Which car to replace my Mondeo ST24 offers good performance and large load carrying ability?

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Which car to replace my Mondeo ST24 offers good performance and large load carrying ability?

I have owned a Mondeo ST24 estate for 12 years. It has proved reliable, relatively economical, sporty, good to drive with decent performance and carries everything, including the kitchen sink. At 150,000 miles on the clock, I need to start thinking about a replacement. The current Mondeo seems not to have a suitable option and my favoured Ford would probably a Focus ST estate. Other contenders are a BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 or a V60 Volvo. An Octavia would probably also be worth considering. I prefer a manual gearbox and petrol engine. Mileage will probably be under 10,000. I tend to keep my cars a long time and buy nearly new.

Asked on 27 April 2013 by CC, Yelvertoft, Northants

Answered by Honest John

The equivalent quick Mondeo EcoBoosts are now all Powershift autos. The 250PS Focus ST wagon is interesting, but I had problems with its trick diff and I'm not the only one: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/ford/ford-focus-st.../

A BMW F30 245PS 328i would mean getting used to rear wheel drive: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/bmw/bmw-3-series-f.../ A4 range test here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/audi/audi-a4-b8-20.../ Have not yet driven a V60. Must put it on the list. New Octavia estate arriving soon.

Tags: manual gearbox performance economical petrol engines reliability

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