My first car was a Mk1 Mondeo in 1.8 LX trim, so thank you, this really brightened a rainy Friday! The Mondeo might be a boring car to some, but when you're 18 and all your friends have 1100 Fiestas et al, it was an excellent all rounder! Pokey engine, solid forgiving handling and with the seats folded down, it could easily swallow a couple of Mountain Bikes! Good times! As a note, the upper trim of the bumper could be none-bodycoloured (black abs), as mine was. You also got black rubber door stips and wing mirrors on the lower trim levels if they were'nt sdpec'd up.

I am sad enough to know that you can spot the petrol Vs diesel by the grill. The petrol has a single bar with the ford badge the diesel has 2 bars. What a treat I am at a party. 😂

My dad had a Verona. It was his second Mondeo after his first got written off ( Hit by a speeding car as he pulled off the drive and wrapped it around his gate post) The Verona lasted 2 weeks before ending upside down on a Panda. It was that or a head on with a BMW that was overtaking a Transit. Police arrived on scene and we're expecting to count how many body bags were needed. He was walking around waiting to greet them. His review of the car. Loved it and wouldn't want to crash in anything else. But he wasn't going to temp #3

For the geeks out there, I did an FoI request to the the DVLA specifically on K-reg Mondeos earlier this year, i.e. registered between March 93 and 31 July 1993 - there are only 172 left of which only 35 were MOT'd at the time of my request.

Strange thing to me was that in the 1990s all the people who I know that had company cars DIDN’T want a Mondeo worthy though they were, they all wanted BMW 3 series, Meecs and Golfs. In fact if I remember right (and I may not!) I think the BMW 3s were outselling the Mondeo. I drove Granadas and ultimately a Vauxhall Omega Elite in the 90s and never really fancied a Mondeo. I suspect that’s why they’ve all but disappeared - they didn’t inspire much enthusiasm at the time. I never heard anyone in the 90s wax as lyrical about them as you do now. Well done Mr Furious. It’s not the fact you are trying to drum up enthusiasm for them so you can sell your project one for more money is it?????

My dad replaced his 1.6 Mk5 Escort GHIA with a 1995 Ford Mondeo 1.8 LX in Ash Black. I absolutely adored it, it would happily woft along at 70mph and the seats were like big squishy arm chairs, and still managed to hold you in really well. It was always such a solid and reliable car and the Escort was such a world away in build quality, refinement and comfort. I remember learning to drive in the Mondeo, and for such a large car (at the time) it was so nimble and forgiving to drive. Loved it then and I still love them now! What a step up for Ford, these cars were.

Thanks for sharing this. Brings back many memories seeing a MK1 Mondeo. Back in 1993 my Dad bought a Mondeo LX brand new after previous issues with a Vauxhall Carlton and Alfa Romeo 164. I still remember going to collect the car aged 6 years old from Paynes in Hinckley. It looked a dead ringer against the car you drove but in a teal green colour instead. He was an engineer at Cosworth at that point in time and he raved about the chassis dynamics of the car compared to previous family cars he'd owned.

Colour coded bumpers weren't standard across the range, my old 1.8 LX had black inserts.

Nice video! Unlike many comments, this was NOT a trip down memory lane for me just yet - Still driving my 1996 Mondeo hatch, bought it brand new back in the same year. Damn thing won't break down - had the timing belt replaced 5 years ago or so, and had some exhaust pipe work done. Doors still got that solid thump when I shut them - no rattles. Rear view mirror fell off once; glued it back on. Windscreen water stopped squirting the other month, odometer stopped a few years back. Seats are still great after all these years, always comfortable to drive. Electric windows all still work. Gear box still feels "smoothly solid", if I can use such a phrase. No work ever done on the engine apart from scheduled maintenance. Never been garaged, so the paintjob isn't looking too good, but no sign of rust on the body, unlike the much younger Suburu in the driveway. Whoever put this together got it just right, IMHO. Just put $500 AUD worth of tyres on it, so hoping to get another few years out of it. Like me, it's showing its age .....but no sign of stopping just yet 😄

The Contour was not very popular in the USA. Too small for our market. Working at a car dealership about 20 years ago, I did have the use of a slightly used one for about a week and enjoyed it immensely. I loved the higher quality switch gear inside compared to USM Fords and the slick shifting manual gearbox. I haven’t seen one on the road here in over a decade. In my part of the country, mechanical failure took them off the roads, not rust.

