Top Gear and the Ford Mondeo

I think jealousy is certainly a factor.

BMW's are fast cars (generally), so its no suprise that some of them are driven fast, and some people who drive fast do it badly upsetting other drivers.

There are more BMW's on the road than ford modeo's (according to Top Gear a few weeks ago), so Im sure its a combination of a) bm'ers are fast b) bm'ers are prevelant c) bm'ers are attractive to people who want to drive fast (for lots of reasons).

 

Its nothing to with jealously I would love a Dennis Trident MKII and they cost £200,000.

Maybe people don't like people driving fast becuase of the dangers they bring?

 

Mondeos as good as BMWs? er,no,and the 328 sport is a lovely car.

 

BMW's are so middle management with something to prove. Strangely, the smaller jaguars are also middle management but I know which one I would let out at a junction. Its like the driver is saying "yes, I am a middle manager but I'm not a tosser" The small Mercedes are just so bland that I don't care either way.

Rod

 

Ok lets put it this way, The Mondeo ST24 at £25k a 320 for £25k?

 

I didnt necessarily mean you AT.

I was thinking more of the guy that got his Saab 'keyed' after less than 2 weeks, or just how much of the anti-expensive car lobby is due to the fact that a lot of people can't afford them and are therefore jealous, hiding it in badmouthing them.. human nature IMO.

 

Mondeo ST220 can be had for £17k from a broker, and has leather recaros (electrically adjustable), a 3.0l V6 engine, climate control, cd changer, every goodie you'd want in a car of this class basically.

Meanwhile since BMWs can't be bought through brokers, the cheapest 3 series is now the 318 (with a whopping 129bhp), but its £2.2k more than the ST220. You get air con and a cd player, and err....most else is extra.

Which makes most sense if you're after the best car for your money (presuming you can afford say £20k on the car, and presuming you can afford to run a performance car)? Without badge snobbery, the Beemer is hard to justify against the ST220, which despite being FWD is a pretty decent drivers car.

Personally I'd buy an Impreza/Evo over either cars if it was my £20k, or get a second hand high spec beemer...but if it was £20k new and had to be a reasonably sensible/respectable saloon car, the Mondeo makes more sense than the BMW apart from the badge!

 

...which in turn was derived from the Opel model of the same name (except spelt with a "K"). It needed beefed up to take the six cylinder engine beloved of Australians. And before attacking the Vauxhall models, have a look at Holden models pre-Commodore (Kingswoods, etc.). Dreadful things, basically slightly camouflaged agricultural vehicles.

The most hideous Kingswood clone was the original HK Monaro, which looked like this:

My brother-in-law still has one and he adores it. Which, I guess, shows that there really is no accounting for taste.

 

Yeah an Impreza would be nice you get all the BMW quality without the price as well. I think BMWs make sense if they are bought new has they keep their value well, but second hand they seem less of an attractive buy.

 

Maybe engineering wise the Scooby matches the BMW but the quality of the interiors (where you spend most of your time after all) couldn't be further apart. I've owned both by the way.

I'd also say an 18 month old Beemer makes a better buy than a new one.

I bought a new 320DSE for £21.5K (from Virgin) back in 2002. 3 years and 52K miles later I traded it in if for £11K (it was an import - but then a BMW supplied one would have cost more to start with).

Back in March however I bought an 18 month old (53 reg) 330D Sport with 21K miles - fully loaded (leather, Harmon K, Xenons) for £22K from a main dealer and with free servicing until Sep 2008.
Given that the new list of that would have been £33K or so then I reckon that was a cracking buy and will still be worth a lot after another couple of years.

I looked at getting a new 320D but it would have cost me more and wouldn't be a Sport (not out at the time) or have the lovely 3.0D (204bhp) straight six. As for a top of the range Mondeo... it didn't even enter my head - even if it had, can you imagine how the depreciation would compare to my 330D?

As often, one thinks back with hindsight as to whether the choice was right. I still can't think of a better car I could have got for that money, especially when you look at the performance; 60 in 7 secs, 150 tops and yet 42 mpg on the combined cycle. Add to that great build, decent chasis/handling and a great interior and it's an unbeatable package in my book.

Matt.

p.s. one thing that really pisses me off about Ford is their lack of ISOFIX mounts - my wife had a new Focus on loan the other day and it had none - must cost only a few quid to install and yet the extra safety they provide for child seats is unbelievable.

