Mondeo or Rover 75/ZT - any recommendations?

jjames_3

The 75 is a BMW-designed product. It's pretty well engineered, and very refined. At the price they're a very decent car. The only problem with them really is the old-man's image.

Why is it that everyone has a downer on things like Rovers, Nissans, Hyundais, Daihatsus (and Skodas for that matter), which are fundamentally sound and reliable cars just lacking in image, and yet sing the praises of Citroens, Fiats and Renaults which really do have serious reliability issues? Never been able to get my head around that one.

Murphy_The_Cat

I've owned a 2001 75 Conn Se Est diesel from new and totted up nearly 60000 miles. It is supremely comfortable, economic (45 mpg per tank, 52 mpg if on a long ditance cruise at ahem 80 ish) and has proven to be completely reliable (if you forget about the 2 headlight bulbs). In Conn Se spec it is VERY generously specced up.

I've never owned (or driven) a Mondeo so I cannot compare like with like, but i can heartily recommend a Rover 75

MTC

p.s. i did a 75 mile run this morning across a roads and dual carriageways and got over 61mpg - dead chuffed !

BigAde

Murphy_The_Cat wrote:

I've owned a 2001 75 Conn Se Est diesel from new and totted up nearly 60000 miles. It is supremely comfortable, economic (45 mpg per tank, 52 mpg if on a long ditance cruise at ahem 80 ish) and has proven to be completely reliable (if you forget about the 2 headlight bulbs). In Conn Se spec it is VERY generously specced up.

I've never owned (or driven) a Mondeo so I cannot compare like with like, but i can heartily recommend a Rover 75

MTC

Thanks Murphy_The_Cat - much appreciate the feedback. Sounds like the diesel is probably what I need to aim for... (let me know if you decide to sell yours!)

Still totally undecided what to get. Fortunately the old Mondeo is still running smoothly (just sailed through its MOT) so I'm in no particular hurry to replace it. Probably the best thing to do is for me to keep my eyes peeled in the coming weeks for a good 3-5 year old Mondeo or a 75/ZT. If nothing comes up I'll try and get a days leave and head along to the auction one day...
Thanks again to everyone for your advice and feedback.

BigAde

No worries... as I said I'm no mad rush to replace the car, so Jan/Feb may be okay - depends what comes up in the meantime. Let me know nearer the time if and when you decide to sell it. PM sent.

MrSmartprice

It always surprises me that people think that Citroens are unreliable. I am now into my 5th Citroen since 1990. Never has any of them let me down or needed any repairs other than routine maintenance. We will shortly be a 2 Citroen family. (C2 and Berlingo) and our friends have a C3 and C5.

Citroens are far more refined than Fords. I had a Ford briefly after my 1st Citroen and it was forever having warranty work done on it. I was back to a Xantia within a year. And the build quality is vastly superior to rubbishy Rovers.

With comfort, reliability, specifications and value for money considered, I shop around but always seem to come back to the Citroen. And at least 3 people have bought Berlingos after having a go in mine!

Murphy_The_Cat

Mr SmartPrice

Perhaps peoples low opinion of Citroen reliability is because they are not very reliable (although in your case they have been fine).

The What Car reliabilty survey shows that Citroen only come 24 out of 30 for reliability - the results are here

MTC

balsingh

I think the reliability of car usually boils down to how well it is looked after and how it is driven.

Also, the type of driving makes a difference. eg. a car the has covered all its miles going up and down motorways will have less wear and tear than a car which has done the same mileage around town and is likely to be more reliable.

People always told me that Vauxhalls were really unreliable. Between me and my dad, we have had 4 and they were perfect!

Basically, what I'm tryign to say is that the reports/surveys should not be taken as gospel, each car should be judged on its own merits

MrSmartprice

I agree. These surveys always seem to have jap cars at the top of the list, but who would want one? Tired, nondescript boxes in most cases, but don't Which love 'em!
Some people swear by Fords, but after my experience I wouldn't touch one. But I know many happy Citroen owners, and don't you see a lot of Citroens around these days. I have been told several times that the reason they are offered at such good prices is that they don't have to keep paying out for warranty work.

Murphy_The_Cat

No No No No No No


You both seem to have the wrong end of the stick.

The survey is printed in WhatCar (not Which) and is the report that the independant warranty provider Warranty Direct has found from the warranties that they sell.

It is not emotive

It does not take into account country of origin

It does not note how 'pretty' your car is

It only notes the number of claims per 100 cars, the average age of the cars, average repair time & average repair cost.

And it finds Citroen to be the 24th brand out of 30 in terms of reliability.

As for pricing - this could be several reasons. Personally I believe that they load the prices by several thousand pounds to then offer a corresponding discount - which makes Joe Customer think that he is getting a cracking deal. This isn't anything new the sofa manufacturers (for instance) have been doing it for years.

MTC

p.s. i have no axe to grind against Citroen cars as I have no personal experience of ownership.

Silent_Bob_3

MrSmartprice wrote:

I agree. These surveys always seem to have jap cars at the top of the list, but who would want one? Tired, nondescript boxes in most cases, but don't Which love 'em!

Like this you mean?