It is such a great design, especially the hatchback. I also agree that there is not enough velour used in car interiors these days. A pressure group is needed to push this. A far more worthy cause than so many that people fight for these days #velourforsure

Back in the mid to late 1990s, I had my first big boy job and was looking for my first new car. I was really interested in the Ford Contour (US) V6 with a manual transmission. These weren't your bread and butter Contours (Mercury had the Mystique, positioned slightly above the Contour but there really was very little difference and I preferred the simpler Contour styling) as relatively few had this engine/transmission combination. It was quick! Kind of BMW 3-series quick for Ford money; the Contour definitely felt more European than American Ford. The review of the Mondeo is a bit of a trip down memory lane, thank you! Not that anybody cares but I ended up buying a 2 year old Volvo 850 with a rare-for-the-USA manual transmission. Less than 1 in 20 had them, according to my local Volvo dealer. Great car, roomier than the Mondeo/Contour, loads more comfort and luxury. Perhaps a little slower than the Contour V6 but no slouch for its time and fun to drive. Lasted me more than 15 years and over 200,000 miles. One of the few cars I have ever truly missed.

That Mondeo badge is so nostalgic

11:54 that's not a blanking plate, it contains the indicator lamps for the front and rear foglights

I believe Jackie Stewart, who of course has been an on going ambassador for Ford cars , in both the UK and the USA , also played a part in achieving the handling/ ride compromise as Ford moved into the FWD market in the Mondeos market sector. It is also believed that inspiration for the rear suspension came from an Italian car, the Lancia Beta

I would love a MK1 Mondeo or Focus to tide me over until EVs become more affordable and charging networks improve. But I live in between two Clean Air Zones, so owning a Euro 3 car, even if it’s petrol could cause me a headache. It’s a shame that these affordable, perfectly usable and not that polluting modern classics are being silently killed by short sighted government policies.

Good to meet you at the classic car motorshow last month. I really like these videos of old preserved cars from the 90's that you produce- the best era...

I had a 2008 mondeo as a company car and loved it. That car took everything I threw at it. 2 and a half years and 125,000 and it never went wrong. Boot was massive and it drove well . I managed to pick up a 2009 titanium x diesel with 40,000 on the clock a couple of years ago and use it as my works car now.

You became a "Gentleman from Verona" for an afternoon when reviewing this car. Easy to forget what a great car the Mondeo was & sadly very few early models on the roads now. Thank you for saving one.

I've never been a real fan of the MK1 or MK2 mondeo, I think memories of not seeing one without gaffa tape attached scupered my interest. But I can appreciate what it's done for the brand. Here you can see where Ford of Europe were heading in terms of the new styling language of the 90s. Very radical and very risky and it payed off to a point and definetly gained peoples respect for the engaging driving dynamics and interior quality on the earlier cars! So much so it is definetly one of those cars that set Ford up for a successful two decades. This is one timewarp example, love the Silvertop Zetec lump, absolutely bullet proof as long as the oil and cam belt is changed. Terrific video again matt :)

We had a Contour here in the US, and I remember it as a very pleasant car to own, albeit with a tendency to bring on the Check Engine light regularly. The US only got the 4-door, so no hatch; but we also had a choice of engines between the 4 or the V-6, and our car had the 6 with the automatic box… not sure if a manual was available over here or not. Our particular car had leather upholstery, so that was a plus. At any rate, we eventually traded it in on a Focus. I always like the styling of the Mondeo/Contour, and it always looked good in our driveway.

When I was a child I loved Sierra's so much that my mother made me a Sierra birthday cake one year. I was mortified by these abominations. 30 years later and I still think I was right! 😂 though I must confess I have never owned one of either car, and so really I know nothing.

