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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 173
CEG\'er
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OP
CEG\'er
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 173 |
I just returned from a 2-week vacation to England, France, Switzerland and Italy with my wife and 3-year-old son. I could go on a lengthy spiel on how enjoyable a vacation this was, but I'll confine my comments to the automotive experience.
We rented a Ford Mondeo Estate TDCi (diesel, manual) in Calais, France and drove across France, through a small portion of Switzerland, and on to our final destination in northwestern Italy, Aosta.
A few points about the car:
- nice...the Mondeo interior is a nice step up from our Contours, esp. automatic air con and nice audio system
- the turbo diesel (I think we had the 130 hp, 2.0l version) is surprisingly responsive and refined (a little diesel clatter under certain conditions, but no smoke or smell)
- the shift linkage seems a little looser, less precise than my SVT Contour (mind you, this is a rental)
- very spacious...it handled the 3 of us (including kid's car seat), plus my bro-in-law and a fair whack of luggage with ease
- it handled 140-160 km/h motorway cruising very nicely
- handling on tight Alpine roads was excellent...205/55-16 Hankook all-seasons dealt nicely with rain and a bit of wet snow
- E-code headlights are much better than ours
- snap quiz: can anyone tell me where the hood release is on current-gen Mondeos? (after about 30 minutes of futile searching, someone in a gas station clued us in to a lock behind the flip-up Ford grill emblem...sheesh!)
- this is a BIG car on the continent; most parking spaces seems to be created for 1.0l Fiat Lupo's
About European driving:
- diesel is E1.05/l in France; fillups are around E50 ($80 CDN)
- European drivers are far better, more disciplined than NA drivers; "Keep right except to pass" is religiously followed
- motorway tolls suck (to the tune of about E100 one way from Calais, France to Aosta, Italy...the Mont Blanc tunnel alone is E29.30 for one way)
- plenty of neat cars we don't have here (or haven't had for a while): Peugot, Renault, Alfa, Fiat, etc.
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,177
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,177 |
Ford Diesel's are ace !!
They are shooting themselves in the foot not introducing them here. At the moment VW has that section of the market covered, and I would say probably 1 out 3 VW's I see is a TD.
If Ford stuffed a Duratorq into a Focus they would sell, I'm sure of that. Plenty of people, especially now, are looking at cutting gas costs.
As for the quiet, no smoke/smell, from it. I've heard some rattley diesels back in the UK in my time, but never experienced one which was a 'smog-machine' like how people seem to depict them here. A 1.8l or 2.0l diesel is nothing like the beasts you have on the aging construction dump trucks you see pushing out plumes of smoke.
1998.5 T-Red on Midnight Blue SVT
Build Number 5320 of 6535
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,043
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,043 |
Originally posted by Christian:
Ford Diesel's are ace !!
They are shooting themselves in the foot not introducing them here. At the moment VW has that section of the market covered, and I would say probably 1 out 3 VW's I see is a TD.
If Ford stuffed a Duratorq into a Focus they would sell, I'm sure of that. Plenty of people, especially now, are looking at cutting gas costs.
As for the quiet, no smoke/smell, from it. I've heard some rattley diesels back in the UK in my time, but never experienced one which was a 'smog-machine' like how people seem to depict them here. A 1.8l or 2.0l diesel is nothing like the beasts you have on the aging construction dump trucks you see pushing out plumes of smoke.
Diesel mainly got killed because of the emissions, and Ford's confusion of what customers want. The CARB emission standars pretty much killed any potential market in California. Since Ford concentrated so much on SUVs/trucks, they kinda pigeoned holed themselves. That being said, the President of Ford, Nick Scheele, apparently is set to quit. That's probably a better sign because he was the one who later backtracked and said the diesel Focus wouldn't make it to North America.
Damn...I know for me, that diesel would save me some $$$$
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 203
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 203 |
the reason you don't see Ford's european diesels over here is because of our diesel, not market. North American diesel has a much higher sulphor content and as such cannot be used in those engines.
This leaves two options: 1, wait for better diesel in N/A or 2, design the engine for the higher sulphor content (expensive)
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,177
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Is that not the same as regular gas engines though?
I thought that NA gas had higher content of sulphur, and some heavy metals than the European grade.
1998.5 T-Red on Midnight Blue SVT
Build Number 5320 of 6535
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 610
Veteran CEG\'er
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Veteran CEG\'er
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 610 |
nonsense...create your own biodiesel out of some vegetable oil from any local restaraunt. then you have cleaner, cheaper, and better smelling diesel. but the smell now adays isnt really that bad out of normal diesel.
2002 Cougar
2.5 duratec/ mtx-75
85,0000
Mondeo ST-200 wheels/BFG KDW NT
black/black
Spec Stage 1
Torsen T-2
Trubendz 2.5 flowmaster dual exaust
apexi s-afc II
K&N FIPK
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,975
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
Joined: Feb 2003
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Originally posted by Christian:
Is that not the same as regular gas engines though?
I thought that NA gas had higher content of sulphur, and some heavy metals than the European grade.
I'm not sure about those assumptions but I know that their petrol octane level is about 10 point higher in all grades. So all cars (even 1.0L Lupos feel like little rockets) and perhaps lead to less engine durability and less higher mileage vehicles on the road (they "esplode" from higher compression)
1992 Ford Escort LX-E
-Tracer LTS spoiler
-GT Grille
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 88
CEG\'er
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CEG\'er
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 88 |
The hood release behind the emblem thing is a European Spec thing! All Focuses and Mondeos have this security feature. I guess I prevents people from braking into a car, poping the hood and stealing parts.
1999 Ford Contour SE 5spd 74km
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Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,807
Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 2,807 |
Yep I had this on my Focus in Ireland last year. Gas cap was keyed as well.
99 CSVT Green/Tan
# 84 of 2760
Built on Wednesday, September 30, 1998
15.376 @ 92.00 MPH Stock
75,000Km
96 Contour GL
2.5L V6 ATX 170,000Km
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,177
Hard-core CEG\'er
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Hard-core CEG\'er
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Originally posted by Cris'pus:
I'm not sure about those assumptions but I know that their petrol octane level is about 10 point higher in all grades. So all cars (even 1.0L Lupos feel like little rockets) and perhaps lead to less engine durability and less higher mileage vehicles on the road (they "esplode" from higher compression)
I'm not sure about that. Many vehicles that my friends used to drive back in blighty were 160,000 with no problems. Check the clock on a taxi there too, unless you're in a black cab, it's bound to be around 250,000 - 400,000!!
I personally drove two cars which were over 200,000 when I got them, running nicely. My brother-in-law, in fact both of them, always had really high mileage cars, over 200,000 with ease. The highest mileage I've personally attested to was in a either a Vauxhall Cavalier or a Mazda 626 (can't remember which it was now), but I distinctly remember it being about 460,000 ish!
Personally I have never known anyone in the UK to have an engine explode. Sometimes the head gasket needs to get replaced, but otherwise the engines have always run. This is just from personal experience though.
1998.5 T-Red on Midnight Blue SVT
Build Number 5320 of 6535
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