I'm a final year UCL Mechanical Engineer...
Firstly addressing the bad points. UCL Mechanical Engineering is less spoon-fed than the same course at other universities which is why a lot of students complain, and this is reflected in the rankings for the department (based on the National Student Survey that every final year student completes) - however, lecturers and tutors are never going to turn away any student that comes to find them and are always happy to help. Secondly, yes, a lot of the labs/equipment are somewhat dated and not the latest models or newest technology - depends on topic/module/area of use as I'll explain.
At UCL, the uni invests incredible amounts into the research/development of the medical side of engineering and a lot of professors and lecturers specialise in some area of medical engineering - such as artificial heart valves and pumps etc. Which is why we're ranked so highly in the biomechanical side of engineering, and it can be seen first hand from the UCL University hospital, which is a stones throw away, and highly benefits from the research done in the engineering department - and we're recognised globally for this. You'll find that a lot of lecturers also have commitments in the hospital and often go over to carry parts of their research. Because of this, the most invested laboratories and equipment are somewhat medical-related. My final year project is even in conjunction with some guys from Yale Medical School - which is awesome. Naval architecture is also up there with the other big boys and we have good Masters and PhD programs.
As for jobs... we have 4 guys that I know personally going off to work for Rolls Royce after graduating, one to Mclaren, and another 15 going into the automotive/mechanical industries. Something between 5-10 grads are going off into banking, including myself. And numerous (don't have a specific number) going into engineering consultancy and a few staying for PhD's. So if you're worried about jobs ...don't.
At the end of the day, it is what you make it. The first two years are quite theoretical, as with anywhere, but you do get 2 lab sessions for each module per year - thats 16 lab sessions and reports per year. Third and fourth years is when it actually gets interesting and you can become whichever type of engineer you like. We have a formula student (build a kart to race against other unis) project and a solar car project (same idea, different car powered by solar power), and more recently a car built to be made as efficient as possible which is also raced in an endurance race (3 different automation projects). So, yeah ...it really is what you make it.