 

ST24 V 320.........Well keep them for 3 years and see how much they're worth. A 320 is still a far superior drive to a ST24, but its horses for coarses one mans meat etc etc. Ive never really got the Subaru/Mitsu thing, true they're dam quick but everything else is leaves me cold. I went down to the motorshow in a Prodrive prepared Impreza and was car sick on the way back and my uncle, a traffic cop of some 25 years, described it as the worst ride he's ever known, it took him 48 hrs to get over it.

 

No offence but since GM bought Saab isnt the 9-3 based on a Vectra?

 

Regards the 3 series vs Mondeo debate - My view:
Mondeo - now a nice, well specced, spacious family car with good performance options (ST220 or ST TDCI)

3 series - the most broadly aspired to car, great chassis, the straight six engines are classic, yes you get jerks driving 3 series but that's not the fault of the badge or the car.

However what dwarfs all other costs of ownership - depreciation. Why pay less for a mondeo only to lose more than you save in depreciation? Best to fork out the extra up front and lose less down the line (note: obviously the 3 series isnt the last word in slow depreciation).

The X5 and Volvo D5 I think are amongst the best along with the Mini's. Anyone got good (or bad) examples of low depreciation?

 

no idea, to be honest. got a good deal on an ex-dem model. too many vectras and octavias are taxis. think there's a better brand value perception for the saab, so hopefully higher residual value later on (... and then I woke up...) but the general response has been good from everyone who's seen it. There's less of the saabs around too, I think.

As different brands attract different people. people who choose a Skoda Superb might not look at a VW Passat, or vice versa, even though they are based on the same car, I'm told.

I looked at an Octavia, but found I could get a nearly new diesel Saab for not much more money. the difference in value in three years time will hopefully be enough to fund a new cartridge , so it was a simple decision to make. that and I fancied a change from skinning my knees on the dangling key fob

 

Most cars depreciate these days so its hard. We did have a spell of speculating which can turn a huge profit, but manufacturers are trying to make sure actual customers order the car. Best example I had personally was a new SL500 that we sold for 10K over list but its very rare these days. After I left they got a couple of Bently Coupe's that didnt sell.

Obviously the older the car the lower the dep' but in general small auto's are very liked (think Yaris). You could also take your chances at auctions or trade swaps, like I have done for quite a few people. You have to be confident in what your looking at but get it right and you'll get dep' free motoring for quite a while.

 

Don't get me wrong, the 9-3 is a good looking motor.

For my sins I'm a Renault driver - only reason is I get 30% discount on some models at certain times.

Now I sold my RenaultSport Clio 182 last week for £400 less than I paid for it - owned it 13 months, never changed the tyres, no servicing, etc. Happy days.

However trying to sell my Espace 10 months old £28.7K RRP - lovely car IMO - nightmare! All the discount Internet dealers are so cheap, even offering it at £19.5K RRP for a 54 plate 10 month old 8400 miles vehicle I'm only a bit under some of the offers available on 55 plate new one.

The used car market in this country is becoming ever more complicated so it's hard to predict how easy a vehicle will be to sell on. Most people who can benefit from the discounts available (which is good for buyers) are losing out trying to sell their existing car (so bad for sellers). In a few years the UK market will mature to be decent value, but the transition is painful.

 

What's wrong with that? The paint job is horrific, but the style's pretty cool in my book! Mind you, if I could drive (ain't ever gonna happen unless someone invents eye transplants) I'd want a mk1 Ford Capri (really!).

Beemer V Merc? Easy - I'll take a BM any day of the week thanks - I'd rather be labeled a "tosser" than a "toff" (no offence to any Merc drivers here, I've just always thought they were a bit too "look I have money" - like Rolls Royce, but without the real style. God - that sounds well harsh!!

That said, I'd probably drive anything I could get (maybe not a Lada or Montego though!). A mk1 Mini Cooper'd be fun too!

I'm not jealous of car drivers either - I just find it sad that so many of them have gas guzzlers when you don't need more than a 1600 unless you're towing something. The world's screaming for change - and not the climate-change variety.

 

I quite like the new E class Merc but it will always associate in my mind with Gypsy scrap dealers - no offence to them but that's what I think when I see one, especially that horrible champagne "gold" colour.

 

The nub.

 

You have to see it in the metal to appreciate the full awfulness, Dom. Having said that, it is, of course, preferable to the finned US monstrosities of the 50s and 60s, but then whoever said that they were cars?