Love Mondeo's! Currently have a 2011 Titanium X Sport and there is nothing out there that I would replace it with. The electric cabin heater and heated washer jets have been awesome with this cold snap 🤣

My Dad had two of em. A beautiful blue L reg. And a green R reg. Beautiful cars solid and reliable 💪

I remember these well. A uni mate's mate came up for the weekend having borrowed his dad's company Mondeo with strict instructions to bring it back in one piece. Five of us in it tanking along a country road at 70 mph plus on a Saturday night and we end up going through a wall into a field and rolling. All of us escaped with not 1 scratch on us. I owe my life, in a way, to the mk1 Mondeo.

I remember my dad looking at these as a company car back in around 1993, along with the Honda Accord and Rover 400. He plumped for the 420SLi in the end.

my mom had a ghia one when we were children in a plumb colour, many memories were made on long journeys around ireland for the annual familly holiday in it. It was one of the best cars we ever had, I have had several of these over the years myself great cars

The Verona, as far as I'm aware, was a special edition. In mark 2 form, it was a well specified model with a CD player & Air Conditioning. The cubby hole beside the instrument cluster was a "Check Control" unit, to alert you to blown bulbs, low outside temperature & fluid levels (on ghia x models). The clock also doubled up as a trip computer on higher spec models. Matt, I'm disappointed that you didn't find the blanking plate for the traction control button. ;) The drive of these first 2 generations of mondeo was amazing, much better than the competition at the time.

People forget how much of a big deal the first-generation Mondeo was. It was the first car I sat in with an airbag way back in 1993, A saloon or estate in Ghia X spec was and still is a very smart-looking car.

First car I remember my parents owning was a Mk1 Mondeo. P159 BTA, long since scrapped unfortunately. The pattern on the seats brought me a vague sense of nostalgia!

What an incredible example, a true survivor. You never see them anymore. My grandfather had a '94 2.0 CLX to replace his Sierra 1.8 TD CL station. Remember them well. Great review Matt!

My dad bought a v6 24v Auto one of these from new back in the day, I remember the day it had hit the important "run in" millage and he flipped it into sport mode and booted it. Many happy memories of that car. I would love to have one again.

Great presentation! I think your descriptions and analysis show the fruits of the efforts that the design team put in.

That mirror adjustment knob at 13:02 was used on ford Falcons & Ford Territory models in Australia since about 1994. Placing it next to the HVAC controls made it a little cheaper when building LhD cars, as Ford didn’t have to engineer a different Door trim / card for LHD or RHD markets. Clever way to save a little $$$...

Back in 2007 I needed a cheap runabout to keep the miles of my Eunos Roadster, and bought a 1.8 Petrol Mk1 Mondeo. It used nearly as much oil as it did petrol but it never let me down. So so cosy and comfy interior, oh how I miss the velour! I put 19k miles on in a year (never needed to do an oil change, it cycled it much quicker than 10k haha) I sold my MK2 Golf that had been off the road for a while to a local fella, he bought the Mondeo at the same time to use as a runabout whilst he got the Golf ready for the road 🙂 Great cars for all jobs, and as matt said, huge boot in the hatch.

Growing up, we had a 1999 mk 2 2.0 CLX. Compard to the Escort we had previously, the Mondeo was exceptional. I remember it being solid, quiet and comfortable. My dad handed it down to me when I started my first job. I kept it until 2013. Over 150 000 miles and it was still extremely reliable and drove better than many new cars. I hope Ford of Europe start producing excellent and relevant cars once again.

Great review! You should review a mk4.5 Mondeo as a modern comparison, I have one and I think the fun/enjoyment factor and engaging drive is still there 😄

Great video...Ford got the Mondeo right first time, an engineering marvel bearing in mind it was a ground up design. It is becoming a classic in its own right I now have a MK5 Estate which far exceeds the competition for being a load lugging beast with comfort and quality included. You can keep your BMW, Audi's & Mercedes I have owned them all over the last 15 years none of them give the all round capability of the Mondeo a sad loss after 30 years.

I liked the Mondeo/contour design, just really sucks that it never took off here in the states. I did get to see drive the Mercury variant (Mystique) for a while and it was a good car and would love to get the Contour SVT.

I bought a one owner '95 LX in March for £500, it's as clean as this one the only difference being mine has 200K more miles on it! full service history all previous MOT certificates and all the old tax discs.

Don’t forget the early Mk1 Mondeo had black inserts on the bumpers and a thick black moulding along the sides. When they done a facelift they colour coded the inserts and changed the side mouldings along with the headlights as they got rid of them plastic reflector lenses that the early cars had that would go yellow.

