A German Excursion: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 200D vs 1995 Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6 RS

200d Vs Mondeo
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Welcome back to Shitbox Showdown, where we put our classified ad meanderings up for the world to see. Today, wir fahr’n, fahr’n, fahr’n, auf der Autobahn as we ply through the German used car classifieds in search of something to export. As with yesterday, we’re keeping budgets reasonable and taking advantage of relatively strong exchange rates. But first, let’s look at how our trip to England went.

Metro Vs Cavalier Result

It looks like the Cavalier takes this one, with the old repmobile pulling a handy 79-vote victory over the Metro. Frankly, I’d take the Cavalier as well. It’s no Turbo or GSi 2000, but it certainly gets the job done even if it seems a bit dodgy. Right, off to Deutschland to check out two family cars from very different eras that are both eligible for American import.

1981 Mercedes-Benz 200D – €2,950

200d 1

Engine/drivetrain: Two-liter four-cylinder diesel engine, four-speed manual gearbox, rear-wheel-drive.

Location: Offenbach am Main, Germany

Odometer reading: 269,443 kilometers

Runs/drives? Doesn’t say.

Producing a whopping 59 horsepower, can you believe that this later 200D is considered the high-output model? Earlier 200Ds made just 54 horsepower which sounds positively glacial. Granted, this later model doesn’t sound much quicker, but at least it gets mediocre fuel economy by today’s standards.

200d 2

Look, performance and economy aren’t exactly good reasons to buy this thing, but build quality and style are. The W123 has officially graduated from old tat to retro cool, and the positively vibrant colorway on this example is the cherry on top. Mustard yellow with a green interior would be outlandishly garish on a new E-Class yet seems perfectly cheery in this classic. Don your polyester jacket, light a Rothmans, and crank up the Faust.

200d 3

Regarding build quality, the W123 is from Mercedes’ best era, a time when quality ruled over virtually everything else. As a result, many survive, and Mercedes-Benz will still supply W123 owners with a selection of spare parts. Try asking your local GM dealer for a new wheel cover for a 1981 Seville and they’ll think you’re from the past. Ask your local Mercedes dealer for a new wheel cover for a W123 and they’ll likely say “certainly, let me order that for you.”

200d 4

Best of all, aftermarket spares are abundant, so you likely won’t have a terrible time keeping this cheery, low-spec W123 on the road. You may get overtaken by garbage trucks and used Schwinns, but you’ll be smiling all the way. Granted, it doesn’t say if this particular W123 runs, and the seller claims that it doesn’t have its TUV papers due to being a Serbian import. Still, obvious recent restoration work suggests that someone has really cared for this vintage Mercedes.

1995 Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6 RS – €2,000

Mondeo 1

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter 24-valve V6 engine, five-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel-drive

Location: Beckum, Germany

Odometer reading: 292,666 km

Runs/drives? Indeed.

Alright, maybe 59 horsepower won’t exactly feel brilliant when merging onto an interstate. How about trading Mercedes prestige for a Ford badge and nearly tripling the horsepower in the process? Yes, it’s the car that’s attributed to a voter archetype, the Ford Mondeo.

Mondeo 2

Mind you, this isn’t just any Mk1 Ford Mondeo. For starters, it’s a wagon, which means it’s all the more practical in daily life. However, what’s practicality without a bit of speed? This Mondeo packs the 2.5-liter 170-horsepower V6 that revs past 6,500 RPM and a five-speed manual gearbox. Proper Q-car stuff by mid-’90s standards.

Mondeo 3

In addition to the zesty lump under the hood, this Mondeo comes equipped with the RS package, a visual treatment that’ll burrow into the hearts of any ‘90s touring car fan. From the deep chin spoiler to the chunky five-spoke alloy wheels, this thing means business. There aren’t any performance upgrades to go with the body kit, but V6 power should be good enough.

