Octavia vs mondeo

[Alex-W]

Sounds like fun!

he bought it off an 81 year old and she survived...   Well, actually, her husband didn't, hence she sold it, but I don't think that was related to the car.

[TheWanderer]

With all of the faults on my RS at the moment I'd consider the Mondeo.

[Alex-W]

If I were in the market for a 180bhp deisel I'd just buy a 320d m sport myself.  Pretty sure they outsold the Mondeo by quite a long way for company cars, loads on the market with a good spec.  Well priced for what they are.  

The wife wanted one too actually but we needed practicality, a saloon with no folding seats didn't cut it and she didn't want to drive an estate.

I considered the 3 series myself but the only contender was the 328i for me and they're really rather rare, or expensive as a result.  The deisels are much more competitive in price.

[ahenners]

5 minutes ago, Alex-W said:

If I were in the market for a 180bhp deisel I'd just buy a 320d m sport myself.  Pretty sure they outsold the Mondeo by quite a long way for company cars, loads on the market with a good spec.  Well priced for what they are.  

The wife wanted one too actually but we needed practicality, a saloon with no folding seats didn't cut it and she didn't want to drive an estate.

I considered the 3 series myself but the only contender was the 328i for me and they're really rather rare, or expensive as a result.  The deisels are much more competitive in price.

 

I agree with the initial bit; for a 180ish ps diesel, a 320d is pretty difficult to beat.

Properly decent spec 320ds aren't that common though in my opinion. There are plenty which were clearly leased or company cars with the standard spec which in typical Germanic standards can be a bit lacking.

 

By proper spec I mean with Xenons (pre-lci or LED LCI), Pro Nav and Harmon Kardon. Even less have things like Lane Assist which is standard on our Octavia VRS or the adaptive dampers. The saloons don't even have split folding rear seats as standard!

 

 

[Alex-W]

Yeah, as I say, it was the folding seats that put us off previously. More recently the ones I saw online had everything I wanted on but we're either too far away or too expensive.

Well, actually, I really wanted red leather and that's quite rare.

[MorrisOx]

On 14/09/2019 at 00:01, nickcoll said:

 

They don't all have the torsion beam - why not get one with the multi-link rear end? My 4x4 2.0TDi handles extremely well and is really great to drive. Tons of grip (both front and rear), great turn-in, altogether lovely.

 

That’s true, but I’d kind of reached the point with mine where I felt like I’d be spending Passat or even A4-level money to get the ride and refinement I craved. Superb is a kind of half-way house in that it feels more grown-up and settled than the Octy, and a bit more refined.

 

But I doubt I’ll go for another Skoda after this. I’m up against Skoda’s position in the VW pecking order and that means that though they’re generally better than you expect they’re never as good as you might like.

 

I’d probably have got sick of the Mondeo’s plasticky interior if I’d gone for one of those. Always a trade-off somewhere unless you spend top dollar.

[Saints92]

22 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

Thing is most modern cars feel numb, that's electric power steering, all the driver aids and turbo engines with a linear power delivery for you.

 

 

This is the issue, I think.

 

I've driven a 16 plate RS4, its obviously quick but you're sitting in the drivers seat, feeling no bumps on the road, and barely even hearing it, it comes as a shock you're travelling over 100.

 

Drove some form of TVR years ago, which probably doesnt even have a third of the power, but it felt like it was trying to kill you every time you dared it to speed up.

 

I know which one I'd be more excited about driving a second time. I'd obviously rather own the RS4 though 😂

[gm73]

As a taxi driver I would NEVER choose a Mondeo over an Octavia. Alan Howatt's videos on YouTube prove the general reliability of the MK5 Mondeo is pretty dreadful, plus it has a PSA diesel engine! NOTHING has gone wrong with my Octavia 1.6 CR TDI in 137k miles whereas a mate of mine had a MK5 Mondeo and got rid after 70k miles for a Toledo!  Just too many issues.

 

However, I did have an '06 MK3 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 140 back in the mid-2000s and it was a hoot to drive. Fast, nimble with a nice interior.

[Ju1ian1001]

1 hour ago, gm73 said:

As a taxi driver I would NEVER choose a Mondeo over an Octavia. Alan Howatt's videos on YouTube prove the general reliability of the MK5 Mondeo is pretty dreadful, plus it has a PSA diesel engine! NOTHING has gone wrong with my Octavia 1.6 CR TDI in 137k miles whereas a mate of mine had a MK5 Mondeo and got rid after 70k miles for a Toledo!  Just too many issues.

 

However, I did have an '06 MK3 Mondeo 2.0 TDCI 140 back in the mid-2000s and it was a hoot to drive. Fast, nimble with a nice interior.

See this gets me, the PSA diesel engine (HDI as it's known) is a peach if looked after, to the point of if the point of if the cambelt breaks you change the the belt (and tensioner and idler pulley) change the rockers and away you go again. TDi engine cambelt breaks and the engine or at least the cylinder head is scrap.

