Shea

Ok, if you want to stop reading now, I will tell you that unfortunately I was forced to drive an auto. This really stunk for me, as I am 100% a manual fan. But, I had a time slot of 5, and they said there were just too many people in line for the manual, since they had to have the cars done by 6.

I have been driving T5 Stangs for about 10 years now (only 2 of my 8 Stangs were autos).

Anyway, firstly, I'll give you my driving impressions:

After pulling around the first curve, I floored it and kept it there until I was at 80, then I had to hit the brakes. Acceleration was good, I wouldn't call it great, but then again, I don't think autos can do what I can do with a manual (ever hear of powershifting?). It barked the tires for maybe a half second off the line, and wound up pretty good. Shifts felt solid, then as I hit 80 my co-pilot told me to brake, so I did, and the brakes were very good, much better than the smaller rotors of old.

Tried to do a bit of a slide around the next corner, but the tranny had a bit too much delay in downshifting (I quickly got used to it, but I did think there was too much delay). Next up was the slalom course. The cones were tight together, but I took them at about 40, keeping the tires very close to the cones to see how much body roll she had. There was minimal body roll, I was impressed by that.

Next up, a hard left corner, I accelerated hard before the apex to allow for the delay time for the tranny to downshift, this time I got her a bit sideways, and she handled it nicely, no axle hop, and the steering to get her back in line felt very neutral, not forced.

Overall, suspension felt very tight, steering felt tight, I like the amount of feedback I received through the wheel. Brakes were very good, and acceleration was good, though I would really like to drive a manual to compare.

I drove a Black GT with dark interior and IUP. IUP: The satin steering wheel spokes were very cool, as well as the satin scuff plate. The aluminum dash plate felt a little cheesy, as it is not simply brushed aluminum, but it has these little horizontal ribs going all the way across it. I might consider brushing those down to the surface when I get my car, as I don't think the ribs added anything positive.

The seats felt great, but I had to move mine back quite a bit (I like a lot of room to work the pedals). My passenger behind me said he didn't have much room once I moved the seat back (no surprise there). The auto's exhaust note was too quiet for my taste, but as others said, the manual sounds louder.

I got a good video of the whole experience. We videoed the Mustang that was on display...interior, exterior, in the trunk, under the hood, while changing MyColor options, even got the Shaker 1000 turned up and got that on audio. I also video the FordGT that was sitting there, and when I drove the 05 my passenger in the back seat got the whole thing on video as well. Very sorry to say, but as I have to get up for work at 7, I can't get a vid out tonight, but I'll have it by next week (I'm gone for the weekend).

BTW, Brad, if you are reading this, when I do get a vid, can you host it here, and if so, what format do you want, and do you want low or high quality?

My next post will cover the questions I asked about the Mustang, I got some decent answers.

Amy V6

Get some sleep man

Stinks that you didn't get to drive the manual. The lines were crazy!! I don't think any of the hired help were pay attention to anyones time slots.

BlackRiderX

Awesome! Have you driven a 99+ auto? How does the 5-speed auto compare to the previous 4-speed?

Shea

Questions I asked about Mustang:

Are these cars production ride height? Yes, the cars on the track are production height. FWIW, they looked pretty good, not too much space between tires and wheelwells. He did say though that one of their V6 display models was an "earlier" production model, and that some of the earlier ones had higher ride heights.

Is the engine overrated? Unknown.

When exactly will 18s be available? Still unknown.

Lime Gold offered in 2006? No.

When will we see reviews from mags? October. They have the cars now, but they are not allowed to talk about it until October 1st.

Job 1 on schedule? Yes.

Speed restriction/governor? Yes, 140mph due to tires.

Why does car perform better in snow than previous models? Better weight distribution is biggest factor, and one of the factors which contributed to better distribution is that the 05 has an aluminum hood. I had not heard this before.

Is Ford working on a ducktail? No.

Date for pricing to be revealed? After Job 1, but before cars ship, so 3-4 weeks.

LeMans stripes/moonroof? Not yet, possibly in future, but no plans as of now.

Quarter mile times? The guy said they actually did have some, but he couldn't remember what they were. He did remember that the Ford GT does it in 11.6, and he said that car is beating out cars like the Ferrari 360.

Cobra/SE? Cobra is in works for 06, and might have the 5.4, but that is still unsure.

Shea

I have not driven a 99+ auto. A couple other things I forgot to mention:

The shifter on the manual is shorter throw than last year's model, though I'd still like to shorten it just a bit.

Although I didn't drive the manual, I pressed the clutch a few times while sitting in one, and it was definitely lighter than my last Stang, which isn't suprising with the hydraulic assist. This will help out all those people stuck driving manuals in city traffic.

jgsmuzzy

Nice review Shea , look forward to the vids, too bad you didn't get to drive the manual.

James

ZERO

yeah, that's gunna me be.

thanks for the great review. you and amy did an awesome job looking over the cars and giving us honest impressions. from everything i've seen and read, i think this car is going to make us all very happy.

thanks again.

dallasw77

Good review Shea! Too bad the guy couldn't remember the 1/4 mile tiems!!!

ZERO

in another post i think cyoda44 said it was 5.2. i've also read 5.5 here as well, guess we'll know for sure soon.

GhostTX

Nice read, Shea. Can't wait for the videos, either.

adrenalin

Thanks for the write up Shea. I don't know what I'd do without this forum.

Boomer

in another post i think cyoda44 said it was 5.2. i've also read 5.5 here as well, guess we'll know for sure soon.

[/b][/quote]
0-60s are a LITTLE different than quarter mile times

5.2 - is pretty darn good

Dan

0-60s are a LITTLE different than quarter mile times

5.2 - is pretty darn good [/b][/quote]
Doesn't the Mach run 5.2?

Proc

I drove the auto as well. I would've preferred the manual, but it looks like I'll be purchasing an automatic next spring...long story.

Anyhow, I liked the auto. It cut my wait time to drive from 2+ hours down to 5 minutes!

Wombert

how about putting the video on bittorrent? saved bandwidth for brad and makes higher file size possible that way

Dr Iven

Yeah, that's top-fuel material there! :drive:

scottie1113

Shea, I'm glad that you drove an auto, because that's my choice of tranny these days in traffic. Good review, and I wish I could have been there,

05mustangbear

I can hardly wait for these to be available . thanks for the great review. Even though the auto would be easier in traffic ,I think I'm going for the manual!

BlackRiderX

Can't argue with that logic!