Lol! I've just bought a 130bhp Mk 3 TDCI in Ghia X trim.

Chris

Was waiting for you to come out and give us the details

I have driven the diesel mondeo 130 (is it actually 128 ) and its great.

Suppose we are talking bout the ST220 though so back on it.Never driven one just think they look good as mentioned before.Certainly finished better than the old octavia.

Maybe someone will be kind enough to post a full set of figures through the gears.

And fuel consumption figures

A mate at work has a 53 reg ST220 and we regularly travel the same route in and back over a variety of roads. His car is standard apart from panel filter, my octy vRS remapped to 220 bhp ish and there is nothing at all between the performance of them from 15-120mph i.e not a yard gained or lost

The ST220 is IMHO a great looking car with a much better interior than the Octy, but my mate struggles to get over 25mpg when I can see 40+mpg on a long run

And thats where large NA cars suffer over turbo'd small engine cars.

That said I've love NA power again...you always know where it is, none of this fluffing about waiting for boost

Shame MG went pop I was really coming around to the V8 Mg...maybe when it's reborn Along with a 1.9 oilburner for anything over 10miles

A mate at work has a 53 reg ST220 and we regularly travel the same route in and back over a variety of roads. His car is standard apart from panel filter' date=' my octy vRS remapped to 220 bhp ish and there is [u']nothing[/u] at all between the performance of them from 15-120mph i.e not a yard gained or lost

The ST220 is IMHO a great looking car with a much better interior than the Octy, but my mate struggles to get over 25mpg when I can see 40+mpg on a long run

Thats pretty quick then. Maybe that guy who I was following wasnt trying that hard.

Chris, Mondeo better handling than a Scooby????????

Thats pretty quick then. Maybe that guy who I was following wasnt trying that hard.

Chris' date=' Mondeo better handling than a Scooby????????[/quote']

The Mondeo is a bit heavier than an Octy but at higher speeds aerodynamics are the key so both cars with around 220bhp should offer similar perfomance.

As Chris and I have both said the Mondeo does handle better than a standard Scooby, espescially the sporty models. The Impreza offers loads of traction and is very firm (although the latest WRX models are a little softer) but the scooby isn't as balanced as the Mondeo. The Mondeo has crisper turn in and better steering feel, the Scoobs steering can feel a little vague and understeer is a real problem. The Mondeo also feels composed and balanced while the Impreza can be put off line by mid-corner bumps.

What the Mondeo can't do is match the Impreza's traction, as soon as you clear the apex you can floor the Scoob and as long as you keep the understeer in check the scoob will rocket out of the bend.

That's the only reason the Scoob will leave most things down a B road, the handling is only average but it's the combination of traction and power that makes all the difference.

The need to improve the Impreza's understeery handling is well known and there are many mods, from different alignment settings to bumpsteer mods through to ARB changes and coilovers etc.

Cheers

Lee

Well I never.... you learn something new every day.

Did you see the Dragon Tuning Box video in the recent tuning box thread Chris?

http://www.foundrometers.co.uk/pics/dyno/dyno10_dragon_chip.mpeg

170bhp for a couple of hundred quid isn't bad.

Cheers

Lee

Oi' date=' that's my old car

As a comparison on my private track my Fabia could take a particular corner at 90 mph, not bad you think?! my Mondeo could do 110 and it wasn't breaking a sweat, long corners and straight roads a Mondeo will win, much better suspension setup, only on the real twisties does a vRS stand a chance, and an ST220? Remember this is uprated over my Zetec S so I bet it handles like a bi@tch.

Anyone who even questions how the Ford Mondeo handles, really needs to drive one to appreciate how far it is ahead of the competition in it's price bracket. Build quality, luxury (no wind noise), nice interior, puncy engines and roomy for peanuts kind of money and they really do outhandle every other car in the class bar a Mazda 6 aka Mondeo chassis.

Why did I sell it you ask? I drove the tyres off the car literally, 4,000 miles to a set on 225/45 R18 profile gets expensive. Also, I had an accident in it, which when repaired it never drove the same.

Here's a few pictures of mine with a few tasteful mods (Recaro Interior, Boot spoiler, dragon digital tuning box, k&n filter, cold air feed x2, pi lowering 30mm, black diamond discs & pads.

[img']http://www.foundrometers.co.uk/pics/P1010299.JPG[/img]

I've never got on with the Mondeo - whereas the Mazda 6 I really liked. Dunno why, it wasnt a bad car and it felt very planted for sure. Think it was a 1.8 petrol I drove, Mondeo-wise, and it was plenty fast enough.

One of those things I suppose

I loved it