[evilsaint]

It feels great to be accepted by team bhp! I stumbled on to team bhp about a year back while hunting for a review on the car I was planning to buy (more on that later). Soon I got addicted to the forum and whenever I had some time to spare that’s where I would end up.

I am 28 years old, based in Gurgaon and unlike most people on the forum I am what you might call “technologically challenged”, so much so that it took me quite a while to find my way around here (still learning!), a lawyer by profession I work for a real estate major.

I love cars, all kinds of cars and always have right from the time my dad bought his Maruti 800 when I was 3 years old, if I go by what I am told I picked the colour for that car. As soon as I started working I bought myself a silver ford Ikon 1.8 D in 2005, still have great memories of it, then in 2008 to replace my dads car we bought a black ford Ikon 1.3 flair, as luck would have it within 2 months I found a mint condition 2002 black Ford Mondeo 2.0 Ghia being offered at a very good price with just 32K on it, the decision was made on the spot and I sold the 1.8 and bought the Mondeo for myself. After spending a handsome amount on fuel and parts for 3 years and the fuel prices still pointing north I figured I need diesel for the daily commute and the Mondeo well I just had to keep it too.

I was told that while buying a diesel car is sensible, keeping the Mondeo not so much. The decision was simple buy a no nonsense diesel hatchback and keep the Mondeo, but around that time I got bitten by the Safari bug and was told by many not to go down that road especially when I already have a Mondeo. Started reading reviews for the Safari and that is how I found Team BHP, read up a lot and realized well, here is a bunch of people who would second my decision to buy a Safari. All credits to Team BHP for the “Heart over Head” reasoning given in support of the Safari, that was all I needed, there on it was simple I never liked any the gadgetry Tata offers as OEM for various trim levels and in my opinion grey cladding and bumpers look better and bring out the true SUV character. So took the plunge and bought myself a black 2.2 Safari Lx in feb 2011, that’s all about me and the journey so far, I am looking forward to learning more about cars and make a some friend along the way. Cheers!

[GTO]

Welcome to the team, evil saint (quite a handle ).

Seem to have a soft spot for Fords, eh? For the prices that they are currently trading hands at, the Mondeo is a great buy. Not for the layman however, it's important for the owner to be a knowledgeable car enthusiast.

Congrats on the Safari too! We have a lot of technical info on this SUV, which I'm sure you'll find helpful along the way. Look forward to your ownership report.

Cheers & do drive safe.

[dot]

Welcome. Nice intro.

Mondeo was a great car, unfortunately positioned and market was also perhaps not ready for it. One would have thought Ford would have learned a lesson about India, but no, they rewrote history with the New Fiesta.

Hope to see you active and around.

[evilsaint]

Originally Posted by GTO

Welcome to the team, evil saint (quite a handle ).

Seem to have a soft spot for Fords, eh? For the prices that they are currently trading hands at, the Mondeo is a great buy. Not for the layman however, it's important for the owner to be a knowledgeable car enthusiast.

Congrats on the Safari too! We have a lot of technical info on this SUV, which I'm sure you'll find helpful along the way. Look forward to your ownership report.

Cheers & do drive safe.

Thanks GTO,

I have been reading your posts and have enjoyed them all a lot. As for the Ford soft spot I guess after owning 3 of them there is little I can say to defend myself here, the Ikons were both bought for utilitarian reasons and the Mondy is a difficult car to find a replacement for (upkeep costs not withstanding).

As I have said earlier i give all credit to Team BHP for the Safari purchase, and after 24K I am still very happy with it.

Originally Posted by dot

Welcome. Nice intro.

Mondeo was a great car, unfortunately positioned and market was also perhaps not ready for it. One would have thought Ford would have learned a lesson about India, but no, they rewrote history with the New Fiesta.

Hope to see you active and around.

Thanks dot,

The Mondy puts a smile on my face each time I drive it, as regards the new fiesta pricing ford seem to be a bit too optimistic (cashing in on a brand value before creating it!) .