As for steering we have all got used to numb, overlight,elastic feeling electric/mechanical power steering, ford has tried (not sucsessfully) make the EPAS feel like a good old hydraulic setup.

 

Give me a MK1-Mk3 Mondeo and i would be happy but the mk4 mk5 mk6 and they are just horrible barges.

 

I'm quite happy to have my little 1400 TSi mk 3 octavia, only has a mere 140bhp but thats enough to sit at 70-80mph on the motorway, has enough guts to overtake, and its has enough toys in it to keep me happy.

 

forget your merc's, bmw's and the like, under the shiny metal panels all cars are the same underneath.

[Carlsson]

I’ve driven the current model Mondeo quite a bit over the last few years. It feels more like a long wheelbase Focus than a Passat rival. It is eerily quiet inside and is far more refined than the Octavia. It isn’t a fun car to drive but it soaks up the miles, which is the point I suppose. 

Boot is massive, rear window is annoyingly narrow, rear visibility is poor, ergonomics are below average, lots of corners cut on the changeover from LHD. Some of these addressed on the 2017 revision. 

[OldBoyScout]

MK3 Mondeo tipped by Honest John as a future classic:

https://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/news/comment/2019-01/future-classic-friday-ford-mondeo-mk-3/

 

Also it is related to the Jaguar X-Type

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2716952/This-car-is-absolutely-categorically-not-a-Ford-Mondeo.html

 

I had a 2002 2.0 TDCI Zetec as my company car for 5 years. I had no issues with the way it drove, but was grateful I didn't have to pay for repairs out of my own pocket. My previous car was a Volvo V40 petrol, and this time I looked at getting another V40 (diesel or LPG), or a Passat, but did not even think of getting an Octavia MK1. 

 

By the time that the Mondeo came up for replacement 5 years later I was ready for a change and was looking at a Skoda. My mother had got a Fabia in 2002 and my father had got an Octavia L&K hatch in 2005. I was very impressed by the build quality of both cars and decided to go for an Octavia Elegance 2.0 TDI estate. I was a bit concerned about the Octavia being smaller than the Mondeo, and would probably have gone for a Superb estate, had such a car existed in 2007. However, the MK2 Octavia proved to be an ideal choice, and I bought it from the company when I retired in 2014.

 

Later I read some reviews of the MK3 Scout and just knew I had to have the 184 DSG.  I just wasn't interested in any other car.  I bought a nearly new ex demonstrator car in late 2015 at a very favourable price, and now, almost four years later, I am still very happy with it.

So, I understand what people are saying about the MK3 Mondeo, but looking at the current cars I would choose the Octavia over the Mondeo without a doubt.  The MK3 Octavia is just a little bit bigger than the MK2, and to me it no longer feels lacking in size.  In any case there is no Mondeo equivalent of the Octavia Scout.

 

2 hours ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

I'm quite happy to have my little 1400 TSi mk 3 octavia, only has a mere 140bhp but thats enough to sit at 70-80mph on the motorway, has enough guts to overtake, and its has enough toys in it to keep me happy.

My Mondeo only had 130bhp compared to 140bhp of my previous car, but it felt like a bit more, which I put down to the extra torque of the diesel engine.  The 140bhp of my MK2 Octavia is more than adequate, but I do enjoy the extra acceleration in the Scout 184.

 

[Octaviarse]

I had a MK3 Mondeo and it was supremely reliable and a good drive if woefully underpowered (1.8 petrol which I think produces somewhere between 135-140bhp).

 

That said it was bloody cheap. I bought it at 3.5 years old for £4.4k and sold it at nearly 9.5 years old for £1250 after putting nearly 60k on the clock.

 

In terms of reliability, the only things that went on it other than replacing discs, pads and tyres was one abs sensor and one coil pack.

 

Often think I should have kept it but I had a good innings in it and probably got out of it before age meant a few more bits would start going wrong. Still have a soft spot for it though. 

Edited 16 September, 2019 by Octaviarse

[AllanDJ]

I used to have a Mk 3 Mondeo many years ago too, a 2.2 TD Ghia X Estate, great car for long drives, very powerful and comfortable but diabolical clutch, which was physically painful sometimes if there was a lot of stop/start traffic. Loved the car but hated that clutch, never ever driven a car with a clutch that heavy before, the Octavia is a much easier car to drive than the Mondeo was and very nearly has the same carrying capacity that the Mondeo had, the difference is fractional to be honest.

[OldBoyScout]

11 hours ago, Octaviarse said:

I had a MK3 Mondeo and it was supremely reliable and a good drive if woefully underpowered (1.8 petrol which I think produces somewhere between 135-140bhp).