We've a customer at work that had Mk2 Mondeo Verona on a V (I think). They've spent an absolute fortune (thousands each time!!!) on it over the years we've been servicing it but they still keep having it repaired and don't seem to want to part with it for any cost.

As it’s end of year and all that I just thought I would say thankyou for the last year of videos, furious driving has easily ridden to the top of my list with vice grip garage. Have a great Christmas

Great review Matt. I had a 1996 2.0 LX back in the day, a very comfortable, practical family car, although my main memory is it seemed to go through front tyres fairly quickly! Merry Christmas to you and your family and thanks for all the wonderful content throughout the year.

I remember when the Modeo first came out. I purchased a magazine with a free dvd, which contained the great Jackie Stewart, driving the brand new Mondeo. It was an impressive car for the time and very rare to see a mint one still around today.🙂👍

Dad had a second hand diesel in the early to mid-2000's. He loved it! I had left home by then, so only had a few rides in it. I loved the colour, though. It was purple!

I borrowed my mother's diesel mondeo and wrapped it around a bus stop thankfully we only had one bus a decade in our village and no-one was hurt except me when she got her hands on me ...all the best mate

A lot of these - like the equivalent Cavaliers were disappeared by the minicab trade who took high mileage fleet cars that had been well looked after then ran them for 3 years or so with very little maintenance then just binned them. Round here now thats happening to the early Insignias. Hope you are the family have a great Christmas Matt - all the best

That Mondeo was in better condition than when I had a new one delivered all those years ago Matt, on mine the radio didn’t work and it had a small dent on door but still love the driving experience, great vid Matt and certainly took me back 👌🏻.

Loved my old M reg 1.8 petrol, marl one. Had a brand new mark two for two weeks through my insurance, and I took it back three days early, leaving myself with no car, because I hated it so much! The seat was too long. Pressed on the back of my calves. I once had to stop and get out to stretch my legs three times, on the way to Lincoln (20 miles).

Thanks for finding a mk1 Matt agree with you that they shouldn't kill the model off.

My dad had a 1.8lx on an L plate back in around ‘97 I used to love borrowing it, I felt like some kind of company Rep. one of the nicest cars I’ve driven and they still look good today even 30 years on!

MK1 Mondeo saloon was always something I really liked, less so the hatch. Interior was on point and the overall proportions of the saloon were really good. I still have the Jackie Stewart promo video somewhere that came free with Car magazine. I'd have a saloon SI with the RS bodykit in a heartbeat (although not sure on the Citrine Yellow that most associate with that combo). At launch, the engines were called Zeta engines although I think there was some sort of trade mark infringement and was very quickly changed to Zetec.

Nice car, I like this front better than the bug eyed mk2 (sorry Mouldeo 😅😂)

Point of correction I had a TD Verona. You stated that the Verona was only available with the 1.8 zetec. N83ltn look it up. I sold it in 2006 after catastrophic MOT test. 😂

If one fancy's doing a revue on a top speck Mondeo, one can take my Mk2 Ghia-X V6 manual, its literally one of the rarest fords but its the last of the Mk2 so has a dash and controls there where only fitted for the last year being completely different from what we've seen or some have ever seen, push button Lcd display with climate control (Auto) among other things like cruse control etc, , this is truly an unbleaverble car, even having the full electric 7 way controlled heated leather seats, and not just any leather but piped leather seats that are not made no more, one wont find pipping in modern seats, 5 alloy wheels, disks all round etc etc, I travel a lot and would happily drop it off if one fancied a look at what is a truly very rare car,, either way amazing vid again, and thank you.

I was transfixed with the interior. That velour upholstery and the curves of the dashboard. Lovely! 😍 Even the lines on the dash seem to blend in with the speaker grilles on the doors. Such a nice bit of design. The Mondeo was a class leader in it's market segment back in 1993/4. I never much liked the post 2001 'New Edge' Mondeo (Mark 3?) that replaced the facelifted version of this model. It tried too much to be like a VW Passat outside and inside and just felt a bit 'cold'. For want of a better word.

