a 220 and you may be surprised at its 'real world' acceleration. It's also worth remembering that the engine in the Focus is tuned differently to the engine in the Mondy with the 2.5 Mondy having less power.
The 220 is very easy to drive and you can be very lazy on the gears if you want. just keep a lookout for a well looked after ST as there are loads about.
Raynkar said:
I'm with ruggedscotty on this.
Try to drive a 220 and you may be surprised at its 'real world' acceleration. It's also worth remembering that the engine in the Focus is tuned differently to the engine in the Mondy with the 2.5 Mondy having less power.
The 220 is very easy to drive and you can be very lazy on the gears if you want. just keep a lookout for a well looked after ST as there are loads about.
Interesting and I must admit I think the ST220 is a real looker. I currently drive a n/a car so I am used to working the gears. An old Auto Express road test suggest 0-100 in 17.4 secs which is fairly tidy even today. That was a 6 speed version. Does anyone known when the 6 speed one came in? BTW, the Mondy is only 6 BHP down on the Focus ST, so its mainly the weight which means its a slower car.Try to drive a 220 and you may be surprised at its 'real world' acceleration. It's also worth remembering that the engine in the Focus is tuned differently to the engine in the Mondy with the 2.5 Mondy having less power.
The 220 is very easy to drive and you can be very lazy on the gears if you want. just keep a lookout for a well looked after ST as there are loads about.
I was in a similar position to you earlier this year having realised my hot hatch days were behind me. I looked at the Mk4 2.5T Mondeo but the lure of the V6 in the ST220 was too much having never owned a reasonably large capacity N/A engine before.
It's an incredibly comfortable big car, and the V6 makes it a doddle to drive as it's got a fair bit of low down torque. My gearbox is currently knackered so I'm driving it using only 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th which it manages no bother, even round town. I've averaged 30mpg so far over the 4 months I've had it and that's a mix of town, dual carriageway and the odd back road blast (I commute 70 miles a day in it). That said the engine really comes into its own above 4k, so much so that I'm fitting a cone air filter next month to listen to it howl a bit more, everybody that's been in it has said it's a old school engine in that it needs a bit of revs to get it going but it's a very linear power delivery which I really like.
I bought my '53 plate with 62k on the clock from a dealer for £3.5k, it only had two previous owners and a full Ford service history. The gearbox issue has only manifested itself recently, however it's getting a rebuilt gearbox (and likely a Quaife LSD) next month in addition to a new clutch and flywheel. Once that's done I'm expecting nothing but routine servicing for the next 60k.
For a car of it's size it's surprisingly chuckable, though it does run out of brakes quite quickly! I'm hopeful the Quaife will just make it a little better, after that it'll be exhaust and a brake upgrade but they can wait until next year.
It's an incredibly comfortable big car, and the V6 makes it a doddle to drive as it's got a fair bit of low down torque. My gearbox is currently knackered so I'm driving it using only 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th which it manages no bother, even round town. I've averaged 30mpg so far over the 4 months I've had it and that's a mix of town, dual carriageway and the odd back road blast (I commute 70 miles a day in it). That said the engine really comes into its own above 4k, so much so that I'm fitting a cone air filter next month to listen to it howl a bit more, everybody that's been in it has said it's a old school engine in that it needs a bit of revs to get it going but it's a very linear power delivery which I really like.
I bought my '53 plate with 62k on the clock from a dealer for £3.5k, it only had two previous owners and a full Ford service history. The gearbox issue has only manifested itself recently, however it's getting a rebuilt gearbox (and likely a Quaife LSD) next month in addition to a new clutch and flywheel. Once that's done I'm expecting nothing but routine servicing for the next 60k.
For a car of it's size it's surprisingly chuckable, though it does run out of brakes quite quickly! I'm hopeful the Quaife will just make it a little better, after that it'll be exhaust and a brake upgrade but they can wait until next year.
D_T_W said:
My gearbox is currently knackered so I'm driving it using only 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th which it manages no bother, even round town.
I bought my '53 plate with 62k on the clock from a dealer for £3.5k, it only had two previous owners and a full Ford service history. The gearbox issue has only manifested itself recently, however it's getting a rebuilt gearbox (and likely a Quaife LSD) next month in addition to a new clutch and flywheel. Once that's done I'm expecting nothing but routine servicing for the next 60k.
For a car of it's size it's surprisingly chuckable, though it does run out of brakes quite quickly! I'm hopeful the Quaife will just make it a little better, after that it'll be exhaust and a brake upgrade but they can wait until next year.
Interesting that your car has a 6 speed box, I thought they only came in with the 2004 year facelift..I bought my '53 plate with 62k on the clock from a dealer for £3.5k, it only had two previous owners and a full Ford service history. The gearbox issue has only manifested itself recently, however it's getting a rebuilt gearbox (and likely a Quaife LSD) next month in addition to a new clutch and flywheel. Once that's done I'm expecting nothing but routine servicing for the next 60k.
