...Im looking at buying a Ford Mondeo Estate diesel but unsure of what trim level to go for. Would be a 2000 - 2007 range or at the very latest early 2007 - 2013 range
I think that Ghia is better then Zetec and that in turn is better then LX but thats about all i do know.
Exact details depend a bit on which of the two models you are talking about, but
Early (pre-07)
LX -> Edge -> Zetec -> Ghia
(and Ghia is sort-of more luxurious and Titanium is more techie/more sporty, so it kind of splits there)
Later
Edge -> Zetec -> Ghia
(and then there is Titanium, Titanium X...may not be available in estate?? Titaniums are again the more techie/sporty trim. For me, adequate starts at the Zetec, but YMMV.)
Edge doesn't have alloys and doesn't have front fogs and has 'manual air con, which are the big things against it, compared to Zetec. (You could get a set of alloys secondhand, if you like, but you might end up spending a large part of the difference in price. And, you still wouldn't have font frogs (or something), and they do make the car look better.)
the Zetec and up get Dual zone and it is a separate heating controller which also has stuff like an auto mode and is a 'set this temp in degrees C and let the controller take care of it' rather than a knob that goes from blue to red.
Ghia and Titanium get the Sony Audio system as standard (was an option on the Zetec, but hardly anyone took it as an option), and that is a step up, but not as big a step as you could make by fitting your own component sound system (...but, at what price...?). The Sony has an internal 5(?) CD shuffler.
Also note that wheel and tyre sizes change, and again you can go up a click as an option, but hardly anybody....these were primarily sold as company cars, and fitted in with a company car hierarchy that didn't really cope with upgrades, but did cope with '...and area managers get a Titanium, and Junior managers get a Zetec...'. Beware of the very top of the wheel 'n tyre hierarchy, 'cos that 19 inch rubber isn't cheap, unless you are prepared to go for 'Chinese Sing Song, Happy Motoring Solution' nearly radials.
That explains a lot i went to view a ghia x that turned out the be a right shed. it rattled when it was at idle and the guy told me it was just some little bit that needs adjusting or just to rest my foot on the accellerator to get rid of it lol. this guy was like a modern day dell boy!!
You did well to avoid that one! He obviously knew and was trying to move it on just in time. In effect, the DMF is 'just' a clutch change, with a somewhat more expensive clutch, but changing the clutch is expensive and it isn't the price of the clutch so much as the labour that does it.
Contributor
