Ford Friday, Do Want Edition

"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock) 07/18/2014 at 18:55 • Filed to: None

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Svend > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 07/18/2014 at 19:27

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My neighbour has a silver one and I do quite like it (when cleaned), it's a good car.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Svend 07/18/2014 at 19:31

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My grandad had a 2002 one in silver too. It was a good car but we didn't like the interior much (it was the base LX), this one has a few options on it and leather so it remedies that. Thinking of one for my first car but my mind will probably continue to change a lot in the few months before I actually buy one.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 07/18/2014 at 19:46

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I have a soft spot for this generation Mondeo, particularly the wagon. Unfortunately we missed out on that generation in Australia (we got the generations before and after). My strange desire for stripper base models has me lusting after a base manual with the same 2.0L Duratec petrol engine as my wife's focus. I'm so much a fan of this engine that both our cars have a version of it - mine a 2.3L version in an '03 Mazda 6 (not actually deliberate, but I do the engine in both versions).

When I was in New Zealand a few years ago I saw these on the road I was conjuring up elaborate plans to bring one back to Australia. Unfortunately the only easy way to do this is to own one in NZ for at least a year whilst living there and then bring it in to Aus as a personal import. I haven't moved to NZ yet...

Svend > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 07/18/2014 at 19:47

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You should be able to get one for a song as they are so plentiful. Just had a glance at Autotrader and there are loads of estates in the £2-4k bracket.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 07/18/2014 at 19:52

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I've never really considered the petrol since I'm a student and want the best economy I can find, I'm also a sucker for a leather interior so I'm looking at the ghia spec. Basically I want a comfortable cruiser out of it.

The mondeo generation before this though in 2 litre petrol zetec spec with the low spoiler and 5 spoke wheels was a nice car, but kinda the opposite to what I'm looking for. Very basic inside but it felt sporty, even though it wasn't particularly fast. Did they sell them over there? Because to be honest if I was going for a more basic interior and a petrol motor that'd be my choice.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Svend 07/18/2014 at 19:54

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Yeah I've found good rust free runners for as low as £1500. Although now I've seen the interior on the ghia X I think I'd have to stretch my budget to that. The one in the ad is basically the perfect spec in my eyes.

Svend > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 07/18/2014 at 19:59

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Just take time in looking and trying a few out. Know what you want and maybe join an owners club and ask some questions about what to look for. Older cars have a very vague history so the more you know about what can go wrong and what is easily and cheaply fixed will pay off greatly. Good hunting fella.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Svend 07/18/2014 at 20:01

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Yeah I'll make sure I get my research in. Thanks man.

Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 07/18/2014 at 20:15

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Yeah, we did get that generation here (though not as a wagon, and mostly automatics), though I prefer the later ones. I must admit that Ghia spec does look quite nice. Unfortunately even if Ford had ever sold these here I high-spec model like the Ghia would have almost certainly been auto-only. Apparently Australians only buy manuals in base models, and even the availability of those is becoming more and more scarce.

Here the economics of diesel aren't so great as diesel is priced relatively high. Unless you're driving significant distances the increased costs of purchase and servicing easily negate the benefits of better fuel economy.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Have car, will drive (now has a motorcycle too) 07/18/2014 at 20:31

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I have yet to see an automatic Mondeo at all yet. I assume there are a few for sale and I just haven't read the description on those particular ones. I only know one person who drives auto at all here and that's because they're elderly.

Diesel is 4p a litre more at the moment I think, It's enough for it to be worth it when I calculated the fuel economy of the 2 litre diesel against the 1.8 petrol and to be honest every time I drive a larger diesel I enjoy the torque and the way they drive in general. Plus a petrol mondeo in the ghia spec would cost me pretty much the same as the diesel.