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Will I ever like a V6 engine...? I'm not so sure!
Going by the previous efforts of Volkswagen's MK4/MK5 Golf R32, Ford's earlier 2.5 V6 Mondeo, the Opel Vectra 2.5 V6, and Jaguar's previously failed attempts.. I just don't know. Here we have the Ford Mondeo 3.0 V6, with a manufacturers quoted output of 226hp. Torque isn't shy at 285NM, but my opinion is still reserved on whether the standard motor will impress me on the road. Laden with a full tank of BP Ultimate, I began my journey.. To begin we drove to a nearby car wash in Lowestoft - situated on Battery Green Road - they take great care of everything I take to them, spending minimum 15-20 minutes for an exterior hand wash. Should anybody local wish to inspect their handiwork, drop me an email -> nick@on-cars.com <- and I can show you how good they are before visiting. Yiber and Erion run the site, both from Algeria, and they are bloody good hard workers! I love people who can open a business and be successful with it. A bit of a tangent, but greedy people never 'make' it. After washing we pulled up to get some pictures taken. I've always enjoyed driving the Ford Mondeo 'ST' 2.2 TDCI, because the seats are so damn comfortable! Similar to the Fiesta MK6, Ford haven't let me down when it comes to comfort in recent years. I probably wouldn't buy a Ford Mondeo for personal/daily use - however if I had a family and wanted a nice saloon, different to the usual BMW/Audi gang - this wouldn't be out of my list. The Chassis Not bad! I can't really pick fault at this car - although I tried. They sit really well, and the original suspension lives up to the job. I threw it at a few roundabouts, chucked it into a couple of bends, nearly attempted a handbrake manoeuvre then remembered I was on the Queen's Roads... Its pretty solid! If you are after a family or business saloon that you can enjoy on some of our countries A and B Roads.. this will live up to the job. The Body Well for a Ford Mondeo - it is a good shape. No it isn't a Ferrari - it is a saloon. This is what you get. Four doors, a decent sized boot, plenty of leg room, and seats that wont annoy you after 3-4 hours behind the wheel. I personally don't think it looks too shabby, and I wouldn't be embarrassed parking this outside the house. The Throttle I was in for a surprise here.. This is a completely standard car with no tuning or fancy modifications added. After a 20 minute cruise around the local town, we headed out towards the A12 Dual Carriageway to open the beast! 3.0 Litres is no small feat, and I really didn't want this car to disappoint. For a standard car, I can't knock it! It actually pulled me down the road and I wasn't expecting it (to be honest). This is a decent motor! It obviously isn't one of the fastest cars I have driven, but I haven't got a problem with how the car drives at all. If this came with an Automatic Gearbox I'd actually consider it for motorway use. BP Ultimate has impressed me once again ;-) What can I say! I've had a cracking afternoon with this car, spent a couple of hours driving and taking pics. Big thanks to Paul Mann (Richard Palmer Motors Norfolk LTD, 188A Northgate Street, Gt Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR30 1DA) for the use of his vehicle. We are like best friends now - he just doesn't know it yet! Nicholas Lawrence //ON CARS email -> nick@on-cars.com |
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