Long-term update: 2008 Ford Mondeo in Dubai
It’s a busy world. People are in a race with time to be as ahead as possible in every aspect they can think of. There is hardly any time for anyone; and given the situation, people want the best in life; by saying best in life, I mean whatever that can make life easier and to be at ease. And such things include, for an instance, mobile phones which are capable of replacing one’s alarm clock, calendar, organizer, netbook, music players, video players, navigation systems and what not, besides serving the basic purpose of a phone and thus eliminating the need of having so many things at a time. Major advancements have taken place in the field of automobile engineering too. Gone are those times when one had to choose between power and fuel efficiency, utility and performance, or ride comfort and sporty handling. Gone are those days when one had to own two cars to satisfy two very different needs of driving enthusiasm and family requirements. Though still only a handful, we now have cars which offer the best of both worlds and even more for little money –- one such car is the all new Ford Mondeo.
First and foremost, Ford Mondeo is a European car unlike what the general public believes. It is manufactured in Belgium which is not in North America –- or the map in my social science book was wrong!! The car in review is my own vehicle which I had recently bought for a measly Dhs 40,000 in Dubai. It is a 2008 model, basic Ambiente variant, and had 22,100 km on odo when I bought it.
During my 7 years of driving in UAE, this is the fifth vehicle that I have owned; which explains my failure as a driving enthusiast in finding the right vehicle that suited my complicated tastes – my tastes were nothing but my urge for ionospheric levels of handling while being smooth and comfortable, extremely spacious, quiet and good looking, and affordable to buy and maintain. My previous cars include a Chevrolet Barina, Ford Mondeo (previous model), Hyundai Accent and the latest Mazda 6, all of which had one or the other shortcomings and had ultimately failed to be the “one” vehicle I was hunting for. There was a point where I owned two cars, 2006 Mondeo and 2009 Mazda 6, only because one was smooth, fairly spacious and handled great while the other was good looking, fairly quiet and fairly quick. Being a middle-class expat, things got tough with me and circumstances started to push me back into a hunt for something that could replace both my cars! After some arduous search, the new Mondeo was the chosen one.
Talking of the Mondeo, the current model made its debut back in late 2006. It was released in the UK in May 2007 and it hit the shores of the UAE during late 2007 as a 2008 model, replacing the aging 3rd-generation Mondeo. The current model is slightly larger than the Honda Accord and now sports a well-tuned 161 hp 2.3-litre motor. The basic variant features a 6-speed tiptronic transmission, front, side & curtain airbags and a segment-first knee airbag, ABS with EBD and Emergency Brake Assist which automatically activates hazard lights upon emergency braking, power windows with one-touch down function and jam protection, 8-speaker audio with AUX-input, rear armrest, 60:40 folding rear seats, manual a/c, trip computer, backlit steering controls for audio and trip computer, rear fog lamps, 16-inch steel wheels, dual exhaust tips, remote keyless entry with trunk release and so on.
As a note, I have a loose hinge on the hood which makes it appear a little misaligned and there is a torn driver’s seat, both of which the dealer has “promised” to fix up for free when I next visit the service centre.
Text and photos by Vivek Menon.
Original Mileage When Bought: 22,132 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 22,888 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10.5 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 0
Comments
Rahul Jones
I like Ford for mainly the service Al tayer gives. I went to the showroom 2 years back. And whatever need I had they were ready to help. As always I like to drive any car in manual transmission. They were ready to custom order it.
ROJ
People speak well so far about the ford dealer here.. As far as I hear they seem decent and professional..
Abdullah
Looks like the old Ford Falcon which was manufactured in Australia, except this is more modernized.
Murf
Great article, vivz!
vivek
thx Murf 🙂
SJcruiser
Al Tayer is totally unprofessional. Recently I had a real bad experience with Al Tayer as they could not fix a minor problem despite keeping the car there for more than 10 days.
vivek
never had any problem with them so far..however, recently they have upped their labor costs to insane levels just like al-futtaim and galadari, though they still exhibit better standards..and some of the previous-gen Mondeo owners have been having some sort of weird starting trouble which they have not been able to solve at all..That said, Al-futtaim treats their customers by returning unwashed and dirty cars alongwith a heavy bill for a light service and they just cannot solve random ABS issues, idling vibration issues and transmission issues! Talking of Al-Habtoor, I really have no words – giving up is a better option when it comes to ’em! Thats what I did when I used to take care of my friend’s Lancer EX.
