C6 gone..no great surprise?

[Northern_Mike]

Some of the stuff that wins car of the year is rubbish though, i mean the Mondeo, please Luke its a tool and i know i recently had a very nice one, it doesnt do anything special or interesting its bland basic and cheap motoring and it feels like it why on earth would a car like that get an award

Well, apart from the ride quality, it's better than a Xantia in just about every way.. I've had two Mondeos MK1s and a MK2. They handle very, very well indeed, much better than any Xantia other than an Activa. The 1.8 Zetec motor is a gem in both the Mondeo and Focus, it's powerful, light and revvy without being too thirsty. It's also very reliable.

I agree that a lot of tat has won the COTY award, but lets have some sense and not just "Citroens are better than everything"... because they aren't. More interesting, perhaps, but not better..

[Deanxm]

Well, apart from the ride quality, it's better than a Xantia in just about every way..

........no, not even as good as the Activa although there is less road noise in the mondeo which is always the downside of hydraulic cits, that suspension does transmit more noise than the average car, the mondeo is alright but what does it do that anything else doesnt, its just a cheap family car. what about Mercs? mercedes had done an awefull lot for the car industry with some massive leaps forward wih some exellent cars and how many times have they won? it is weird.

Anyway you didnt strike me as a Mondeo man Mike

D

[R9UKE]

OK, maybe the modern Mondeos are a bit of a white good, but the proper mark one (K, L, M reg) had character. The interior was excellent, everything was really well thought out, Ford spent some massive amount of money on the research and development and it showed at the time. No Mondeo was without an airbag, I remember that being the big thing! It's one of my all time favourite cars

But yes, the character has just gradually disappeared to the near Toyota Avensis level that it is now.

And don't suggest that it's always rubbish that wins car of the year... the Mégane II was COTY 2003

[Northern_Mike]

Well, apart from the ride quality, it's better than a Xantia in just about every way..

........no, not even as good as the Activa although there is less road noise in the mondeo which is always the downside of hydraulic cits, that suspension does transmit more noise than the average car, the mondeo is alright but what does it do that anything else doesnt, its just a cheap family car. what about Mercs? mercedes had done an awefull lot for the car industry with some massive leaps forward wih some exellent cars and how many times have they won? it is weird.

Anyway you didnt strike me as a Mondeo man Mike

D

I think the award seems to take value for money into account, as much as innovation -though the Mondeo MK1 was a massive leap over the Sierra it replaced. They really do handle well , but anything under a 1.8 is underpowered, and I don't like the later ones. For me, the driving position was good, the ergonomics were very good, and my first one we took from 12k when we bought it, to 144k in 6 years with nothing other than routine servicing and consumables. It was my wife's car/our "sensible" car, while I ran all sorts of other tat as entertainment cars - 2CVs, Capri 2.8s, Saab 900 Turbos etc.

I'm not a Mondeo man, but I know a decent car when I see one. I like Focuses too, but the ride in the Zetec is a bit hard for me. I like Alfa 33 1.7s, but they are Sh1te really..

[Deanxm]

Focus isnt a bad car at all, that one i do like actualy, not a bad thing to say about it, it has a better quality feel to it and is a nice drive, so many cars, so little time................

D

[Northern_Mike]

Focus isnt a bad car at all, that one i do like actualy, not a bad thing to say about it, it has a better quality feel to it and is a nice drive, so many cars, so little time................

D

Tell me about it, I've had 127 at the last count... still haven't found one that does everything I want either! I want the ride of a CX, the reliability of a Honda, the grip and pace of a 90s Impreza WRX, the hilarity of a TVR Griffith 500 and the practicality of an XM estate, with late 80s BMW Ergonomics..

[Deanxm]

give me a pm when you find it, let me know who makes it

D

[addo]

A 405 break on the early Mi16×4 platform, ought to cover quite a lot of that design brief.

[DickieG]

A 405 break on the early Mi16×4 platform, ought to cover quite a lot of that design brief.

But Mike's looking for a car that works.

[addo]

I've had little drama with "Paris" other than genuine age/mileage issues. Now aged 22, she's proving cheaper long term, than the Xantia.