Oh Decisions.... Decisions

frosty2.0

frosty2.0

Well-known user
Nov 18, 2012
801
137
In a dream world
I'm in a right pickle tonight :rolleyes: I knew it would end up getting messy, i said i shouldn't do it, but they said well theres no one else, your going to have to do it......

So this afternoon, I had the chance to drive (first time i might ad) a Mondeo ST220 to a customers house, and yes it's got messy because now I want a V6 Coug more than ever, this feelings been growing for a few weeks now, and today it just got worse,

I love my Cat :love: but even after the FC TB its still not grunty enough for me, yes i know i could put cams in get it remapped, but its still not a V6 and to make things worse i've seen one in frosty with a sun roof with low-ish mileage modded exhaust for a really good price and little more than i paid for "Frosty" in 2012 but its bloody miles, away :cautious: oh decisions, decisions :(:(
 
Yup Steve your right mate, and it would certainly take me back to my yoof when i had a 3 litre capri

Damn that "lure of rumble"

I'd still want to keep Frosty though, am i greedy or what :oops:
 
I know it's a completely different car mate, but I owned both 2.0 and 2.5 litre Probes and did not feel a great surge of extra excitement when I 'upgraded' to the V6.
It just happened to be the right car at the right time - I felt it was more important that I was still part of the social part of the forum rather than the engine size.

This isn't helping you is it?:rolleyes:
 
You'd be surprised, you know.

My daily driver is a V6, but occasionally I still run my Zetec. The truth is that although the V6 has way more oomph from a standstill and will pull harder in the 50-70MPH stakes, it's not really that much faster. And in most cases, you won't notice it at all on the motorway.

The difference is in the style of driving. The Zetec needs to be kept up on the cam and needs more thought in terms of gear selection. But it's light and spins up very quickly. The V6 is far lazier and will let you get away with all manner of stupidity. It also sounds like heaven.

In short, I think that the V6 is a nicer, more forgiving and smoother drive. But don't go off your Zetec on the basis of a single drive in something bigger. There's plenty more you can do to yours and if it's a minter, remember that you may end up with a lot of unnecessary work to do on its replacement.
 
I'm with Mako here, I drove a 2.0 Cougar when I was looking for my one, it's not 'that[/b]' much different, as said the engines have rather different characteristics, both are mechanically and if you're one day looking to 'big powwahh mods' then the 2.0 is much more the feasible engine to extract big power from.

At the risk of being accused of 'bashing' again (I believe realistic, but hey-ho) neither of them offer sparking performance nor economy so at risk of sounding negative it's a more tightly run contest between them than you might imagine at first glance.

Where do you drive most of the time, if you just 'potter' and aren't in to extensive back-road driving or being a hooligan the extra cost overal of the V6 might be wasted.

Unless of course you like the noise, then you can't put a price on that.....
 
backseateducation said:
I know it's a completely different car mate, but I owned both 2.0 and 2.5 litre Probes and did not feel a great surge of extra excitement when I 'upgraded' to the V6.
It just happened to be the right car at the right time - I felt it was more important that I was still part of the social part of the forum rather than the engine size.

This isn't helping you is it?:rolleyes:
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I think the excitement is in the feel through the car and the noise of the exhaust with the V engine it just stirs me more than a 4 pot tbh

Mako said:
You'd be surprised, you know.

My daily driver is a V6, but occasionally I still run my Zetec. The truth is that although the V6 has way more oomph from a standstill and will pull harder in the 50-70MPH stakes, it's not really that much faster. And in most cases, you won't notice it at all on the motorway.

The difference is in the style of driving. The Zetec needs to be kept up on the cam and needs more thought in terms of gear selection. But it's light and spins up very quickly. The V6 is far lazier and will let you get away with all manner of stupidity. It also sounds like heaven.

In short, I think that the V6 is a nicer, more forgiving and smoother drive. But don't go off your Zetec on the basis of a single drive in something bigger. There's plenty more you can do to yours and if it's a minter, remember that you may end up with a lot of unnecessary work to do on its replacement.
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Cheers mate, that is very good advice indeed, and the voice of reason i probably needed, before i go off and spend money and have a 2 hour drive to look at it, but tbh i was going to keep the zetec, aka "frosty" just because shes a great car, but just not fast enough for me, yeah sure she will move once you stir the engine and positivly flys once your past 4,000rpm with the FC TB fitted over the stock one, but low down shes still a bit flacid, and perhaps i'm just feeling a little "too" critical after the ST220 drive today, i spose with a few £££'s spent of the 4 pot it'll be a better performer... grrr still so undecided :cry:
 
frosty2.0 said:
I think the excitement is in the feel through the car and the noise of the exhaust with the V engine it just stirs me more than a 4 pot tbh