[Editor’s Note: It’s always a treat when you find a car that has its most appealing visual element under the hood, in this case that fantastic intake manifold. – JT]

Mondeo 4

Granted, this V6 model has seen a replacement engine in its lifetime, but it’s quite similar to the U.S.-market Contour, so most parts shouldn’t be terribly hard to get in America. This Mondeo promises to be a fast, fun European import you won’t see too many of on either side of the Atlantic.

So, are you going for slow and sturdy or quick and understated? The 200D is a bit of retro gleam with the added intrigue of a manual gearbox but the Mondeo offers reasonable pace even by modern standards. As ever, choose wisely.

(Photos credits: Mobile.de sellers)

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54 thoughts on “A German Excursion: 1981 Mercedes-Benz 200D vs 1995 Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6 RS

  1. Can I buy the MB over yesterday’s choices and the Mondeo for today’s choice?

    I learned to drive stick left-handed in a ’94 MKI Mondeo in Scotland, so a bit of nostalgia for that one. Other than the washer fluid crapping out (and yes, of course I refilled it!), it was a perfectly cromulent car for learning to drive on the wrong side of the road.

  2. In Germany TUV is the word of God in used cars as I learned from David Tracy, so on that alone it’s the Mondeo. Even if both were equal on the TUV certification, it would still be the Mondeo for me.

  3. I voted for the Mondeo – the fact that the engine has been replaced is a feature, not a bug in this case. It’s a manual meaning rebuildable, and (viewing my ever-optimistic car maintenance crystal ball) it probably got a new clutch while the engine was out (wouldn’t you have done that; yes you would…)

    Further, it’s licensed and has TUV . That’s huge as a certain Autopian editor can attest. If it’s on the road in Germany, it’s ready to drive, and safely.

    Then: manual wagon. I could wax on for hours explaining but if you’re on this website you already get it.

    The Merc: Quality? You bet. But: no TUV? Danger Fritz Robinson, Danger! Who knows what evil lurks under the hood of a car that spent its life in the Balkans? The TUV knows, but nobody asked them?

  4. Mondeo for me. I love W123s and that one is amazing but if I’m picking some foreign market car, I want something that we really couldn’t get here and the W123 just isn’t different enough

  5. “Try asking your local GM dealer for a new wheel cover for a 1981 Seville”

    I mean, this is funny, but the aftermarket really has taken care of some common/popular vehicles. You can build an entirely new K5 Blazer from the frame up. I know this, because I’m basically doing it.

  6. I love the wagon. I had a 98 SVT contour (with a hotter version of that 2.5) for a few months. And here’s what I learned

    -handles great
    -comfy
    -good.mpg
    And most important, the 3.0 duratec swaps right in. Nothing else needed. More.power, can scrounge an svt intake for more power if wanted.

    And what else?
    The early ABS module is shit. It will malfunction, and disable the rear brakes. And you can’t find them anywhere.

    That said- gimme wagon.

  7. Nice Kraftwerk reference. I’ll never forget finding a Kraftwerk CD in my friend’s attic. We thought it was the funniest damn thing. We would crack up listening to “Autobahn” and “Computer Love” in the car.

  8. My granddad had a ’94 Mondeo MK1, fantastic chassis for a fwd, loved to drive it fast through corners, it would always hold much better than my VW Passat. Build quality ? Not so fantastic. The plastics are terrible (bumpers will crack at the mere preview of the impact of a butterfly) and the interior always felt a bit cheap to me (various bits and pieces broke off during its 2002-2013 carreer with my opa). But the technical quality was, for his 1.8 turbodiesel, quite good and he drove to 280k kms before the endemic 90s Ford rust got it. The sills and wheel arches were all gone. My Passat of the same age had only 1 rusty spot on its luggage door. The gearbox in that diesel Mondeo was also more akin to my Ford tractor, far from smooth. No idea if those of the V6 were any different.

