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will soon be needing to replace my aging but much loved focus diesel estate and looking for something equally reliable and hopefully cheap to run and fix. I am more interested in reliability and value than performance or extras and it would seem the two cars mentioned are good candidates . I have little knowledge or interest in cars apart from them being a tool for me to get from A2B . Any advice would be very much appreciated.thanks in advance..Bill
having had a couple of focus's and now an octavia, I would go with skoda if/when buying again
My 09 mondeo was very reliable for the 7 years I had it. Only thing that I had to do other than standard service was the dmf (plus clutch at the same time) though that was fairly expensive.
I bought a 58 plate 2.0 petrol Mondeo Titanium X estate (all the bells and whistles) a year or so ago with 95k on the clock. Its now on 110k and still feels brilliant. I also think its a decent looking car... some may say otherwise. No expenses so far bar the consumables (oil, filters etc). Only downside is I average around 36-38 MPG on the 70 mile round trip to work so its a little heavy on the fuel efficiency. Apart from that the boot space is vast, ride is comfertable and it is relativley powerful. All this for £2.5k, I am very happy with it! You would also have left overs for more needed new bike parts too...
Neither.
Late 2.4d or 2.0d (Ford engine).
Very happy with my 2010 Mondeo 2.0 TDI Titanium X. I was also very happy with my 2001 Passat, (but not my 2005 Passat, it was a pile 'o' shite)
Dunno about the Skoda (I'd have one) but I do like my Mondy.
So, no help, sorry.
Edit.. Only downside is I average around 36-38 MPG on the 70 mile round trip to work
Eh?? Mines doing 50+ on a 30 mile round trip to work. It says 53.5 but It's ACTUALLY just over 50.
Petrol vs. Diesel EGF! Mondeo is a good bit bigger than Passat. I’ve been happy with my 59 plate mondeo titanium x estate
Petrol vs. Diesel EGF! Mondeo is a good bit bigger than Passat. I’ve been happy with my 59 plate mondeo titanium x estate
Ahh yes, soz. I'm thinking all Mondeo's are diesels. I've had a 3 seat sofa in the back of mine! & yes, they are mahoosive in the back.
Mondeo is bigger. If you're looking at an older shape one I'd go Mondeo. Although whichever you like the look of or find the comfiest.
Are you looking to buy new or ten years old or what?
I've had both. I'd say the Mondeo was the better car, the Octavia better value. I'd cheerfully recommend either.
Simple answer though, test drives.
Standard Octavia hatch is huge inside, I could carry my hooligan hardtail in the back of mine with the back seats down and the saddle either pushed in or taken out. The estate version is biggerer. Mine’s a 51-plate, I’ve had it since 2006, it cost me £5k, and up until four months ago it only got driven at weekends and the occasional weekday, now it’s doing 150 miles a week commuting to work. It’s showing it’s age a bit, I’ve got a leak from somewhere that’s filling up the offside rear footwell with water during heavy rain, and the front footwell gets pretty wet too, but I’m looking to replace it next year. It’s proved to be very reliable and comfy.
Had both 57 Octavia and an 08 and a 12 plate Mondeo at the minute. Mondeo the better car for me, bigger, handles better and stronger engines. Both decent though.
Slight thread hijack but the footwell water issue is almost certainly the door membranes - standard failure on VAG cars. Easy fix and worth doing.
<p>I could have got my Mondeo Titanium hatch for 5k in a private sale, instead I passed and bought the same car (actually) for a grand more from a dealer. That was a 58 plate with 68k miles three years ago.</p><p>Up to 112k it needed nothing big other than a battery (barring the time it got it's nose taken off) then in the last month it's had belts and water pump, dmf & clutch kit, alternator, new discs, pads and caliper on the back and it'll need the rear trailing arm bushes done before its MOT in November. FWIW although thats the guts of £2k I'm happy to spend it as otherwise it's in good shape and a nice place to be.</p><p>If you do go for a Mondeo try and get the 2.2, it's a lazier engine with more power and better economy (the best actually). If you must get a 2.0 try not to get the 140hp engine as it's the thirstiest of them all. Mk4's are prone to worn trailing arm bushes (hi!) on the hatchbacks and saloons but not sure about the estates. The DPF sensor hoses can burn out and throw pollution warnings but are easily replaced with some silicone hose for very little expense.</p><p>From memory Octavias are lighter and smaller, more like a Focus size.</p>
RE the water in the footwell, if you have a sunroof, could be down to blocked drain pipes from it. Seemingly a common Skoda issue.
I've had several Mondeo estates, the last one (08 plate, 2.0 tdci) managed 170k miles trouble free miles, 120k of those by me (all on original clutch etc, even managed to get 100k or of the front pads).
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">i Only got rid of it as the dmf started rattling and would have cost more to replace than the car was worth.</span>
I serviced it myself after 90k at a cost of £40 per service and it averaged 50mpg over the time I had it.
Don't believe the 2.2 is better on fuel, I had one for awhile and it couldn't get anything better than 40mpg.
Latest 2.0 Titanium X (12 plate) isn't quite as good as the 08 plate on fuel but have now done 20k in it and it's proving just as reliable as the previous one.
As for size. I don't think I could live with anything smaller. I'm always amazed by how much stuff you can get in the back. Once drove to Austria with 3 bikes (with wheels, bars off) all in the boot with the load cover pulled over, and 3 of us and luggage.
My 2011 (petrol) Octavia has been hassle-free. It's got some big dents and scratches now but mechanically I've never had a problem with it and only tend to get it serviced every 18 months or so - I don't do many miles though (around 8k a year).