Here is a few ideas of what you could drive next if you can find any. A Nissan Primera, a Puegeot 406, a 306, a Renault Clio mk1, a Mègane Mk1, a Mitsubishi Carisma and a Lancer. Would love to see you do all them.

Still drive my 2004 Mk3 Ghia 2.0 TDCI 133,000 miles on the clock. Still comfortable with plenty of poke under the bonnet. And no rust anywhere. Love it.

Rented one of the very first ones, back in 1993. It was a saloon in CLX-trim and everyone was looking like "what is thát". Such a wonderful and true Ford this was (is). Excellent motorway cruiser.

Don’t see many on the road nowadays. I’ve got a mk 2 Verona and don’t see any of those either. Great little bus. 50,000 miles and purrs like a sawing machine still

Our family had a 1996 MK1 with 1.8L engine from new. In 2006 the local shop said that it is starting to rust underneath, so it would be probably smart move to sell it now when it is still in mostly decent shape. We then bought a 2006 Renault Laguna, but it wasn't really reliable compared to Mondeo

Looks an old gem of a car, I believe the Mondeo was one the first car of the masses to get airbags.

Looking at cars when I first got in the motor trade cracks me up looking as them as classics, that makes me feel old.

I love this car! I am over here in Austria and got two of them but they dissappeared on our roads 😞 but glad to see at least some of then on the roads in the UK. NIce Video!

Had an N-reg in the same colour for about 4 years. Loved everything about it 👌

My dad had this car! A 1.8 GLX in black with the spoke-effect wheel trims. Always thought the rear lights were cool with all their sections.

A lot of Mondeo love on the channel of late, I suspect the Mk2 might be a keeper?!

At the time of its launch, Ford said that the Mondeo's name was similar to the word for 'world' in many languages. Apart from the languages of its main markets the UK and Germany, that is 😄 Also, I've never heard the Sierra referred to as 'square and blocky' 😅

Nice video. This actual car (P578 BPB) was owned by my father from new 1996-2022. He looked after it well, and was very proud of it. Much credit to those who have brought it back to such wonderful showroom condition. Thanks to the current owner for sharing this link.

The Ford Mundane MK1. One of my favourite cars growing up. My dad had a 1.6 in red, L982 NTW I wish he'd have kept it.

I'm glad the owner has kept the cassette on his Mondeo Mk1. Cassettes have risen from the ashes and is booming again 😁

Had a mk1 from 2001 to 2007, best car I've ever had.

It’s strange that these were so ubiquitous back in the 1990s and now I haven’t seen a MK1 in years…

My brother went from a 1.8 ecotec Cavalier to a 96 Mondeo Verona. The Mondeo felt like a slug in comparison. But the build quality and comfort was on another level compared to a Vauxhall.

Even today a well recorded audio cassette can still deliver good sound in a car, a lot depends on how good the tape deck recording it is Rubbish In Rubbish Out!! I own a P10 Primera, Nice car, reliable, dependable, good handling/braking, good on a long trip i have had 43mpg on long trips!

My goodness, what an amazing glasshouse stretching down to the drivers elbow. Unlike modern designs where side impact protection has raised the metal in the doors to the extent that side visibility is attrocious. Don't forget that the Mondeo made Driver's Airbags a standard fitment on mass market cars. A very Happy Christmas and a Successful New Year to the Richardson Clan.

I am still driving my Mk 1 Ghia and i love it, it is very comfortable and reliable. I bought it 8 years ago with only 20000 miles now it has 75000 miles on the clock.

Heck 30 years since it was launched the Mondeo they were a so common sight on the road back in the 90's and 00's great review Matty

As a single person I considered a Ford Contour at one point and a Mercury Mystique a few times. My experience with a rental Contour convinced me that it was a very good driver but that the brand or tread of the tires was crucial as it slipped all to easily in the wet. I haven't seen a mid 90s example in years, but there are 2 " face-lift " Mystiques in my area, still driven regularly, a V6 and a petrol 2 liter. Myself? I found a 2013 Fusion WITHOUT an EcoBoost engine and very low miles 2 years ago. It is a fairly low spec (for an American car) but I love driving it. Wish it was a hatchback, or better yet, an estate, but the U.S. was only ever offered the 4 door sedan in the Contour and then the Fusion.

