New Toy MA TDCi

[tony66_au]

Hi all, its been a while since I logged on here and a week ago I bought my first FWD Ford.

2008 Mondeo TDCi in Morello with Napoli leather at 148'000 km on the clock.

Although i have owned a lot of RWD Fords this car is amazing, Goes like a dog shot in the bum, handles well and seems to have every option known to mankind as standard from Bum warmers to a nice trip comp and a pretty tooky 6 disc Sound system.

There has to be a catch I reckon so im off doing research trying to figure out why the hell Ford Australia didnt push these cars harder.

I read review after review, watched youtube video's till my eyes bled and every thing was positive and full of glowing praise.

Wiki tells me its a mix of Ford, Volvo, Jagwah and Land rover needs and wants mixed in with some kinky PRC oil burner project that produced the Duratorq and apart from the shady french connection I STILL cant find why these things are not everywhere.

Then I drive one for a few hours and OMFG! its better than the BF I had for a week and almost as big inside plus it seems to me to be better in quality and way better optioned.

Then the guilt sets in and i remind myself that the old RWD Falcon platform is dying and I shouldnt speak ill of the dead (Well nearly dead) and I tear up a bit remembering the XA GT I had and the ZF Fairlane, the slew of XD's and XF's and even the awful EA S1 and the not so awful (Pretty good really) SII EB Fairmont Ghia I had after the NF SII and the brief flirtation with the EF Foulcan (It was awful, seriously bad).

Its ok though coz I still have the EB so im not really a traitor right?

Anyway, Mondeo? Lil Bloody ripper car and its ok to stray coz i still have the EB and i like my Lamb chops crispy and do skids on the grass when I can (But not in the Mondeo).

Cheers,
Tony

[Riksta]

Welcome to the Mondeo ranks.

As for why Ford don't advertise them better, its been one of those mysteries from the start. Even the Salesperson I dealt with buying mine stated that he was disappointed Ford didn't advertise them more. My only guess is that they're too close in size & market to the Falcon and they don't want to steal sales away from their own local product.

Glad to hear you're loving your vehicle though, bet you're glad you took the time to do the research and got yourself into one instead of overlooking them due to lack of advertising!

[tony66_au]

Thanks Riksta,

Im a carnut so research is important because it usually goes out the window with common sense when I see one I want in a gimme gimme gimme here's the cheque frenzy.

I wasnt going to buy a Falcon to be honest, they lost me at the BA and although they are streets ahead of where they were the last few I drove didn't impress me but im probably just being a bit overly critical.

The problem is that I have been spoiled Euro style for a bit now with my other car fetish being German where even extreme Poverty pack cars have interesting and thoughtful stuff like heated washer nozzles and mirrors on nearly 30 year old cars and windows on 40 year old cars that still deserve the title "Fast Glass".

And weirdly enough the MA Mondeo seems to fit the bill although i dont expect it to last 20 years I suspect they will go 400'000 km which is pretty good.

The other contender for my money was the Ford Focus and an XR5 would be great but a TDCi would also be fine with the advantage of the Focus offering a Manual box and Im still researching MY07 to MY10 Focus with an eye to buying one in 6 months or so.

Anyway, I got a great colour and option specced car with a few small niggles to be sorted so I thought id see if my login was still good here and here I am!

[nevetsg]

Good work! and welcome to the club.
I have had the same thing in Colorado Red for over 6 months now. I still love it, from the Gearbox locking into gear for engine breaking, to the way it can hold speed up big hills without a care.
I put a Tuning box on mine which makes it more spirited off the line.

[nevetsg]

double post...

[tony66_au]

Originally Posted by nevetsg

Good work! and welcome to the club.
I have had the same thing in Colorado Red for over 6 months now. I still love it, from the Gearbox locking into gear for engine breaking, to the way it can hold speed up big hills without a care.
I put a Tuning box on mine which makes it more spirited off the line.

I was wondering if the auto was supposed to be doing what it was doing re the engine braking and had to go read up on it lol

I also saw the Chip/Black box Upgrades available claiming to boost power from 96 to 120 ish Kw but im holding back on that.

The reason why I bought the car and why im now studying the TDCi Focus in a manual is because they are both going to be used as Driving school cars.

What drew me to look at the Mondeo was the safety features such as knee and side curtain airbags with the curtain bags being front and rear and for their age they were VERY advanced in what is now a common required specification in cars.

And the rest of the features blew me away and made the decision easy.

Sadly as Mondeo are auto only in the Diesel it will be a Focus that will be the Manual car.

Why a Mondeo instead of a Yaris or Corolla?

Bang for buck, economy and I dont like the later crop of toyota's for comfort and other reasons.

Its also because I live in the country and the traffic is both high speed and huge with tipper and Dog or Super Dog combo's, Tankers, B Doubles and even the odd Triple being a high percentage of the local traffic and having hired a handful of small and medium size cars on and off for a year a larger car was a must.

The other observation was that most of the local kids drive their parents Falcon, Commodore or Landcruiser/Nissan Pootroll so chucking them in a micro car although perceived as an easier drive actually isn't. (And who wants to make it easier for kids to get their license?).

So many a Teen will be exposed to the MA Mondeo over the next few years.

And it will be Purple! lol

Tony

[tony66_au]

Oh and another feature I noticed which comes in very handy is the no blind spot mirrors.

And having traveled the Princes Hwy to and from Melbourne a few times this week I can say they work really well.

I have never raved on about a car like this in my life BTW and im fairly cynical with this stuff, So it must be something special.

