Uncovering what makes this V6 engine so special

The DriveTribe fast Ford is back, with Mike investigating what makes the Mondeo ST200's V6 engine so special. Soon it'll be time to test it on a dyno!

Thank you for all voting as to what we should do with the Ford, you guys voted for a restoration and that's exactly what's going to happen!

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[davidguille]

As a Ford trained mechanic /tech I can honestly tell you that this v6 along with most Ford engines are good engines in a very poor state of tune.

If you want to really restore and make this better then first thing you need to do is have it tuned by someone that knows Ford ecu tuning.

The v6 is far more capable of an engine than Ford allowed it to leave the factory.

[faugrad]

"When it rolled out of the factory in 2000....20 years ago!" Wow, I still can't believe the year 2000 was years ago already; time truly does fly. Love the video and always loved that generation Mondeo.

[ryanhoffmann]

I am blown away here. I owned the US version of this car the SVT Contour. IMO one of the most underrated cars ever. I never questioned why the boys all loved this car.

[simonrook]

Had an ST220, the sound as it approached 7000rpm was and I could drive it home from town in the 30mph limit in sixth gear at about 1200rpm no issue as well.

[goofyleo]

After watching this I'm gonna go out to my barn and fire up the silver frost '98 ST200 5-spd that's parked for the winter on a bat-tender. 😀
Thanks Drivetribe. 😎

[JohnSmith-jyqj]

Always thought it was a nice looking car

[braddersx]

It sucks to hear about James' anxiety, I hope he overcomes it❤️

[headers]

4:13 there is something about that chain-link fence front grill design that seem quite nostalgic to me. I just can’t seem to put my finger on the reason as to why.

[tubeviewer-qpfb]

Takes me back to my car rental days in the 1990s. I used to use one of these as a company car. They were all blue and W reg, so I wouldn't be surprised if I have spanked this one at some point! I actually preferred the ST24 to the ST200 as it was more 'subtle' styling. The engine note on these cars is slightly effeminate - but they used to go quite well. Bit of torque steer on the manual trans cars when really gunning it through the gearbox. We had a few automatic ST24s which I much preferred. I think the suspension on the ST24 was slightly more compliant than the ST200 also? Not sure. Great ergonomics and nicely hugging seats. Loved them.

[rolfejones]

I owned a 2000 US Contour SVT which is basically the same model. I owned it from 2002 until 2016. Put on over 200K miles. Absolutely loved this car

[ArchefluxxMusic]

I have a 2.5 S-Type, and a 2.5 Cougar. Both Duratech engines. Both engines are outliving the bodies or other car parts. Amazing engines.

[morgantaylor]

I drive a 2.5 v6 AWD manual Jaguar xtype it is quite thirsty but an amazing engine, it also uses the variable intake tracks as well as the edition of variable valve timing, they sound amazing too

[ramiabouchakra]

Happy new year James May (the slowest man on earth)

[blackericdenice]

The 200 hp come from the high performance cams. The special intake runners help it run better at low rpm.

[ThunderChunky]

I had this engine interested cougar with an ST220 chip and I loved it.

[Thirsty_Fox]

It's a shame it's becoming quite hard to even find cars with a V6 anymore (especially with a manual).


Such an experience so many will miss out on.

[martinnaylor]

Loved these things when they first came out, I had a 52 plate ST 220 which was a great all-round car.

[BlueSupreme]

I own two ford contours with these V6s in it. In the middle of pulling one and assembling the other. Just put a big smile on my face.

[nimmen]

My MR2 from 1991 also has this kind of intake. Toyota calls it ACIS. A side effect of this is that the induction sound also becomes more agressive above the switchover RPM.

[Fifth_Avenue]

Can proudly say that we still own our 20 year old ford mondeo ST V6 that sits out in our back garden. Can honostely say as soon as my dad put the battery in it, the car started quickly. The thing that makes these mondeos special is the rarity of them. Currently less than 1000 in the UK and Ireland last time I checked.