cc.com review
Thread Starter
V6 Member
Joined: September 1, 2004
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
A guy at CC.com got to drive a GT, so here is a regular car guy giving his unbias opinion.
Quote:
So I had the opportunity to flog a 2005 Mustang GT this weekend...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, it's not a bad car. I won't discuss the circumstances leading up to the test drive, but this was not a camoflauged mule, it was an actual production vehicle with a VIN number. The media embargo expired on the First of this month, so I think it's safe to share this...
The fit and finish is significantly improved. The 5 speed shifter operates with European precision. Parking brake is pretty gay however. The car is VERY easy to get in and out of - one thing I hated with my SN95's. The car I drove was silver with porno red. Again, whoever made the decision to offer that color, should be castrated and burned at the stake.
Now, on to the nitty gritty. The clutch is smooth, and releases mid-swing, instead of .25 inches from the top like the previous Mustang GT. The pedals and their configuration is a thing of beauty, making toe-heel action an absolute delight. The throttle actuation is very linear and you cannot by any means, tell that it's throttle by wire. Sorry to disappoint you TBW haters
Brakes are very firm, and have surprising initial bite, but do not exhibit any signs that lock-up is impending, just smooth modulation. Steering input is tremendous, along with turn-in. The car will dart in whatever direction you turn the wheel, which surprised me, despite the 235/55/17's it came with. The steering seems to be a bit over-powered, but it still has decent feedback.
The engine is pretty smooth. Not as refined as I expected, as there's still some detectable engine vibrations at every RPM. Crack the throttle and dump the clutch and the car tracks straight with zero wheel hop. Same thing in reverse. When accelerating in first gear, a quick lift and shift will provide a hearty second gear scratch, keen enough to leave tracks visible in the rear-view mirror. I should add that the rear end plants hard on that shift, and makes me wonder what effect a higher rate spring, better dampner, and lower ride height would do on the stock suspension. It rides incredibly smooth and comfortable. The engine's powerband is similar to the previous GT torque wise, but has a notable upper RPM pull like the DOHC. Exhaust note is pretty pronounced for a stock setup - I'm going to bet that owners will only be swapping exhaust for more sound, not less restriction and more horsepower. I wish the car had more low end torque for passing, but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power.
Seats were fair, steering wheel was decent, gauge visibility was decent, although I find the dash to be rather busy, but it's still easy to get the business side of things when you need it (tach and speedo, the other gauges are for decoration it seems).
Ford probably could have sold 10 gagillion of these cars on the old chassis with a simple rebody, but it's good to see they've made considerable improvements overall to the car. The car turned heads and people stopped traffic to take a look. "Where did you get that, it's not out yet!?!?" Surprising that attention like that could be drawn to a Ford product.
Overall, my opinion still reigns on the durability of the car and how it will feel after 30, 60, and 90k miles, and what will be prone to death and destruction. I beat on the car pretty hard and it didn't seem to wince one bit. I know it had been abused pretty hard prior to my drive... I wish I had more time to play around.
I don't think I'd go out of my way to buy one because of my warranty experneices, but I think that the boy racers are in for a treat, and the car is also set up to offer some serious performance at the track as well, with some aftermarket improvement of course. Time will only tell. I wish I could elaborate more on who is currently building a suspension package for it, but it's not my place and time to say anything, and I promise to report back as soon as I can.
Overall, if the only thing I complain about is the parking brake and interior color, I think Ford has done an oustanding job.
more from his story
Quote:
Well, I can tell you right now, in the way the car behaves based on driver input, that the car feels smaller than any Mustang I have ever driven. It's very light and nimble.
However, sitting inside lends itself to a motorboat-driving experience. Of course, I'm 5'10, 195 and didn't bother to check to see if the seat would raise. In fact, I'd prefer the car this way, because the previous MY mustangs had the seat mounted REALLY high. The racks must be low-profile and the mounts must be lower.
The only other issue I had was with the rear A pillar being in the way during reverse operations. Visibility isn't half bad however. The other thing I didn't like was that I'd stick my hand out the window for air and smack the side mirror. I guess I'm just used to the Audi.
