Long-term update: 2008 Ford Mondeo
So it’s been over two months and about 7500 km with the car. The experience has been a very good one indeed, so far. The car provides a smooth commute as always and has been functioning very well. There hasn’t been any niggles except for some slight squeaks from the gearbox area as mentioned in the previous updates, which has now been fixed.
Clocking a little short of 30,000 kilometres the beauty had its fourth service completely covered by Al Tayer as per the service & maintenance contract. Yes, you read that right; it was the fourth service since the car already had its third service done somewhere in mid twenty-something kilometres taking into consideration the time factor for service interval – the interval is either every 10,000 km or every 6 months. The service contract and the warranty info weren’t uploaded onto their systems initially; a friendly talk with the sales guy was all it took – thanks to my instincts for that stamped paper which I took from the same sales guy showing that my car has an extended service plan and warranty. Same crap has occurred before with me when I had purchased my old Mondeo brand new from their Garhoud Branch along with extended warranty. So to those who opt for Al Tayer’s extended service plans and warranty, beware! A misaligned bonnet and a torn seat which came with the car when I bought it has been completely taken care of as promised by the sales guy though it took them over a week’s time. I had mentioned about the squeaks to the dealer and that appears to have been taken care of too. Contrary to what I have been hearing from the public regarding Al Tayer’s professionalism, I generally had a good experience with them. They kept their word and did their job to perfection.
Back to the car, something that I discovered recently was an auto sport mode which is activated by pushing the gear lever to ‘S’.The Sport mode generally results in higher revs, delayed downshifts, slightly quicker upshifts and obviously lesser fuel efficiency, all contributing towards a sportier driving experience; all that combined with some good low-end kick makes it even more fun to drive. Only by pushing the gear lever from ‘S’ towards the +/– the manual mode gets activated, which is when you may control the gear shifts as you like and even red line it should you wish to chase someone or get chased. Manual shifts are nearly instant with only a slight hint of delay.
There is an information display housed between the speedo and tacho which shows the time, audio information and trip computer information. Besides, it also displays information and a few warnings in text format instead of visual signs; warnings are distinguished from general information by a bright “i” icon that lights up between the fuel and engine temperature gauges.
This is indeed “one of the best” midsize sedans around; the most underrated one too. However, not everything’s perfect – like the temperature gauge which shows ludicrous readings whenever the Mondeo manages to get stuck in standstill traffic, especially during the afternoons. There was an instance during a warm afternoon when I was stuck in a traffic jam in one of the interior roads of Barsha caused by some roadwork in progress; while the temperature outside was a pleasant 32 degrees, the gauge in the Mondeo soared to readings as high as 40 degrees! However, this changed once the car started to move, which is when the gauge settled down with fairly accurate numbers. I remember my old-generation Mondeo having the same problem while the gauges in the Japanese Mazda 6, Korean Chevrolet Cruze LT and the Australian Toyota Camry do not seem to suffer from this issue.
The A/C seems to be fine with the increasing warmth and does not take much time to cool – the real test for it is only yet to come though. More to come as time goes.
Original Mileage When Bought: 22,132 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 31,762 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 0
Comments
shafiq
about the a/c its so so, its not as strong in the summer compared to the japs.
Rahul Jones
I have heard of people complaining about American brand cars suffering from engine overheating mainly Chevys. But I thought it was the past and things have changed now.
And does the engine temperature reach extreme level? And BTW can we know the temperature in degrees (in numbers)?
Faisal Khatib
I think he meant exterior temperature and not engine.
Btw no such problem with my Mondeo…
Rahul Jones
Okie….. haha…. I thought it was the engine temperature…..
Tony
if i am not mistaken, the mondeo, along with the focus, are made in Europe (UK?). So technically it is not an American car, which is why they are good 🙂
Faisal Khatib
Mondeo is made in Belgium… 🙂
Prado
naa…..ford’s AC turns to a blower in the 40+ degrees. it is ok as long as the temp is below 35 degree.
Faisal Khatib
My AC is already a blower beyond 35’C cause my car isn’t tinted. Need to sort that out…
Rahul Jones
@ Faisal if it wasn’t the same before…… Try complete A/C service at Bosch…… result are really good….. 150bucks for 4 cyl car…..
Faisal Khatib
My AC has always been like this though I’ll look into it after I get it tinted…
Rahul Jones
My mom’s Malibu which we bought in 1999 had a blower too…..
vivek
Weird!!! Mine works evn at temperatures as high as 46 degrees…tested last saturday…it takes a bit mre longer to cool..tats all..japs are better off though
Rahul Jones
Both my cars needs A/C service. Camry A/C is nearly a blower and Armada A/C is a blower when stopping at traffic.
Aditya
I think the my chevy lumina has one of the best A/C’s in the market. U can freeze to death in one of those, even in 40 degrees. Fantastic car, Pleasure to drive, its one of the best deals in the market. Check it out toyota box ppl, u will never think of a camry,altima etc again. 🙂
Ravi Mansinghani
So far its been 3 months on my Mondeo , I love it to the fullest compared to any Jap car. Although I must say the only closest competitor is Honda Accord. The A/c is just great till date.
Yousuf
Can anyone elaborate on the cost of servicing if the extended plan hasnt been bought? As in, how much does major/minor servicing cost?
vivek
when I checkd their system records, the 20k kms normal service was AED 330. Cost for major service (50k kms) would be approximately AED 1,350.
Yousuf
Its being sold?
Faisal
Did I read that right?? “service interval – the interval is either every 10,000 km or every 6 months.”
That’s the usual interval for a simple oil change, not a major service! What are you going to do when your warranty period ends?? You can’t keep fixing the car every time you get into it!
vivek
read it again 🙂 …i meant the same thing – that 10k or 6 months is the service interval..tis wasnt a major service nyway; major service is the 5th service or at 50k kms…and whats with tat keep fixing part? i said they took care of stuff that was wrong with the car when i bought it and which they cud not fix up before delivering the car to me since i needed the car immediately..
Rahul Jones
Hey Vivz…
How easy do you think is it to do maintenance by ourselves? Because I just saw a video of replacing a cabin air filter in taurus and looked completed than the Japanese competitors……
Rahul Jones
I meant *complicated*.
vivek
well..no idea about that..there are service manuals available for this one on the net..check it out..from what I read on forums, it isn’t as complicated. It is just different from the usual Japanese lot and thats it.