I have a dilemma guys and gals.

I was going to buy a 56 reg Mondeo ST tdci hatch, with 11,000 on the clock, for

The multifunction steering wheel has controls for the stereo on there.

Personally I'd avoid the mondeo now as second hand prices will drop quite a lot once the new one comes on sale.

Now if it had been 14k I'd have been much more tempted.

Just got rid of my Mondeo ST-TDCI..................Have to say i'm not upset. If it was my money i would go for the Octy, by a mile!

I've just had exactly the same decision and went for the Octavia (had it a week now). However, are these models really that comparable? I was looking at a 2.2 Titanium-X versus the Elegance or a ST versus the vRS.

One thing that did it for me was the boot is sizeably larger on the Octy and I can get the 8 week old babies pram in longways without having to take the wheels off (of the pram that is)!

I would echo the comments about the residuals on the Mondeo. I guess in the end it comes down to price. I got a 55 plate with 31k for

Personally if there was only that much in it, I would go for the brand new car!

Also on DTD the Skoda is 15,911 with those options!

And the Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium with esp and metallic is

Hey, check this Auto Express test between the Octavia vRS TDI and Mondeo ST TDci - Read Family Cars Review | Compare Skoda Octavia vRS TDI v Ford Mondeo ST TDCi

To me the Octy wins it. You might just squeeze an early '56 reg vRS into your budget but if not the 2.0L TDI Elegance or Sport are a pretty good choice. If you want a little extra oomph they can always be chipped to c. 170-175bhp or you can always fiddle with wheels to get 17" or 18" on the Elegance.

With the new Mondeo to be released very soon depreciation on the current one will be enormous whereas the Octy should be fairly safe.

Finally; have you drive either or both yet? If not it would be a good idea to, for at least 30 mins to get a good feel for the car.

Mondeo is a nice enough car to drive but I thought the interior was absolutely crap. Filled with cheap brittle plastics that were creaking on a brand new car.

It put me off completely. the interior of the Octy sold it for me, it was a different class altogether.

Thanks for all your help.

I have now done a sort of u turn and purchased an Octy 2.0 fsi L&K 2007 model, which I'm delighted with (well at least the spec!), from Drive the deal, for

Well sort of U turn - at least you bought the Octy! You might have done a full U-turn and bought a Laguna or Vectra!!

Nice car.

Definitely a good choice, esp with lots of goodies!!

I used DTD when I purchased my car, straightforward and easy to do

Mondeo is a nice enough car to drive but I thought the interior was absolutely crap. Filled with cheap brittle plastics that were creaking on a brand new car.

Quite agree. For such widely sold cars, GM & Ford have quite cheap and nasty looking interiors and buttons. looks like an RNIB parts bin sneezed inside any ford IMO.

Nooooooo don't get a MUNDANO