That's fine as it wasn't my comment anyway. I only mentioned it as the friend I gave a lift to made the comment, as he reckoned that the Mk1 vRS interior was as nice if not better in places than his own 04 plate Mondeo. Perhaps it was the squishy dash top that swayed his opinion.

he was probably being polite he isn't gonna get in and say "this is rubbish mate". Saying that, I know nothing about the company you keep.

if i got in a car i didnt like i just wouldnt say anything lol

he was probably being polite he isn't gonna get in and say "this is rubbish mate". Saying that, I know nothing about the company you keep.

Good point. Mind you, this fella is probably one of the most forthright people I know and seems to have a politeness filter missing in his head. If he thinks something is rubbish, he'd tell whoever it was without thinking, regardless of any impact. It leads to quite a few heated debates in the pub.

By the way, I 'm not knocking the Mondeo, in fact I looked at the ST220, but couldn't get anywhere near the asking price at the time. :thumbdwn:

One massive problem with your comparisons sotonjoe. The Octy is in the same market area as the Focus.

The Mondeo needs to be compared against the Supurb.

Your continous comparisons of the Mondy to the Octy is like me comparing a Cessna to a Learjet.

One massive problem with your comparisons sotonjoe. The Octy is in the same market area as the Focus.

The Mondeo needs to be compared against the Supurb.

Your continous comparisons of the Mondy to the Octy is like me comparing a Cessna to a Learjet.

Yes they are in different classes, yet it's size an pricing lends more to mondy ground. Isnt there talk of moving the Octy 3 further towards mondy grouping, and making it bigger than the current model?

Also a superb is much bigger, and better spec'd than a mondeo, but pricing is beyond most levels of the mondeo :confused:

When the Mk1 supurb came out it was cheaper than a mondeo at list price.

For skoda to get market penetration they had to make sure their cars were class leaders for most things (including size). There is no way on earth you can class a golf chassis with a bigger boot in the same class as a mondeo.

True, but you only have to look at company car lists to see the octy alongside the 407, laguna etc etc.

VAG seem to have their cars differently paced to the competitors. The Passat is really Mondeo class too, but is much bigger, has no hatch option, and costs far too much for companies to offer it on the same lists.

Most companies would set the superb in A4 and Passat territory along with a 3 series etc.

It really is messy looking at classes alone as many models have left their grouping years ago.

Yes but the original discussion was about mk1 octy vs Mk what ever the same age mondy is.

Here's another example. SEAT are launching the Exeo into the same segment as the mondeo/insignia. They are having to use a compact exec based car to enter the market to try and pull customers to something they've never done before. <-- sound familiar with something back when the mk1 octys and supurbs came out ?

The original discussion was how rubbish the Mondeo I was driving was - and still is:rofl:

The original discussion was how rubbish the Mondeo I was driving was - and still is:rofl:

not the orig OP I was on about when mixing up the marks and MYs.

i'll stay well clear if its duller to drive than a mk 2 octy vrs,that car was the most yawnworthy car i have ever had the missfortune to spend cash on

The original discussion was how rubbish the Mondeo I was driving was - and still is:rofl:

LOL. Yes the Mk3 is a sloppy handling barge. I hated the old co car with a passion. Setas were crap, suspension would still be rocking long after the speed bump, ovals everywhere (do you need reminding its a ford?) and crap dealer network with attitude and expensive dealer costs.

The Mk4 is much better. All the above has been fixed (well apart from the dealers ). The only thing I really dislike is the fugly silver dash with triangular shaped panels that must have a function for an option better spec'd car. It spoils the better package of the car IMHO.

I still much prefer the octy though, and would have one if the firm offered me one. But the boss likes his Fords/gets a good deal on them.

Yes the Mk3 is a sloppy handling barge.

Bolleaux!

HTH

Chris

The Mark 3 Mondeo was a cracking car :( why are people complaining about it, I handled certainly alot better than the skoda with better standard seats and a better ride quality, plus the standard 1.8 managed to beat a 3 series and c class around the top gear class plus all thoses other rep cars so why the hell is everyone complaining?

I'm not a ford fan boy.

But ford over vauxhall any day.