What a fantastic car ... I had one , with the 2L Zetec ... 253000 miles and the engine was great. The body was attacked by rust .. the best Mondeo ever for me. Comfort, power, reliable !

Mine has 280.000 km on the tacho, now put to sleep for a while, but I`ll restore it some day. Seats are so comfy! You can even tilt the driver`s seat, making it extra nice to seat on. I remember driving my 1.8 GLX 600 km in one go. And it wasn`t a pain in the ass.

The very earliest Mondeo did have black textured bumper tops.

I love the Mondeo articles Matt! Great stuff. Looking forward to a pre-Christmas cup of tea and lunchtime viewing :)

This mk1 mondeo was my childhood car. Got it towed out of a ditch while I was in it once (after bio dad drunk drove it in there) and at some point it just started running with so little horsepower it could barely go 10km/h so it just got abandoned in the yard to be replaced by a first gen C'eed brand new (which of course then got totalled drunk within like a year but that's neither here nor there). First car I ever remember riding in though. A sedan with cheap red paint and no A/C, it was our trusty steed for my early childhood.

I guess any debate about Quick Clear screens would be heated.. Love these Mk1's, it's the car I most regret selling.

I love the mondeo it’s practical, it drives well and it is very reliable. It brings back nostalgic memories as my parents owned a 98 s reg 2.0 in silver when I was really small.

I’m happy I own a mk1 ghia , the mk1 is a underrated legend..

So glad I'm not the only one that gets excited over a Mondeo. Had many....fantastic cars. Have a Galaxy now as needed 7 seats but still very Mondeo

Who knew the Mondeo was such a good car. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a good one. You don't know anyone selling one do you Matt.😉

Great review bringing back fond memories of my Mondeo. Thank you for some great content in 2022.

In Canada, my mother leased a 1998 Contour for 2 years, had the Mk2 headlights and she loved it, I learned to drive on it. When we needed an extra vehicle, we bought a rust free 1995 Contour (first year) from Arizona and owned it for nearly 9 years. Our 95 was THE Contour of North America, Champagne colour with a beige interior, fully loaded including sport package; the brochure I still have is filled with pictures of that exact car, it was apparently THE way to order your 1995 first year Ford Contour lol

Haha no way and after I sent you pics of that Mk1 the other day too!! Such an appealing car in everyday and people forget just how fantastic they are to drive, like the MK1 Focus! Excellent video Matt, really enjoyed this. In fact the Mondeo is the polar opposite of new cars today with their dreadful weight, suspension that has only just caught up with the Mondeo’s, far too complex, awkward and very expensive to fix whereas you felt connected with the Mondeo which petrol heads want and love.

I prefer the styling of your mark 2. We never owned one but other family did and I've been in the back of these and they felt decent. Definitely better than the cavalier they had before. Smoother, quieter, better ride. Not quite going to amaze me when my dad had a granada 2.9 Ghia injection (your armchair is less comfortable) then shortly after a BMW 535i at the time though. With the brown velour interior and a glorious 6 cylinder soundtrack. Handled well and rode superbly. Obviously a thirsty beast. Those 90s era Ford's drove well though and I was proud owner of a 2004 focus (last of the mark 1s). The hydraulic steering system was perfect and the gearbox nearly it's equal. The mark 2 focus was a better car (more refined, better built), but it never drove as sweet. I think that was peak Ford. Before things got heavier.

Lovely nostalgia on the Ford Mondeo when ford's were at the top of their game. I had a mrk2 like the one you're currently doing up. It was a T reg 1.8 Zetec in Burgundy, aload of power and very comfortable to sit in and drive.

I remember I was driving one of the first Vectras as my company car and then, the Mondeo appeared on our car list. Some of my friends got these and wow, they were so much better, quieter, faster, more refined, better handling etc, etc.

Had a 1994 Contour shipped to Europe (cuz military), loved that car. Mondeo owners were a bit confused though.

The green X reg 1.8 estate was one of the best load luggers I've ever owned.

I remember when these first came out, they were deemed a huge step forward in tech. My mates Uncle had one the day they came out, we thought it was incredible.

im a massive fan of sierras,but when the mk1 mondeo came out remember how modern and fresh it looked then,think its aged well really!