For a car of it's size it's surprisingly chuckable, though it does run out of brakes quite quickly! I'm hopeful the Quaife will just make it a little better, after that it'll be exhaust and a brake upgrade but they can wait until next year.
A lot of love for the ST220 then, I have to say I have always fancied one, but worried that they are "getting on a bit" now...also hear there can be DMF failures and a clutch is around £800 which kind of puts me off a bit!
Maybe I will, when the time comes, drive both the Mondeo ST220 and 2.5T and just see which I like the best...The 2.5T really is a bargain, a couple on Autotrader right now for under £5K, which is a lot of car for a 2007/8 year model
GreenArrow said:
Interesting that your car has a 6 speed box, I thought they only came in with the 2004 year facelift..
A lot of love for the ST220 then, I have to say I have always fancied one, but worried that they are "getting on a bit" now...also hear there can be DMF failures and a clutch is around £800 which kind of puts me off a bit!
Maybe I will, when the time comes, drive both the Mondeo ST220 and 2.5T and just see which I like the best...The 2.5T really is a bargain, a couple on Autotrader right now for under £5K, which is a lot of car for a 2007/8 year model
The facelift arrived in late 2003. A lot of love for the ST220 then, I have to say I have always fancied one, but worried that they are "getting on a bit" now...also hear there can be DMF failures and a clutch is around £800 which kind of puts me off a bit!
Maybe I will, when the time comes, drive both the Mondeo ST220 and 2.5T and just see which I like the best...The 2.5T really is a bargain, a couple on Autotrader right now for under £5K, which is a lot of car for a 2007/8 year model
I think they're fantastic cars and I will always miss mine, but I fancied something a bit newer with more kit and as you said, they're "getting on a bit". I wouldn't worry about the clutch and DMF - my clutch was changed under warranty at 50k miles (unusual, they normally last a lot longer than that, obviously depending on how it's driven) and they didn't do the DMF, and it's still going strong (I know the new owner) at about 125k. It's mainly just suspension components and rust (and oil leaks) really.
I now have a mk4 Mondeo 2.0 ecoboost (petrol turbo) and I've remapped it to 240bhp. It's a smidgeon quicker than the ST220 in a straight line and feels a lot quicker in day-to-day driving due to the healthy extra amount of torque.
Considering how much (or little) you can pick up a 2.5T Titanium / Titanium X for, they're great value.
Howard- said:
The facelift arrived in late 2003.
I think they're fantastic cars and I will always miss mine, but I fancied something a bit newer with more kit and as you said, they're "getting on a bit". I wouldn't worry about the clutch and DMF - my clutch was changed under warranty at 50k miles (unusual, they normally last a lot longer than that, obviously depending on how it's driven) and they didn't do the DMF, and it's still going strong (I know the new owner) at about 125k. It's mainly just suspension components and rust (and oil leaks) really.
I now have a mk4 Mondeo 2.0 ecoboost (petrol turbo) and I've remapped it to 240bhp. It's a smidgeon quicker than the ST220 in a straight line and feels a lot quicker in day-to-day driving due to the healthy extra amount of torque.
Considering how much (or little) you can pick up a 2.5T Titanium / Titanium X for, they're great value.
Whats the Ecoboost like? I must admit that depending on my budget, a 2010 ecoboost could be a consideration, but for me they are a tad too new and I like the idea of buying something that has shed most of its deprecation. An ST220 probably wont lose much if anything in the long term, a 2.5T not much either...but the 2 litre ecoboost is a rare too. apparently the 240 bhp engine from the 2011 on Titanium X is going in the new Jaguar XE....I think they're fantastic cars and I will always miss mine, but I fancied something a bit newer with more kit and as you said, they're "getting on a bit". I wouldn't worry about the clutch and DMF - my clutch was changed under warranty at 50k miles (unusual, they normally last a lot longer than that, obviously depending on how it's driven) and they didn't do the DMF, and it's still going strong (I know the new owner) at about 125k. It's mainly just suspension components and rust (and oil leaks) really.
I now have a mk4 Mondeo 2.0 ecoboost (petrol turbo) and I've remapped it to 240bhp. It's a smidgeon quicker than the ST220 in a straight line and feels a lot quicker in day-to-day driving due to the healthy extra amount of torque.
Considering how much (or little) you can pick up a 2.5T Titanium / Titanium X for, they're great value.
GreenArrow said:
Whats the Ecoboost like? I must admit that depending on my budget, a 2010 ecoboost could be a consideration, but for me they are a tad too new and I like the idea of buying something that has shed most of its deprecation. An ST220 probably wont lose much if anything in the long term, a 2.5T not much either...but the 2 litre ecoboost is a rare too. apparently the 240 bhp engine from the 2011 on Titanium X is going in the new Jaguar XE....
It's a very good, very smooth engine. Develops power in a nice linear fashion until it runs out of puff at about 6k. It even sounds quite meaty in the process. The amount of grunt it offers is quite addictive and I'm already hooked on turbo power especially as you get a decent induction noise and can just about hear the turbo BOV chatter with the windows down 
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