Sometimes, admittedly not so often these days but sometimes, manufacturers do something a bit mad. In 2007 Ford did that when they released the Mondeo 2.5 T Titanium X.
Shed has to hold his hands up here. He didn’t exactly spot this one. Well, he did, but he thought it was just a run-of-the-mill gen-three (or Mk4 as they are often referred to in the UK) 2.5 V6. It took the gimlet eye of Matt B to reveal a more exciting truth, which was that its engine was one cylinder short. Yep, that’s right, it has the Volvo-sourced B5254T3 Duratec turbo straight five as used in the Focus ST 225 and the Mk 2 Focus RS.
Not literally ‘as used’ here, mind. In the Mondeo T, the motor had a different block and fuelling system and was detuned slightly to 217hp at 5,000rpm and 236lb ft from 1,500rpm to 4,800rpm. Running through a Getrag M66 six-speed manual box, those numbers gave it a 0-62mph time of 7.5 second and a top speed of 152mph. It was tuneable too. A £300 chip and remap would give you 265hp and 295lb ft but you would immediately need to upgrade the clutch as it was marginal to start with. A Mk2 RS clutch was much stronger and went straight in.
The 2.5 T wasn’t overly heavy at just under 1,500kg but it did slurp fuel if you weren’t careful. The official combined figure was 30.4mpg but you could easily knock 10mpg off that in normal use, especially if you were using it for towing as at least one previous owner of this car seemed to be doing. Anecdotally the real-world figures ranged from 16mpg to 38mpg.
Road testers liked the Mondeo 2.5 T a lot. The chassis was terrific, with excellent hydraulic steering and suspension that managed to be fluid, compliant and sporty at the same time. It was possible to add electronic dampers through the IVDC (Interactive Vehicle Dynamics Control) option but that really was gilding the lily. Two years before the T was discontinued in 2010, a Titanium X Sport car came out with red-stitched seats, a bodykit, sports suspension and 18-inch wheels which wouldn’t have helped the ride quality.
The Mondeo didn’t have a briilliant turning circle and nor was it a narrow car but owners soon got used to all that and learned to appreciate the cabin space that the width gave them. Not to mention the practicality and long-distance comfort of the Mondeo, complemented in the Tit T by range-topping kit that included heated part-leather sports seats (electrically adjustable for the driver). Parking sensors weren’t standard, which was a pity as visibility wasn’t great out of the back of these gen-threes. Shed thought that adaptive front lights were part of the T spec but no matter how hard he banged his Amstrad he couldn’t get it to confirm that.
The MOT on this car is short but the only advisory on the last test was for a deteriorated suspension ball joint cover. This engine has been known to suffer from split cylinder liners so anyone interested in this very cheap (£1,989) example would be well advised to check for misfires and/or white exhaust smoke. Poor running could be down to MAF sensor or boost control solenoids. Intercooler hoses leaked air and thermostat housings leaked coolant, but neither of those were expensive to fix. Power steering pumps and racks failed, as did ARB links, front suspension top mounts and rear suspension bushes. Door locks conked out too. You might want to look at a different exhaust to unleash more of the sound that had been deliberately subdued for Tit X purposes. Extra five-pot burble was a nice backup when the boot-mounted Alpine CD changer packed up, which it often did.
The tax on one of these will be £415 a year but you’ll need to set some money aside for a regular supply of decent tyres. And before you ask, yes, there was an estate version. That would have been a useful bit of kit for Daniel Craig to have had in Casino Royale instead of the Tonic Blue 2.5 T hatch they gave him. Very hard to find a T estate outside of Sri Lanka though.
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