Traded the Malibu rental in for a Mustang yesterday, and intend on taking a road trip for the next few days to Sothern California & Vegas. One thing that absolutlely blew me away today is that the V6 is actually very quick!

The last time I drove a V6 automatic Mustang was in 98 or 99, so I was expecting a nice modest performing car. This thing (with TC and OD off) feels as quick as the old stock 5.0 automatic Mustangs. The thing also has a pretty healthy growl to it. It does run out of breath up high where the 5.0 was just hitting it's stride, but still impressive.

I've already put on a few hundred miles, and there's some observations about the car.

1st, the standard tires suck. On hairpins, the car tends to understeer & plows ahead. The Malibu didn't even do that, and it's FWD.

Second, the car isn't as claustrophobic as it 1st seemed. The drivers seat can be manually raised, and the car is actually pretty roomy... as long as you're in the front seat. Forget the horror stories of the back seat of an F-body. Mustang's rear seat looks great, but it makes the rear seat room of an F-body seem sedan-like by comparison.

The interior looks great is solid and well made. However, the materials are also cheap hard plastic everywhere except the top of the dash & the seats. Even the steering wheel is made of harder plastic that any car I can think of. On the plus side, the seats are the best I've felt since the GTO's. The steering wheel is placed at a perfect distance from the driver.

The car's handling (outside of the wimpy tires) feels alot like the dearly departed Camaro, despite having struts up front. There is an annoying delay with the drive-by-wire accelerator that seems to be bypassed somewhat by turning off the traction control and the overdrive. You can't do brake torque burnouts (the computer doesn't let the car rev past 2000 unless it's moving), and Fords can't do neutral drops. But once the car's rolling, with TC & OD off, you can do almost anything you want to get the blood going.

One thing I don't really like about parking the new Stang is that you become very aware that the car has a big a**. Camaro has a wide one, but it just seems that the Mustang's gives the illusion of being almost unwieldy, and takes some practice to parallel park. On the plus side, that huge **** creates a pretty big trunk. Also not crazy about that window that drops a fraction of an inch when the door handle's opened.

My impression is that the car feels like a mixture of fox Mustang & 4th gen Camaro, wrapped in a body that recalls Mustang's heyday in the late 60s.

I'll be getting very intimate with the car over the next few days. What's the impression of anyone else who's driven (or bought) the new '05 Mustang?

 

I am glad to hear that the new V6 is quicker than the previous V6. My girlfriends 04 V6 blows my mind with how long it takes to get up to speed. I have to rev it to about 5k every shift just getting on the freeway safely. Maybe I need to start hinting about trading the 04 in.

Good to hear the 6 has some pep.

 

I drove a GT at Galpin, and have a 2007 Shelby on order. The GT reminded me of my thirdgen '89 Camaro, in a good way, from the handling right down to the cheap hard plastic. You do sit higher, but I was surprised at how comfortable the car was. They got the ergonomics right.

I would have probably bought one for the wife, but they announced the Shelby, and hey, there you go. We wait for a bit.

Note: cheap hard plastic doesn't warp and look like a potato chip in a few years like some of the soft-touch crap, so I don't have a problem with it.

 

I haven't drove a new Mustang, but I got a chance to sit in one this weekend at the auto show. The exterior styling is kind of growing on me, from a side profile anyway, except I hate the rear and don't really care for the open mouthed front look. Even if got over all of that as soon as you sit down in it its like , very very cheap and plain interior. The materials might be ok, but its the design that makes it suck, retro didn't work here IMO. The difference between the new Mustang and GTO on the inside is like night and day.

 

Been in and out of a few of them.

The last I drove was a Red GT 5spd.

Most obvious thing new to me... the clutch. OMG, this thing feels like it might be electrically operated?!?! Smoothest I've ever felt, bar none. Couldn't choke the car down unless you are just stoopid... reverse backing or inching at a stoplight, no gas pedal required. Sweet.

Plusses -
*Interior, seating, and forward view were all improved greatly IMO.
*I liked the new wheel and shifter feel. Radio adjustment was a little awkward with the stick in front of it - but all manny's are that way until you get used to them (at least this stick is much shorter and easier to get over the top of when it's in 3 or 5).
*Turns heads like a naked tabledancer in a grocery store - everywhere I took it you could feel the stares.
*Believe it or not, I kinda felt let down because the ride was SO smooth. Too smooth. More like a Crown Vic than a Mustang. Honestly though, that's something I think I would appreciate more as a daily driver than a one-day rental - I was kinda "thrashing it gently" as a temp, ya know? Not abusing it, just driving it a little more enthusiastically than normal.
*Handling was exceptional, and steering feedback was too.

