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Long term update: 2008 Ford Mondeo in the summer

Long term update: 2008 Ford Mondeo in the summer

by Vivek Menon. June 17, 2011.


So its summer time again – a period of nature’s harshness which is inevitable. And hence it was time for me to test one aspect of my Mondeo, which is actually a factor majorly considered when it comes to purchasing cars anywhere in the Middle East – the air-conditioner.

Automobiles from almost every marque hailing from the western hemisphere are believed to have air-conditioners which are inferior in performance when compared to the Japanese competition. It is true in some cases while in others it is just a pathetic matter of unchangeable perceptions. So what is it with the Mondeo?

The test included driving the car during midday when the mercury soared to as high as a sweltering 46 degrees through heavy city traffic, standstill highway traffic and open highways at usual highway speeds. While in heavy city traffic, the a/c seemed to just pointlessly blow loads of cool air through four tiny vents into a massive cabin, not really helping the objective of cooling down the cabin and its passengers. Lack of rear vents in my base 2008 model car only made situations in the rear more difficult — I even repented not spending a few extra bucks to get the 2009 Mondeo, which has rear a/c vents as standard. While it was the same story in standstill highway traffic, things took a turn once the Mondeo touched highway speeds on an open motorway. Despite the mercury momentarily touching 48 degrees at one point, the air-conditioner cooled down the interior well within four minutes.

Funnily enough, while my previous-generation 2006 Mondeo fared worse at any temperature above 43 degrees in heavy traffic situations, it just thrashed its successor when it came to highways as it froze down the interior forcing me to reduce the blow and increase the thermostat while the temperature gauge still read a constant 46 degrees. And talking about the Japanese competition, Ford seems to have a long way to go to rival the sort of air freezers they offer in their vehicles. Overall, I would rate the Mondeo’s air-conditioner as average. It definitely will not leave you sweating, but it would not give you an opportunity to reduce the blower or thermostat either.

The other and only problem is the creaks from the gearbox area which has shown up yet again inspite of two visits to the Al Tayer service centre. Initially the dudes at Al Tayer service just quietly oiled up the joints of the plastics so that they don’t creak; but that did not work, leaving me no choice but to visit them once again for the same problem. I have no idea what they did the second time, but the creaks which were absent for sometime have started to resurface again slightly but progressively. From an inside source I got to hear that oil and Vaseline are widely used by Al Tayer technicians to get rid of such minor creaking issues on budget vehicles while also charging the customer — I am glad that I have a warranty and do not have to pay for their Vaseline! However they were kind enough to get my car stereo replaced under warranty due to the button colours peeling off.

My old Mondeo, which is in its 6th year of service, still does not have any creaks, rattles or other interior quality issues — I had bought it brand new though. While the previous owner of my newer Mondeo had messed it up to the core, I am unsure what to blame — bad maintenance from the previous owner or inferior material quality.

The car still drives smoothly, silently and comfortably while giving outstanding mileage. If it had an air freezer like the ones in Nissan and interior hard-plastic bits of slightly higher quality, I would have been dancing on cloud nine. The a/c is something I can live with as long as it does not leave me sweating, but the interior creaks are something that bugs me a lot and even embarrasses me whenever someone travels with me. If the service centre is intentionally armed with oil and Vaseline for treating Mondeo owners just because the Mondeo is a budget car, what exactly are my options? Let’s see as time goes on.

Original Mileage When Bought: 22,132 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 36,868 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 10.4 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 0

Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 0

Read all 2008 Ford Mondeo long-term updates

About the author

Vivek Menon

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Comments

  1. pretty interesting but what is it value with this kind of A/C??

  2. Drive it and see..u’ll know..as I said, a/c is not bad, but isn’t anything to brag abt either..it just saves you from scorching heat..it won’t freeze, but it’ll cool u down jus enough so that u don’t feel the 46 degrees heat and won’t sweat! And anyway, 46 degrees is the scenario only during the few noon hours and only for about 3 months – it is a time when I don’t drive much anyway…moreover, once temp goes down to 42 or below 42 the a/c does an above average job..if u ask me, iam still happy with it than in a Camry or Accord which costs twice as more wid their one and only advantage being the strong a/c..

    • The Galant GTS has a strong a/c too, hah! And sports suspension, supposedly.

    • Don’t talk to me now u Japanese..will c u at al haboor service centre cashiers desk..will definitely need a strong a/c then…haha!

