Okay, first off, im not that mechanically minded so forgive me!

Diesel mondeo 2 litre tdci - apparently has 400nm torque -

whereas VRS TDI has 350nm of torque -

BMW 520d has about 350nm torque too!

Question - how does the mondeo compare in terms of ooomph!

and just wondering - anyone driven the 520d and is it underpowered?

cheers!

These are my 3 choices for my new car! - I love the old skoda, but looking for a bit more luxuriousness and okay performance too.

I'd go for the 520 for sure.

My best pal has a 2.2TDCI ST Mondeo, and the power delivery is hilarious, and the gearing laughable.

I've owned a 2.0 mondeo tdci (130). I'm not sure if there's a higher power one that I don't know about (exluding the 2.2l), but the torque rating is 330Nm, not 400. Beware there is also a 115bhp 2.0 tdci, which you probably don't want!

The mondeo felt like quite a fast car. In some situations, it felt quicker than my current vRS TFSI. I wouldn't ever have called the power delivery smooth, but still it was nowhere near as peaky as any VAG diesel I've driven. It is also much quieter than the pre-common-rail VAG diesels. I'd stick my neck out and say it was even more refined than a 320D (haven't driven a 520D).

Friend of mine had an ST TDCI 155 and it wasn't that much quicker than my humble PD140.

The peak torque figure also includes 'transient overboost' which is a short burst of oomph when you floor it.

The 520d is fine on power, it's no 535d but still does the job and does it well.

The newer 2.0 TDCI's are the same as the PSA 2.0 HDI (Joint developments) and have 138bhp.

PSA have always made very good derv engines and I'd pick one of those or a BMW engine over the PD170.

If it's the CR170 I have no idea as I have not had a good play with one yet.