Hello from South Wales :)

[WelshAdam]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

I have never seen the estate/wagon version of this generation of the Mondeo, even though I used to see a few sedans (with Argentinian plates) once in a while. BTW Diesel versions that I used to see were fitted with that Ford's own 1.8L engine. Is yours fitted with the Peugeot-developed DW10?

You definitely see more sedans here in the UK, although there are a few estate versions about (mine is an ex undercover police car, they seem to be used a lot here).

It's a 2.0 Duratorq Tdci, as far as I know it's the same or similar to Peugeot's HDI engines

[Fat Charlie]

The lower grille's a lot bigger than the upper. Once you get instrumentation- an SG or UG that can show actual coolant temp, try blocking the lower instead. It should give you a bigger aero and warmup benefit, and if you keep an eye on the temps you may find that the upper still lets in enough air for cooling.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by WelshAdam

You definitely see more sedans here in the UK

Actually I would have expected to see more wagons and hatchbacks there, especially because for the current generation of the Mondeo the sedan in only available in Europe as a hybrid.

mine is an ex undercover police car, they seem to be used a lot here

Wagons seem much better than sedans to use as a police car anyway.

It's a 2.0 Duratorq Tdci, as far as I know it's the same or similar to Peugeot's HDI engines

It's the very same Peugeot DW10 engine.

[WelshAdam]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Actually I would have expected to see more wagons and hatchbacks there, especially because for the current generation of the Mondeo the sedan in only available in Europe as a hybrid.




Wagons seem much better than sedans to use as a police car anyway.




It's the very same Peugeot DW10 engine.

I meant that you tend to see more Mondeo estates than saloons, otherwise you're right, hatchbacks seem to be the most popular choice here.

I didn't realise that the new one was only available as a hybrid though, that's interesting. Heard mixed reviews about the mk4 hybrid which is what put me off, I wonder if it's improved with this reiteration of the mondeo...

[WelshAdam]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

The lower grille's a lot bigger than the upper. Once you get instrumentation- an SG or UG that can show actual coolant temp, try blocking the lower instead. It should give you a bigger aero and warmup benefit, and if you keep an eye on the temps you may find that the upper still lets in enough air for cooling.

I also thought that, but on closer inspection around 3/4 of it is blocked with plastic trim - only the bottom two or so slats are actually open to allow cooling.

Definitely going to get a scan gauge at some point though, my car has an on board instant mpg display, but I do wonder how accurate they are. Still, better than guessing right?!

[Fat Charlie]

Glad you were already on the grille bit.

Instantaneous mpg is good, but the real value of the SG or UG is short trip and long trip mpg. Reset long trip with every fill, and short trip resets at every start. You can keep track of the tank, but also understand what you usually get on the way to work, etc. Real instrumentation is the most effective mod you can do.

[WelshAdam]

Thanks for the advice and welcomes again everyone, much appreciated.

Definitely going to look into getting a scan gauge, will be very useful.

Quick update though, as I said I usually get around 46mpg UK over a full tank, I'm 3/4 through a tank of fuel at the moment and I'm on 54mpg UK!

All by employing a few techniques, and I'm sure it'll improve as I improve my skills

[elhigh]

Hi Adam,

46, even in UK gallons, is pretty good for a vehicle that size.

+1 on what everybody said about adding some kind of instrumentation. It helps a LOT with adjusting your driving habits, which are the root of the "adjust the nut behind the wheel" suggestion.

Related to that, start a Garage page for your vehicle. Like doing A-B-A testing for determining whether a change is yielding immediate results, the Garage page provides a long term picture of how the vehicle - and its driver - are performing.

That Mondeo is a handsome car. RE: mountain biking, could you fit the car with a hitch-mounted bike carrier? Incorporate the hitch into a partial belly pan under the car to keep it from being an aero detriment, and then you could leave your roof rack of all the time and your bike, being in the car's wake, would not be an aero detriment either. Win-win.