[scribbly]

Our MA Mondeo is driven in the most part by my wife but on the odd occasion I get to enjoy it. Yes, OMFG this a car that excites and she won't give it back! My Territory was out of action for a couple of days and I got to enjoy it for such a short time.
At least I get to drive it to the airport for travel on the odd occasion so she can use the company car.

[tony66_au]

Something I found a week ago, Press the unlock button on the remote and hold it and the car unlocks and all 4 windows wind down, Same in reverse with the lock button.

Nice on those hot hot days

[allanv6gt]

Originally Posted by tony66_au

Something I found a week ago, Press the unlock button on the remote and hold it and the car unlocks and all 4 windows wind down, Same in reverse with the lock button.

Nice on those hot hot days

Thats called....Global Open/Close.....pretty funky !!!!
Spooks the whatsi out of people standing next to it when it magically opens .......

[bovva66]

You can also change the locking/unlocking sequence. If you hold both the lock and unlock buttons on remote, it will beep, and then the unlock sequence is changed to one press unlock drivers door and 2nd press unlocks other doors and boot.A anti-hijacking safety measure. If you don't like it, you can change back by the pressing both unlock and lock again, and will change to global unlock.

[tony66_au]

Nice!

I should check to see what the sequence is now.

BTW one hit on the lock and it sounds like all 4 lock and if I hit lock again it sounds like it is locking again and the indicators flash once, like a lock/deadlock?

[nevetsg]

That is the Double lock. It also locks the inside handles for when you are kidnapping someone.

[tony66_au]

Originally Posted by nevetsg

That is the Double lock. It also locks the inside handles for when you are kidnapping someone.

[ryeman]

If your over the moon with your used 08 model just imagine what the future Fusion? model will be like!

[tony66_au]

I know nothing about it, Is that going to replace the Falcon or is it the next Mondeo?

Im still gobsmacked at how these cars are not everywhere!

[tony66_au]

Found it!

http://www.ford.com/cars/fusion/

[nevetsg]

wtf? 10 digit Keypad on the door pillar for when you forget the keys...

[tony66_au]

Its worth noting that the link is to Ford USA.

Then again maybe its a workaround for key fobs that forget.... lol

[allanv6gt]

I'm getting older...and greyer....and, um, my six-pack is more of a wine-sac these days....and my keyfob (mostly) remembers how to unlock the car....when I manage to find it in the carpark !!

Everything I've seen suggests a replacement for the current Mondeo Mk4 as.......Mondeo Mk5 in non-USA markets.

[whitetdci]

tony. I would seriously have a good look at the chip box. I think I may have started the rot here with them but the one i have is a dead set ripper and major bang for your buck. I picked mine up for around $140 from memory landed in oz and apart from the Kw increase there is a sizable jump in torque. You can really notice the difference, not only in drivability but also economy. My best trip figures to date, which have been replicated on numerous occasions, are 4.6 l per 100 km. I do around 5.5 to and from work. Must try the remote thingo with windows down. hope it works for me too

[tony66_au]

Originally Posted by whitetdci

tony. I would seriously have a good look at the chip box. I think I may have started the rot here with them but the one i have is a dead set ripper and major bang for your buck. I picked mine up for around $140 from memory landed in oz and apart from the Kw increase there is a sizable jump in torque. You can really notice the difference, not only in drivability but also economy. My best trip figures to date, which have been replicated on numerous occasions, are 4.6 l per 100 km. I do around 5.5 to and from work. Must try the remote thingo with windows down. hope it works for me too

I did have a quick look at one on eBay from the UK and it claimed the same thing.

It is something I have recanted on as I said I wasnt going to bother but I have looked into the Seimens control system a bit more and add to that the difference in Kw output between the MA/MB etc I am now starting to do more research with the view of buying one.

They are a plugin box if its the one im thinking of and easily removed later?

Any Advice much appreciated as I dont want to buy the wrong unit.

Cheers,
Tony

[tony66_au]

BTW, This arvo was the first time I gave it a bootfull of loud pedal pulling onto the highway as a car came flying around the corner as I was half committed.

I had a good grip on the wheel expecting torque steer snap and wasn't disappointed but the thing that surprised me the most was the tyre smoke when the thing launched.

Remembering I was already pulling onto the highway at a fair rate when the car appeared it would be considered a rolling start.

The amazing thing was no wheel hop and the loss of traction was brief although I do have a new set of Continentals on the front.

My current economy BTW is around the 7.3 per 100 which is pretty good but my old Volvo gets 10 per 100 which isnt far behind so 5's would be very nice.

[whitetdci]

This is the one that I have fitted to my car. no complaints at all after just under a year. Just a plug and play unit . there are others out there in droves in the UK as the mondy is very popular over there. Just ensure you select the correct one for your engine. They give a list below. I would be interested to see how you go with it.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Diesel-ch...item2a2a2bc2fc

[tony66_au]

Thanks Whitetdci, I will let you know how it goes!

[tony66_au]

Any idea how I can tell which 2.0 TDCi engine I have and what the power output is?

[nevetsg]

Look to the little service booklet that came with the manual.
OR
engine info here:
http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/resea...ndeo-ma-384588
OR
I got one of these for my 2008 MA
"Mondeo 2.0 TDCi DPF 1997cc 130 PS (96 kW) 164 PS (123 kW)"

[tony66_au]

Thanks Nevetsg!

I should chuck a pic of the car in the thread too i guess.

5/08 MA TDCi, First registered January 2009.