Cheers mate, that is very good advice indeed, and the voice of reason i probably needed, before i go off and spend money and have a 2 hour drive to look at it, but tbh i was going to keep the zetec, aka "frosty" just because shes a great car, but just not fast enough for me, yeah sure she will move once you stir the engine and positivly flys once your past 4,000rpm with the FC TB fitted over the stock one, but low down shes still a bit flacid, and perhaps i'm just feeling a little "too" critical after the ST220 drive today, i spose with a few £££'s spent of the 4 pot it'll be a better performer... grrr still so undecided :cry:
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If you were really careful, and scoured eBay long enough and called in a few favours it's not impossible you could get a basic FI setup on your current car for similar price to just going out and buying another car, then going through all the costs of keeping it on the road. *shrug*
 
Just gave my daughters boyfriend a lift home as at night I can get away with giving mine a little squirt of power, so I jumped at the chance(in the day it is impossible to go above 30 due to only going as fast as the old c**t in front , dawdler , or truck...) Man the v6 pulls like a good en especially in third , oh yeah...
Get one and make the right decision! *evil giggles*

- - - Updated - - -

And even with a standard exhaust, oh that sound... Growls like a cougar! Lol.
 
Another good man corrupted.:devilish:
If you have the funds and the storage/parking space, go for Mako's suggestions, it's the only way to be sure, but then again! It's a driver thing imo. I've driven both and as all the old skool here know, as well as my local friends and family, i always come back to my zetec. The V6 sounds great and no zetec will match it for that, but personally, i enjoy the zetec drive much more than i do in any V6...........................:)
 
Other things to think about:

If you're itching to tinker, or wanting to gain mechanical skills (sorry - I've read your threads before but can't remember what your skill level is like :( ) the Zetec is what you should stick with. It's easy to work on and scrapyards are just full of them if you get something wrong.

Everything other than the engine and a couple of looms is compatible between the Zetec and the V6. You could upgrade your brakes - even to MKIII Mondy spec - and end up with a very quick and capable car.

Buy a V6 and you'll never think about a cambelt again. Well, unless you manage to snap a chain...
 
The biggest thing is that the ST220 and a V6 Cougar are world apart in themselves. The Mondeo is a totally different beast. If you drove a V6 Cougar straight after an ST220, you'd see a marked difference. You can throw a grand or two at a V6 for a full ST200 top end, remap, SS exhaust, headers, induction kit, and a lowering kit etc. You'll never bridge that 50bhp stock difference to the ST220. Take a four banger and throw the same £2k at it? You could Focus RS it for that money, upgrade to the 150 brake Zetec engine and blow it, a whole host of options. The best part? That same money will buy horses that a V6 can only dream about unless you have huge pockets.
 
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If you loved an ST220, buy one! It's the next gen Mondeo compared to the Cougar and will probably handle better. It was always on my list of 'next cars' and probably still is ;)
 
The Mk3 Mondeo is altogether a much more solid feeling car. The engine is a step ahead in terms of power and delivery but mostly the interior feel, fit and finish are night and day and the suspension design are clearly a generation newer too.

It is, granted, a pity thay the Cougar was never updated or replaced properly, but a V6 Cougar isn't going to blow anyone away from the driver's seat like a Mk3 Mondeo might if coming from a Zetec Mk2 Mondeo era car.
 
Thank you all for your input and excellent advice (y)

I'm still a little undecided in the cold light of saturday morning.... yes a V6 would be very nice, but the fear i have is "frosty" might get side lined if/when the V6 comes to stay, a bit similar to me having 2 bikes (honda sp1 & suzi gsxr) a few years ago i loved/preferred the SP but i nearly always ended up riding the gixer cos' it was more comfortable, and the SP ended up sat in the garage mostly :(

Mako, i'm pretty adept mechanically, and can do most things that need doing, so working on the car isn't really a problem, apart from i really have a hard time actually getting my @ss in gear these days, gone seem to be the days when i'd be out there in 3 inches of snow changing a clutch like with Er-in-doors mini some years ago :eek:

As far as "frosty" isn't going anywhere any time soon, so i'll be developing her over the next few months/years probably! till i get her how i want..

Any hoo, thanks for the advice guys,
 
Dare I sat this but I found my mondeo st200 a better sportier drive than a standard v6 cougar as mentioned a st220 will be in a different league to the cat the grass may not be greener if you go v6
 
Topfish said:
Dare I sat this but I found my mondeo st200 a better sportier drive than a standard v6 cougar as mentioned a st220 will be in a different league to the cat the grass may not be greener if you go v6
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Well I agree here. Since having the St200 engine swap I have noticed a massive difference in power delivery. The St24 vs St200 power difference might only be about 35BHP but the way it delivers the power is miles different. I just felt when I first got back into my car after having the swap it seems to rev more freely and was quite a bit quicker low down. Now I do not know if that is because of everything else I have done to my car but for me the St200 lump is a very good swap for these cars.
 
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