When I got mine in 2002 the TDCI 130 had just gone on sale, and there were still cars in stock with the TDCI 112.  It obviously would have beaten the 1.8 petrol car for torque, and was the most powerful diesel that was available in a Ford car at the time. VW had a similarly powerful engine in the Passat, and I took one for a test drive, but there was a waiting time for it, and it cost a bit more, and I decided to go for the Ford which was immediately available at a discounted price.  Three years later when I drove my father's new Octavia MK2, to me it had the same quality feel that I had experienced in the Passat on the test drive, and I decided I would get one when I came up for a change.

 

Those were very different times for diesel cars:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/ford/mondeo/first-drives/ford-joins-the-revolution

 

When Ford brought out Mondeo MK3 there was some publicity material saying that they were aiming to raise their game by competing with VW on quality, and maybe the later MK3s were better than mine. At 4 years old my Mondeo went in for a service and its second MOT.  They found some problems with the engine that took so long to fix that we thought we were going to have to SORN it.  My Octavia MK2 has passed the MOT first time every time, right up until last year, when It would have passed first time again if I had known that the rule about third brake lights had been changed.

 

Octavia vs Mondeo, no contest.

 

[JamiePvrs]

Still no sale.on the mondeo! WBAC have offered 11k!! We paid 17k for it back in January.  Oops

[Gmac983]

On 15/09/2019 at 13:34, MorrisOx said:

But I doubt I’ll go for another Skoda after this. I’m up against Skoda’s position in the VW pecking order and that means that though they’re generally better than you expect they’re never as good as you might like.

 

I've heard this pecking order comment a few times on briskoda. I don't entirely buy into it, it seems like badge snobbery to me. Viewed purely from an engine stand point it does carry a little merit though as VAG don't pass on some of the larger high performance engines on down to Skoda/Seat. How good would a V6T be in the kodiaq/tarraco for example instead of the 4 cylinder diesel vRS? 

However, viewed from any other stand point doesn't hold any water whatsoever IMO. I see absolutely no "quality" gain from buying an Audi over a "lesser" Skoda/Seat. Ive owned several skodas' and an Audi in the past and my parents have had VWs, unless you specifically want one of the engines not available to skoda you really are only paying for a badge and snob value on the Audis. Also the Audi dealer I dealt were head and shoulders above everyone else for awfulness, they were truly horrid. I will certainly continue to shop at the Skoda or Seat end of the VAGroup. 

[TheWanderer]

Strange. I'm thinking of leaving Skoda, due to the pure number of issues with the car.

 

The only thing that stops me moving to either Audi, VW, Merc, Jaguar is the lack of a heated windscreen, which is about the only thing that I love about my car.

[logiclee]

20 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

Strange. I'm thinking of leaving Skoda, due to the pure number of issues with the car.

 

The only thing that stops me moving to either Audi, VW, Merc, Jaguar is the lack of a heated windscreen, which is about the only thing that I love about my car.

 

Plenty out there with heated screen, they were standard on most higher spec Jags until quite recently.

 

The reliability of the latest engines and MQB build quality has moved me away from VAG after two decades of VAG ownership and 13 Skoda's

Edited 22 September, 2019 by logiclee

[TheWanderer]

For me it has been electronic glitches that have really spoilt for me, plus the oil sensor issue. 

 

This is something that I should not have to put up with in a £32k car. 

[benterrier]

Surely credit must go to the Octavia for being compared to the Mondeo. After all its based on the Golf chassis and which are a level down in size from the Mondeo I would have thought.

 

Superb or Passat v Mondeo would be more appropriate.

[shyVRS245]

5 minutes ago, benterrier said:

Surely credit must go to the Octavia for being compared to the Mondeo. After all its based on the Golf chassis and which are a level down in size from the Mondeo I would have thought.

 

Superb or Passat v Mondeo would be more appropriate.

True the Octavia is about the same length as a BMW 3 Series or and Audi A4 which offer must less room inside and in the boot.

[*JP*]

Mk3 Mondeo a future classic?

Best fake news ever!

 

😂😂😂😂😂

[benterrier]

2 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

True the Octavia is about the same length as a BMW 3 Series or and Audi A4 which offer must less room inside and in the boot.

Never owned a Mondeo but had the equivalent Fusion on hire in Chicago last year. It was a Hybrid and had all the bells and whistles. IMO a very nice comfortable quiet car.  

[HotVRs]

24 minutes ago, benterrier said:

Surely credit must go to the Octavia for being compared to the Mondeo. After all its based on the Golf chassis and which are a level down in size from the Mondeo I would have thought.

 

Superb or Passat v Mondeo would be more appropriate.

 

Last time I was in the back of a new(ish) Mondeo I thought it was a Focus because it seemed smaller inside than I expected. The Octavia 3 benefits from the magic packaging of the MQB platform that makes it so roomy inside relative to exterior dimensions.

[benterrier]

Like I said credit must go to the Octavia but did like the Mondeo.