On edit: Only the Tach and Speedo seemed to have accuracy. The other gauges were placeholders.
Quote:
SN95 = oxcart with bench seat
05 = sport/luxury
Unfortunately I didn't have time to take the car on the crappy cement freeways, so I can't comment on the tramline characteristics. However, the suspension is firm, yet supple, and the car doesn't feel "unsettled" or unstable over rough road, a characteristic of the SN95.
Again, the car feels worlds lighter than the SN95. If you've ever gone from driving a mustang and then hopped in a Miata, the same "light" feeling is present.
Quote:
I think the cooling system is sufficient for track duty. I didn't check to see if it had an oil cooler, but it appears there is a power steering cooler. I'm not sure on the brakes, as I was driving on the street. I didn't notice any fade despite some pretty hard stops, one after another. YMMV.
Quote:
Throttle response was better than any stock mustang I've ever driven, 03 Cobra included.
Quote:
I think 300 crank bhp is extremely conservative. I've already heard of 2 cars putting down 272+ rwhp and 297+ rwtq. Longer, taller, heavier, whatever, this car is down right better performing than any previous mustang, offers a much better suspension rigth out of the box, and I'm fairly confident that on-track this rear suspension will perform better than the joke IRS in the SN95.
Quote:
Ford even moved the battery to the firewall.
For better weight ratio
Thanks to Carrew from corral.net
Quote:
So I had the opportunity to flog a 2005 Mustang GT this weekend...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall, it's not a bad car. I won't discuss the circumstances leading up to the test drive, but this was not a camoflauged mule, it was an actual production vehicle with a VIN number. The media embargo expired on the First of this month, so I think it's safe to share this...
The fit and finish is significantly improved. The 5 speed shifter operates with European precision. Parking brake is pretty gay however. The car is VERY easy to get in and out of - one thing I hated with my SN95's. The car I drove was silver with porno red. Again, whoever made the decision to offer that color, should be castrated and burned at the stake.
Now, on to the nitty gritty. The clutch is smooth, and releases mid-swing, instead of .25 inches from the top like the previous Mustang GT. The pedals and their configuration is a thing of beauty, making toe-heel action an absolute delight. The throttle actuation is very linear and you cannot by any means, tell that it's throttle by wire. Sorry to disappoint you TBW haters
Brakes are very firm, and have surprising initial bite, but do not exhibit any signs that lock-up is impending, just smooth modulation. Steering input is tremendous, along with turn-in. The car will dart in whatever direction you turn the wheel, which surprised me, despite the 235/55/17's it came with. The steering seems to be a bit over-powered, but it still has decent feedback.
The engine is pretty smooth. Not as refined as I expected, as there's still some detectable engine vibrations at every RPM. Crack the throttle and dump the clutch and the car tracks straight with zero wheel hop. Same thing in reverse. When accelerating in first gear, a quick lift and shift will provide a hearty second gear scratch, keen enough to leave tracks visible in the rear-view mirror. I should add that the rear end plants hard on that shift, and makes me wonder what effect a higher rate spring, better dampner, and lower ride height would do on the stock suspension. It rides incredibly smooth and comfortable. The engine's powerband is similar to the previous GT torque wise, but has a notable upper RPM pull like the DOHC. Exhaust note is pretty pronounced for a stock setup - I'm going to bet that owners will only be swapping exhaust for more sound, not less restriction and more horsepower. I wish the car had more low end torque for passing, but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power.
Seats were fair, steering wheel was decent, gauge visibility was decent, although I find the dash to be rather busy, but it's still easy to get the business side of things when you need it (tach and speedo, the other gauges are for decoration it seems).
Ford probably could have sold 10 gagillion of these cars on the old chassis with a simple rebody, but it's good to see they've made considerable improvements overall to the car. The car turned heads and people stopped traffic to take a look. "Where did you get that, it's not out yet!?!?" Surprising that attention like that could be drawn to a Ford product.