Aditya
The back of this car is the ugliest i have ever seen. The old mondeo was a handsome thing. but this is a mess!! They ruined one of the best affordable drivers cars, at least as far as looks are concerned. Just my opinion !!
vivek
^^ do u own the old Mondeo? just asking.. 🙂
Aditya
No. 😛 , I own a chevy lumina.
Faisal
“automatically activates hazard lights upon emergency braking”
Really?? Didn’t know it had that…
vivek menon
which model do u hav?? the prev one or this one? if its this one, it has it…the old one doesnt have it! and yes, dont try it at a signal with someone behind u 😀
faisal
Have the 2009 model ^_^
vivek menon
ohh?? which variant? n hwz it going?? hw many kms done?
Faisal
Full options i.e. Titanium. Done 24K kilometers. It’ll be 1 year next month. Giving me loads of issues though the driving experience kinda makes up for it. Will be writing my own piece when I complete one year. -_-
vivek
Loads of issues?? ok :-S ..mine is 23,100 already and mine is a 2008 model..from the looks of it, it was a fairly abused car though Al Tayer restored it back into mint condition levels before delivering the car to me..lets c hwz it gon’ go..I am trusting it on the grounds of how my old Mondeo never let me down..hmm!
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
^My 2005 Peugeot did that. Go try hard braking, but not in front of a van at a signal :p
Ciprian
i am whining on this blog since ever about how low the Al tayer services are here in dubai and still get ppl who reply “i had no problem”.
At first.. they promised me “courtesy car” when purchased and laughed in my face when i asked for it when the car was in the shop for more than 2 days though i saw a guy (needless to point out his dish-dash nationality) and JUST FOR A DOOR LOCK they brought to him a Lincoln Navigator as “courtesy car”. I am “visiting” them at least monthly with some problems with my ford and if i complain about 2-3 or 10 things they will always take care of only 1 of them. Even e-mailed and complained to the USA Ford main ownership and they hoummus me that i should deal with my local dealer. Again: i love my 500 and always will. i love ford but not here in UAE. Kia Mohave HERE I COME.
vivek
^^ Well..I remember being given a courtesy car once when my old Mondeo went in for some vibration issue and stayed with them for around 4 days; they gave me a Mercury Mountaineer. But that was it; later on, on another occassion when I asked for a courtesy car due to my car being in their possession for something that took them time to fix, they gave me that same laugh you were talking about 😛 ..Its not that I never had any problems at all; but compared to the stuff I have gone through while dealing with Futtaim, it’s sister concern Trading Ent and Al Habtoor, Al Tayer is way better in terms of service quality and standards. And funnily enough, I am sure there are a million others who are happy with those dealers! Trust me dude, no dealer is perfect. If you know how to maintain a car yourself, I guess that will be the best instead of leaving your car’s fate on the stupid dealers. Same goes with Kia Mohave and Juma Al Majid – though personally I never had any issues with them and was very happy with their work, there are several others complaining about their service quality and cost levels!
Anil
well..i suggest goin to the emarat fast track service stations if your car’s warranty is over for servicing..their service levels are really great and very very cost effective compred to the dealers
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
The problem with Fastrack is they can only service basic econo-cars. Take certain cars and they can’t even change the brake or tranny fluid.
Anil
lemme check that the next time i go..will start enquiring from civic and rivals all the way upto the accord and rivals with some SUVs thrown in..lets see where they go upto
vivek
Fasttrack can service Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, Camry, Yaris, Mitsu Lancer, Galant, Ford Mondeo (old one), Focus, Toyota Prado, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsu Pajero, Nativa, Nissan Pathfinder, Sunny, Tiida, Maxima (old one), Hyundai Tucson and Hyundai Accent – confirmed. These are all from personal experience.
Sameer
Hi Vivek,
Can you please send me your email address, I need to request some info on for mondeo 2008 if it is worth buy in 2020.
Regards
Vivek Menon
Well Sameer, Mondeo is a discontinued model in the UAE, and its been quite a while too (2011 was the last model, if I am remm it right). At this point, it wouldn’t be a great idea to buy one. There are other alternatives out there though. You may find me on Insta (@vivz990), n msg me there.