    So, for nostalgia I would like to drive this V6 but for quality and the frugality of the diesels I’d love to buy myself the Mercedes. I have a VW T3 with the same poweroutput (57hp out of 1.7l diesel) so I am used to slow but soulful diesel-driving. Yes, sometimes it’s a bit hairy in nowadays trafic but overall it’s a very relaxing experience. And you can explode a bomb in the interior without problem.

  9. Yellow cars with green interiors are awesome, but I had to pick the Contour wagon this time.

    You can swap in a 3.0 V6 from the Taurus, which supposedly even carries the same external dimensions of the 2.5

  10. The pokey MB gets my vote today. I have heard too many horror stories about cars related to that Mondeo – Contour and Mystique. A buddy of mine that sells cheaper used cars feels bad selling them because they are such piles of shit. He calls them Mercury Mistakes. The Benz is a tank, and well-preserved. I’ll gladly put around town in sooty old Colonel Mustard.

  11. As a poor bastard who bought the U.S. version of the Mondeo (a ’97 Contour SE V6 5MT) new in ’97 there is NO WAY IN HELL I would vote for that insufferable POS.

    I’m more in shock that this particular junkpile went that long when ours required FOUR transmissions in less than 60k miles. All were internal failures related to “incorrectly machined parts”. And for those that question our ability to drive stick, the vast majority of the cars we own/owned are sticks and have never had an issue. I have 210k miles on the original clutch in our 6MT Mazda 5 for example.

    F the Mondeo and all the “world cars” that are related.

    The Mercedes is a better choice even in every regard.

  12. I’m on the fence with this one. The Mercedes is indeed classy, but having owned a 99 Mystique with the same powertrain for ~12 years, I can attest it really is a comfortable and fun ride, even if the back seat is considered too small for adults. However, memories of changing the alternator in that Mystique are pushing the needle towards the far simpler RWD diesel.

  13. I’ve owned in the past a Ford Contour and a Mercedes 300 SDL. The Ford was more fun to drive, but the Mercedes more reliable. Both had roughly the same overall efficiency, the Ford getting better city mileage, but the Merc getting better highway mileage.

    I’d definitely go with the 200D. Not only is it designed without planned obsolescence in mind, it is also a manual. These cars were built to be repairable and to last a human lifetime with proper maintenance. IMO, ALL cars should be designed this well.

  14. When I opened this article, I figured I was voting for the W123 … but then I thought about accelerating onto the Dan Ryan Expressway with 59 entire horsepower. We’ll take the Mondeo, thanks.

  15. The Ford is ticking a lot of boxes for me–it’s a zesty manual wagon with an understated, yet reasonably handsome visage. It certainly would be a lot more fun to drive than an old diesel Merc, but man that old Merc has style. It is absolutely oozing charm, and it’s built like a brick shithouse to boot. So given the choice between an old Ford wagon and a timeless classic Merc, I’m going dapper chap hipster BS selection here and voting for the Mercedes.

  16. Voted Merc, for a couple reasons:
    1. The diesel (with maintenance) will outlive us all.
    2. I’m in Canada and the highway speed limits where I’m at are 100-110km/h. I’m sure that the merc will make it to 65mph just fine if you’re thoughtful about how you merge and manage traffic.
    3. I daily a Mazda 2. It’s only 40 more horses than the merc. Plus the diesel will probably have more low end torque, the Mazda’s doesn’t really hit until 3000+ rpm.
    4. I don’t trust high mileage Ford cars.

    1. “. I’m sure that the merc will make it to 65mph just fine if you’re thoughtful about how you merge and manage traffic.”

      That Merc will *top out* at about 110km/h… I know this because I have a cousin who owned one.

      And it will take you a long time to get to 110 even with the car empty. It will make your Mazda 2 feel like a speed demon.

      Basically that Merc is really only suitable as a comfortable city car.

  17. This is one of the harder choices.

    Exhibit A: A car that will last longer than the dinosaurs that power it.
    Exhibit B: A car that is universally loved (even where you can’t get it) for being one of the greats

    I voted the Merc. I mean slow, heavy, and will outlive us all.

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