    • I got one free service left. Will see what the situation is.

    • Heyy btw jokes apart..I seriously hope u gon’ service the beauty from outside n not Habtoor.

    • I Know 3 people that own Lancers… All of them claim and agree that Al Habtoor’s service is rubbish and they ruined the car more than fix it…

    • make it 4 lancers..i used to take my friends lancer for service to al habtoor.

    • I think this 3 months actually we need the A/C. If you want go out for lunch and it needs 10 min to moderately cool down your car then better sell it 😀

    • If all you need is an excellent A/C. You should try Nissan Sunny. I haven’t got into any vehicle which can beat that.

    • ^^lol..

      And fazl…in 5 minutes, it would be fine enuf that u wont sweat..jus tat it won’t freeze you to death like say, an Altima..

    • But if you have a freezing A/C you reduce the coolness. But if you have a normal A/C you don’t have an option to increase it.
      I have seen few Fords like Flex and F-150 have 16 degrees cooling capabilities. Does your have?

    • @rahul: in my 2008 base one, it is the regular manual thermostat thing…however, in my old 2006 model which has climate control, it goes till 18 C, next option being “LO”…

    • There is no better car than a lumina in all these aspects. Have one 6 years running. A/C will embarass the Japs as it sends u to the ice age, no matter what the temp outside. Never gave any problems and interior quality is much much better than the fords or toyotas. Similar to Honda. Awesome power and the ride is fantastic. love my lumina.

      No offence but i find this version of the mondeo pretty ugly,especially from the back.The eariler shape was handsome. .

  3. Heyy btw jokes apart..I seriously hope u gon’ service the beauty from outside n not Habtoor.

  4. today at 1pm I took my brother’s 2006 caprice v6 for changing the wipers, the ac was too cold, i can say that the caprice got the best ac ever I’ve seen, no matter that the car is parked, traffic or highway, even much colder than my 2011 mustang which takes more time to cool the cabin. As you said it just saves you from scorching heat, it won’t freeze.

  5. Yup i had the same problem with my stereo buttons paint coming off,i replaced it once when i brought the car and now i think i’m gonna have to do it again, whats worse is my car is black in color with black interiors and no tint. Other than that and the grunting ABS on cold start its pretty alright. Has any one had any issue with the buttons on the steering though, coz the button that controls the reset of the tripmeter just doesn’t work any more and i’ve had it replaced once already ?

  6. I guess we should have a Mondeo meet one day !

  7. Haha, not all europeans have a bad A/C/ My AMG mercedes C-class has a pretty decent A/C though not as good as lexus.

  8. Nice article, A/c is very important especially if you have kids in the back, it is not just the sun that heats up a car interior you know. Each human body contributes to the temperature inside a cabin!
    My Ford Escape has very good A/C only once in three years did I think it was nderperforming.
    Just start the car up switch the A/c on and leave it for 10 minutes. It makes a big difference. Yes I am aware of the environment!

    Mark

  9. I got my Mondeo tinted but the A/C with the rear vents is useless in traffic in the day for anyone but the driver. Highway driving does help but I live in the City so that’s not always the case. Another issue is where I live, there is no shade to park in cause the shade is taken by idiots who can’t drive who have hit my car/s 3 times already (all hail insurance) so the car is an oven with the black interior. -_-

  10. Driven a Ford Taurus lately and AC was really impressive.

  11. Try the Accord sedan’s 2008-up air conditioning and you wont regret it>…………

  12. Vivek…are u the same person who wrote for saudi airlines magazine Ahlan wasahlan about the road trip from riyadh to dubai

  13. I have a caprice now for 6 years and the A/C will blow your mind out its freezing cold.In between i also believe that al Ghandi service center are all just money sucking thiefs they charge thousands for servicing and does not want to fix my car differential problem under the warranty but as soon as the warranty expired they give me a 10,000 quote to replace the differential.Anyhow the car is awesome and really tough body its well more then its price.

    • car has differential problem within warranty period and u say it is worth more than its price? maybe thats why they ask u for 10,000 more.

  14. Hi, just want to add, my Saab-93 2002 model, soft top convertible (should be more warm at midday), driven 146000 km has an unbeleivale a/c. It cools down the cabin in less than 60 secs! ( it turns up auto at start as well 😛

  15. I had a fiat barchetta as my 1st car… It had a freezing cold a/c… I forgot mentioning this one..

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