Originally Posted by frankie86

I was in the same position as yourself, I settled on a MD AMBIENTE wagon MY17.5 with petrol, the diesel mated to a dsg box just wasn't a option for me.

I've had my wagon for a year now and I love it!
There's so many rough one's out there though being mainly all ex fleet cars.

I was lucky enough to score a ex Kiama council one which presents beautifully.

Not one thing has gone wrong with it and I can definitely recommend one. Plenty of power, easy to drive and loves to eat up miles on the freeway, good on fuel too for what they are.

Originally Posted by Mondaveo

Not only is the base Ambiente the only spec level of wagon that gets the petrol engine, but (I thought I read) it's detuned compared to the powerplant you would have got in Trend or Titanium. Idk if that would matter to you. The lower output EcoBoost is probably still a fine performer, but I would still feel a bit shortchanged knowing it. (On the other hand, it should be even more durable.) Maybe one could get an ECU remap or something done to bring it back to the same spec?

I have the diesel+DCT in my MC Mondeo and I quite like it. Even though I got burned by the Powers#!t gearbox, I have admit that when it works (and it thankfully has been since) it really works well. The diesel powertrain took some getting used to, and it absolutely does not respond to being rushed, but the economy is great and I totally adore how there's so much torque it doesn't even notice how big a load you're carrying. I do think it would be nice to have the turbo petrol with some more spirited performance on tap, but for hauling the family on long trips this does an admirable job.