Overall, my opinion still reigns on the durability of the car and how it will feel after 30, 60, and 90k miles, and what will be prone to death and destruction. I beat on the car pretty hard and it didn't seem to wince one bit. I know it had been abused pretty hard prior to my drive... I wish I had more time to play around.
I don't think I'd go out of my way to buy one because of my warranty experneices, but I think that the boy racers are in for a treat, and the car is also set up to offer some serious performance at the track as well, with some aftermarket improvement of course. Time will only tell. I wish I could elaborate more on who is currently building a suspension package for it, but it's not my place and time to say anything, and I promise to report back as soon as I can.
Overall, if the only thing I complain about is the parking brake and interior color, I think Ford has done an oustanding job.
more from his story
Quote:
Well, I can tell you right now, in the way the car behaves based on driver input, that the car feels smaller than any Mustang I have ever driven. It's very light and nimble.
However, sitting inside lends itself to a motorboat-driving experience. Of course, I'm 5'10, 195 and didn't bother to check to see if the seat would raise. In fact, I'd prefer the car this way, because the previous MY mustangs had the seat mounted REALLY high. The racks must be low-profile and the mounts must be lower.
The only other issue I had was with the rear A pillar being in the way during reverse operations. Visibility isn't half bad however. The other thing I didn't like was that I'd stick my hand out the window for air and smack the side mirror. I guess I'm just used to the Audi.
On edit: Only the Tach and Speedo seemed to have accuracy. The other gauges were placeholders.
Quote:
SN95 = oxcart with bench seat
05 = sport/luxury
Unfortunately I didn't have time to take the car on the crappy cement freeways, so I can't comment on the tramline characteristics. However, the suspension is firm, yet supple, and the car doesn't feel "unsettled" or unstable over rough road, a characteristic of the SN95.
Again, the car feels worlds lighter than the SN95. If you've ever gone from driving a mustang and then hopped in a Miata, the same "light" feeling is present.
Quote:
I think the cooling system is sufficient for track duty. I didn't check to see if it had an oil cooler, but it appears there is a power steering cooler. I'm not sure on the brakes, as I was driving on the street. I didn't notice any fade despite some pretty hard stops, one after another. YMMV.
Quote:
Throttle response was better than any stock mustang I've ever driven, 03 Cobra included.
Quote:
I think 300 crank bhp is extremely conservative. I've already heard of 2 cars putting down 272+ rwhp and 297+ rwtq. Longer, taller, heavier, whatever, this car is down right better performing than any previous mustang, offers a much better suspension rigth out of the box, and I'm fairly confident that on-track this rear suspension will perform better than the joke IRS in the SN95.
Quote:
Ford even moved the battery to the firewall.
For better weight ratio
Thanks to Carrew from corral.net
V6 Member
Joined: September 10, 2004
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Originally posted by willy_sc5.0@October 6, 2004, 7:59 PM
but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power
but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power
Bullitt Member
Joined: October 4, 2004
Posts: 423
Likes: 0
Originally posted by Swede+October 7, 2004, 1:56 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Swede @ October 7, 2004, 1:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-willy_sc5.0@October 6, 2004, 7:59 PM
but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power
but you're only a downshift away from decent passing power
[/b][/quote]Hehe, my thinking too.
Team Mustang Source
Joined: February 1, 2004
Posts: 331
Likes: 0
From: Richmond, VA
Seems like that comment on having to downshift to pass has come up a couple of times. Sounds like 5th gear is perhaps a little tall, probably to yield better gas mileage...but who cares...nothing like dropping to 4th and romping on it so you can pass definitively and leave them with that awesome exhaust sound!!!
GT Member
Joined: April 7, 2004
Posts: 132
Likes: 0
Very nice review.
As to the question of having to downshift to pass, i think you guys are right. He probably was talking about 5th gear. Either that, or he is used to cars with torque like the '03-'04 Cobra. Maybe he has been spoiled by big power.
As to the question of having to downshift to pass, i think you guys are right. He probably was talking about 5th gear. Either that, or he is used to cars with torque like the '03-'04 Cobra. Maybe he has been spoiled by big power.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
tj@steeda
'10-14 V6 Modifications
1
Sep 23, 2015 03:21 PM