[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by GTO

And yes, I do think the Mondeo is quite over-rated by some enthusiasts.

GTO

I disagree GTO

the mondeo has what every enthusiast wants...

good power , great handling , awesome steering , well appointed interiors ........yes the ground clearance sucks ....but talking purely from an enthusiast point of view i think its up there .

i know - the accord and the RS have it beaten for power but a car is not all about power...for me if im driving as an enthusiast ...a goodly powered car with great handling is more fun to drive than a very high powered car with normal handling.

mind you im not criticising the accord or the RS or their handling but i feel as a enthusiast the mondeo is right up there .......it involves you in driving like no other car can.

and to top it has the looks too

cheers

[Sahil]

I agree with the fact that the mondeo must be handling better than the accord or RS.... the main reason being the lower ground clearence,lower profile tyres and other facts such as stiffer suspension. What this all boils down to is practicality vs handling. The higher profile tyres,suspension softness and higher ground clearence is what takes the slight edge out of the accords handling as compared to the mondeo. For instance when i was buying my accord which is a generation old compared to the current one(which handles better i think) i had a choice between the mondeo and the accord...i picked the accord coz it makes more sence to have the comfort of the softer suspension and higher profile tyres/ground clearence vs sport handling specially on india roads. My accord came with 195 tyres as compared to the mondeos 205 ... i upgraded my tyres to 205 and the handling is way better.

[Steeroid]

We picked up 10 mondeos as very good prices for the office fleet and I dont find anything enthusiastic about any of them except that they hold the road well. I would still prefer the Japanese sedans in this category because they dont keep reminding me about every little irregularity on the roads. They also provide better insulation against wind noise, which is a major irritant at high speeds. The Mondy is too noisy - I like a rorty engine, but not one that sounds rorty when its cruising.


Jesal - the Xenons are available on the newer versions too if they are Ghia...however its a moot point as to whether your choice of a car depends on the headlight. Other changes are pretty minor.

[CaliAtenza]

How would the RS compare to the old version of the Mondeo?? the one available in the used market....

[X-Machine]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys.

The car will be self-driven most of the times.But maybe in the near future he might just think of keeping a driver.Though chances are less.

As far as the pricing is concerned he can max go upto 15lacs.Nothing more than that.And he does'nt want Japanese cars anymore.He owned only Japanese cars in the past and even in London,and wants a change.Thats one of the main reasons we had to shortlist on these two cars.

Both of us have driven the Skoda RS and loved it.The only drawback about the car is the back-seat and the maintanence which is a little on the higher side.Apart from that the car is amazing.
We would be driving the new Mondeo this weekend.Will only get to know about the car then.

Some time back we were discussing about the 1.8 rider.Both,the Rider and the RS are practically the same.Its just that the RS comes with a few goodies and 16" wheels with 205/55 tires and the Rider with 15" 195/60.Thats about it.If he buys the Rider,he would end up saving huge chunk of money!! What do you think??

X

[X-Machine]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

But as Steeroid says , both cars are from different segments. The Mondy a class bigger but.....if u really would ask me ...for the answer to question no 2 - where will the guy be able to drive a fast peppy car on that route ??

better still ask him to get a Skoda RS as a weekend car and get a nice small car like a Santro Automatic for the route from Worli - Andheri.

Hey NC,
I agree with you on this.Driving fast on that route during peak hours is out of the question.But on weekends and on the highway he can use thier potential.So these two cars fill in the requirement just fine.
Moreover,he just wants one car to take care of his requirements.

X

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by X-Machine

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys.


Some time back we were discussing about the 1.8 rider.Both,the Rider and the RS are practically the same.Its just that the RS comes with a few goodies and 16" wheels with 205/55 tires and the Rider with 15" 195/60.Thats about it.If he buys the Rider,he would end up saving huge chunk of money!! What do you think??

X

It's a no-brainer dude. No point spending more when the only thing that attracts you is the alloys. I think buying the 1.8 rider is the best option here and have it fitted with 16inch (or maybe even 17..the choice of alloy designs is plenty too as in the RS u will be resitrcted to just the standard ones which r nice but i am sure u can find much better and cheaper ones.) with 205/55 rubber as aftermarket fittment. This should solve the problem of the uncomfy sports seats as the regular seats are more relaxing in a longer drive...he can get leather seats fitted on those too. Even after fitting all those things he would save big compared to the RS. The only thing missing would be xenons,climate control,spoiler/skirts,parktronic(which can be fitted for dirt cheap now days)and ya..the vRS badge

[GTO]

NC,

The reason we used to love the Mondeo so much before was that it was competing only against the old gen Accord and the Sonata. Well, since then the Accord has been entirely revamped and has raised the bar. The RS is a new entry too. In terms of Acceleration and top speed, the Accord and RS leave it dry. I'd give the overall handling card to the RS too.

Like Steeroid mentioned, theres really nothing outstanding about the Mondy anymore except for road holding skills. But when we speak of handling, have you checked the brakes? I H-A-T-E the Mondeos brakes (feel and effectiveness) and thats one reason I wouldnt feel comfortable pushing it to the limits.