Skoda over both of them

Mind I did have a Chipped 130TDCi Ghia X that's maybe why

Just bought myself a Mk3 Mondeo at the weekend. Got rid of the Mini and bought this as we intend to get a caravan before too long.

Mine's a 2.2TDCi Ghia X and yes it feels a bit barge like at times (but then I didn't buy it with the intention of throwing it round corners and have recently been driving a Mini and a Fabia!) but I do like the interior (especially as mine's the light tan leather/alcantara) and the 2.2 diesel doesn't half shift!

Did a long run after picking it up (and not being to gentle with it at times either) and it returned 48.5mpg so pretty happy with that too.

Tried the performance out a bit on a local bit of dual carriageway - took it up through 3rd, 4th and 5th changing up at probably less than 3k, changed into 6th looked down at the speedo thinking it would probably be just coming up to 70 and I probably then looked a bit like this... :eek: and quickly backed off!

Best of all, it came from a NetworkQ dealer who also owned a Ford franchise, 3 years old for £8k. List new with the options it has was £23,300!!!

Mind I did have a Chipped 130TDCi Ghia X that's maybe why

LOL, exactly so you had better suspension and seats.

Try a 2.0TDCI LX, then see what you think

I've thrashed a 2.0 LX around quite a bit and the Ghia X suspension set up didn't seem any different, however 16 inch steel wheels over 18 alloys may make the true difference

Congrads Steve on your purchase :thumbsup: you have the 2.2 Engine out of the Jaguars of the same era good engine much better than the 2.2DCi from the Laguna and Primeras I had, but thats a different tragic story. I'd like to see it beat my 1.9TDi Octavia once it is done though Especially once the additions to the Van Aken Tuning Box get put on, big injectors, different turbo etc Good choice in car! Minis are absolutely ****e and it's true that their sat nav does only goto Poland If you can afford the option, plus I don't care too much for Chilli and I'm allegric to Pepper Cheesy Cliches on the Mini packs there, rubbish I know!

Having come from two Mondeos to two Mk 1 Octavias, my impressions were, and still are, that Ford make better chassis, and Skoda build better interiors (more solid doors, etc.). My 2.0 Mondeo was a bit thrashy, but still quicker point to point than my 1.8T Octavia (this was the subject of my first ever post on Briskoda), although that felt more solid and better quality. Some suspension tweaks brought it closer. Now I'm driving (yes, still) a Mk1 Octavia VRS, and I'm still disappointed by the jittery suspension, although I've grown more used to it over the years. I still miss my V6 Ghia X.

VagNewbie, sounds like your Octavia will be fun!

The big difference I noticed between the 1.9TDi (we've got the 105BHP version in our Fabia II) and the Mondeo's 2.2 is the way the power is delivered. I love the huge kick the 1.9 gives when the turbo comes on song whereas the Mondeo is a more linear delivery (though still has a bit of a kick when the turbo comes in).

The 2.2 also seems to rev a lot easier than the 1.9 and is much quieter - once its warm and running at normal speeds (not idling), it is quite difficult to tell its a diesel. In fact, the noise from the engine kind of reminds me of some of the V6 petrol hire cars I've had in the states...

Got to say I liked our Mini (Clubman) and yes we had a chili pack on it! Really good fun to drive (although we could have done with the Cooper S rather than the standard Cooper - really lacked power once you get above 40!)

Mondeo's are supposed to be all things to all men, average in everything and reasonably reliable as most are used by yer average rep. & people who don't really know what car to buy. A few years ago this was the biggest selling segment in the car industry and The Mondeo reigned supreme in sales figures and had an enormous developement budget so really it was a well engineered car and a bargain to boot. Our VAG cars have always been a little more refined and also more expensive but thats a choice we make.

Nowadays there are so many niche markets and a trend to smaller cars being bought as new so the Mondeo has now become just another car.

Having driven a few differing Mondeo models over the years I think they are good workhorses and nothing more.

To sum up -Most of us Briskodians know exactly which car we are going to buy and why.

Mondeo type peoples just buy them within their budget, doesn't matter if the car has a quality interior trim, a refined engine, black or white paint, etc.