Minusses -
*Visibility out the rear quarter windows was rough. I can see how Guy has an issue with parallel parking.
*Views from the rear view mirror were actually pretty good in normal driving, but backing into a parking space can be dicey until you learn the car.
*I didn't have to ride in the back seat, but I saw the 2" between the rear seat and the back of the front seat and wondered...how?
*E-brake on the left side of the shifter... ummm... why?!?!
*The glass dropping when you open the door is to allow for better sealing when it closes, and I understand that part, but what happens when you need to open/close the door and the battery is disconnected? What happens when the window motor gives out? Hmmm...

All in all, it was a pleasure to drive, and made me really want to jump into one full-time. But knowing what limited editions are coming is just the clinch I need to wait another year or so and pile up a bigger deposit.
I'm in the boat with centric... that GT500 in black with gold stripes will take bay #1 in the garage if things go right.

 

Alot of magazine articles have critisized the steering wheel diameter for being too large (I think larger than the last car's). Part of the reason to clear the gauge pods. Any feeling on that?

Also, are the gauges hard to read with the text aligned radially and small increments? I personally hate the look, just wondering subjectively if it's harder/easier to read?

 

This was pretty much my impression. I test drove an automatic and a 5 speed V6 car (No GTs on the lot when I went) and I was really impressed with the low end grunt and the tone of the V6. It was much more than I expected. It's a bit roomier inside than the old Mustangs and the interior looks nice. I didn't think it felt all that cheap, but then I'm used to a 4th gen. It handled decent. The clutch felt worlds better than the clutch on my Scion.

It's funny, almost every thread on the Mustang is full of replies bashing it, but the "Who's actually DRIVEN a new Mustang" is damn near empty.

 

That was my exact impression when I bought my 02

 

You are very keen!
My sentiments exactly. Those who come in this forum KNOW that they can't BS their way around in here, so there will be no faking it - you either HAVE or HAVE NOT driven one, and your experiences will show it.

I laid down the gauntlet in Z284ever's poll thread last week, and got this same response (save for Darth Xed who admitted in candor that he had not drive one yet but was now compelled to do so... to you Darth for your honesty, and I hope you had good fortune to get a test drive in a GT...).

'Lotta talk going on on the web, but not much real experience yet, huh?

 

Can you imagine a V6 car, with a Vortech at 8psi, and the GT springs, tires, and wheels? That will be cheap-fast and lotsa fun.

 

well,I have 2 new GT's in the family since november.Likes= better handling and ride than my '03 mach 1.Similar power to mach and when I hook up a diablosport predator maybe just as fast.(a lot of throttle manipulation will be reduced).Front seat area is much roomier and better seats(leather GT).Nice shifter placement.Killer shaker 1000 stereo.Finally a steering wheel that looks cool(with IUP)BIG trunk,with flip down seats.I love RETRO.motor is smooth as silk.With optional alarm I can open up windows from quite a bit away to cool off car.
Dislikes=any mods except catbacks need a reflash of computer.Back seat is great,but my head hits the rear glass.Thats about it.

 

The windows with the auto up and down bothered me, the absolute lack of a real back seat bugged me, and that really was about it. I like the v6's honestly, they are pretty peppy. The looks of one, ehhh I waffle on that. The interior is a big step up from the last generation and the shifter placement is finally not in a spot where you smash your hand.

Overall Ford did a good job with it, and I can't see them having any problem with continued sales, despite most retro cars falling off after a year or two.

 

I can't believe how often the back seat has come up in this thread on the criticism of PONY CAR.

Seriously, what the f@ck? Kick your seat forward a bit and some kids will fit...if not, use someone elses car! It's not a sedan, its a coupe!

 

I test drove a GT, and it was very impressive. It was an automatic, but it definately liked to get up and go. I got pretty much the same feel for it as you did Guy, except it was alot faster, but the tires still sucked. I thought the interior was OK, not great, but light years ahead of any 4th gen. It felt very solid. And it sounded excellent. It felt about as fast as my '94 LT1 did before it got the headers and a dyno tune. Definately not far off judging by SOTP.

I also agree with Steve on the backseat issue. The driver doesn't sit in the backseat, neither does your girlfriend or wife. And there's plenty of room for a couple little kids, but that backseat was not intended for adults. It's a ponycar!

 

I still plan to go test drive a GT ASAP... we got a puppy 2 weeks ago, and she is a handful, and it's hard to get away from her...

I look forward to the test drive to be honest. It will be interesting to compare it to my 04 GTO, particularly the "modern live axle" of the Mustang vs the "outdated IRS" of the GTO... I am also very interested in the interior material quality on the Mustang... see what it feels like.

While I think it's OK to express an opinion on a certain setup, I agree that it is unfair to bash specific driving dynamics of a vehicle (or praise them, for that matter) without driving it first...