The game has moved on, and all Ford can do is introduce minor facelifts and marginally more bhp. Thats not enough to please the enthusiast in me, nor the market place.

GTO

[CaliAtenza]

Originally Posted by Sahil

It's a no-brainer dude. No point spending more when the only thing that attracts you is the alloys. I think buying the 1.8 rider is the best option here and have it fitted with 16inch (or maybe even 17..the choice of alloy designs is plenty too as in the RS u will be resitrcted to just the standard ones which r nice but i am sure u can find much better and cheaper ones.) with 205/55 rubber as aftermarket fittment. This should solve the problem of the uncomfy sports seats as the regular seats are more relaxing in a longer drive...he can get leather seats fitted on those too. Even after fitting all those things he would save big compared to the RS. The only thing missing would be xenons,climate control,spoiler/skirts,parktronic(which can be fitted for dirt cheap now days)and ya..the vRS badge

At least for me..i'd go for the vRS...im one that likes all the goodies..and those xenons...factory ones at that, are too hard to resist (im used to sporty seats on long drives...my Mazda6 has them). But the rider 1.8t might suffice for somone who's looking for the stripped down model. BTW, any chance i can get a good deal on vRS in Bangalore??? in red preferrablly....

[X-Machine]

Originally Posted by GTO

Like Steeroid mentioned, theres really nothing outstanding about the Mondy anymore except for road holding skills. But when we speak of handling, have you checked the brakes? I H-A-T-E the Mondeos brakes (feel and effectiveness) and thats one reason I wouldnt feel comfortable pushing it to the limits.

GTO

Hey GTO,
That is one thing i have to check on the Mondeo.I've driven the older one and was not satisfied with the handling and the suspension as well.The backseat ride was not all that comfortable either.Hope with the new Mondeo,these things are sorted out.

X

[X-Machine]

Originally Posted by Sahil

It's a no-brainer dude. No point spending more when the only thing that attracts you is the alloys. I think buying the 1.8 rider is the best option here and have it fitted with 16inch (or maybe even 17..the choice of alloy designs is plenty too as in the RS u will be resitrcted to just the standard ones which r nice but i am sure u can find much better and cheaper ones.) with 205/55 rubber as aftermarket fittment. This should solve the problem of the uncomfy sports seats as the regular seats are more relaxing in a longer drive...he can get leather seats fitted on those too. Even after fitting all those things he would save big compared to the RS. The only thing missing would be xenons,climate control,spoiler/skirts,parktronic(which can be fitted for dirt cheap now days)and ya..the vRS badge

Hey Sahil,
As far as the goodies are concerned,its not an issue whether you have them on a car or no.Only the Xenons,skirts/spoiler and leather seats are kind of required.But the parktronic sensors are an absolute waste in my opinion.
The most important thing is the handling on 195/60/15.I believe the warranty is void if the wheels and tires are changed.Will have to confirm that with Autobahn.

X

[CaliAtenza]

yeah man..id pick the RS too..cause it has the turbo!

[Montoya]

My Choice..
RS for reasons already stated..

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by X-Machine

Hey GTO,
That is one thing i have to check on the Mondeo.I've driven the older one and was not satisfied with the handling and the suspension as well.The backseat ride was not all that comfortable either.Hope with the new Mondeo,these things are sorted out.

X

Since we own both models, I can confirm that there is ABSOLUTELY NO DISCERNIBLE CHANGE in the suspension or handling departments.

The two cars are the same except for very minor modifications - dont expect the 'New' Mondeo to be really new...it ISNT

[X-Machine]

Hey guys,
After a lot of thinking and opinions regarding the Rider,RS and the Mondeo,we have finally booked the Skoda RS today.A black one at that.

Some low-down:
The Mondeo still feels the same with a very stiff ride.Missed the lovely xenons too.The old Mondeo was much better.Also the engine is not as responsive as the RS.The gearshift from the 2nd to the 3rd is not really clean.The car jerks a bit.The handling is just above average.

Then we finally though of picking up the Rider.But it had some share of problems like 15" Skoda rims,fabric seats,no xenons and the major glitch being that it was not available in Black.Tried convincing them a lot,but of no use.

All this left us with no choice but to book the RS as it seemed more of a complete car.It has 16" wheels,leather upholstery etc etc.The price difference between the Rider(Rs12,25,346) and the RS(Rs14,86,868) is a whopping Rs. 2,61,522.But that was alright,since he wanted a black car only.

The car drives like a dream.She picks up like nobody's businesss.The turbo kicks in at 1700rpm and one can literally feel the rush.The drive in traffic is not bad either.The Recaro bucket seats are really comfortable and they hold you perfectly during cornering etc.But the car has its share of dis-advantages,like the rear-view vision which is not very clear,due to the spoiler.But thats negligible,as it takes time getting used to a new car.Otherwise,the car is simply amazing.
The delivery date is fixed for the 20th of May.

Thanks for all your advices.

X