Heyas everyone, new member here.
I'm a happily married guy to a southern belle blonde, and we have an 18 year old daughter and I have been a Mustang Fan since I was 12 when my mother purchased a 1979 Mustang LX. I have always loved musclecars and such all my life and I now have a weird question...

I am disability retired (but still fighting my SSDI case for my disability pay after 8 YEARS... ) And when I get my retirement started I wanted to get a Mustang GT not only for myself, but for wife and daughter to enjoy as well. We all go driving everywhere... ^^

Hence my dilemma...

I'm 5'7" tall, wife is 5'2 tall and daughter is 5'1 tall, and every time we go looking at Mustangs, the dealers always have the seats set all the way back into the rear seats. (We go on Sundays as to avoid the sales vultures until I have the cash to buy right out...)

I know the back seats are small, and I don't want my daughter riding in the back seat if it isn't comfortable for her, if her head touches the hatch glass, or her legs are folded up into her chest from no leg room... Basically, if I can't sit comfortably in the back seat as I'm 5'7 tall, why should my daughter be uncomfortable and she's 5'1"?

I do know what some may be thinking, but I really enjoy our drives and I want to have a nice performance car to drive, and mod later. That's why I want us three together when we enjoy the Mustang.

My Questions are:
Which years Mustangs have the most comfortable interiors and seats, Hardtop and Convertibles? I prefer hardtops, but I won't completely rule out a convertible...
Which Mustangs are the most problem free, especially since I will prefer a GT with the manual transmission? I know the M82 (?) that was made from China has had some serious issues... is this still an ongoing problem with say the 2019 compared to the 2010?
And what years were the Grabber Blue colour scheme available for? As I do like all the years but gravitating towards a 2015-2019 model...

Thank you all for reading, and offering suggestions.. I will reply to each one... ^^

(For some reason, I couldn't upload a sketch I drew of my wife from my Apple IPad... )

DeafGryphon...

 

My two cents worth, and hoping others will have some input worth a bit more:

I think the back seats are going to be a bit tight when you have someone in the front seat, but passenger side might be OK if you are in driver's seat .... probably the only way to find out for sure, is to take a test drive with all three of you in the car. The difference between 5'7" and 5'1" could be "make it or break it" for the back seat, not sure. I am 6'2" and nobody can sit behind me when I am driving, because the seats almost touch; and my head does hit the glass in the back (2010 Coupe).

Later models are generally more comfortable interior wise; 2010 was a pretty big improvement in the interior, and the later years are even better. However I think the headroom in the back might be reduced in the S550 (2015-2022) versus the S197 (2005-2014) generation. Convertible might give a little more headroom in the back (with the top up) due to the slope of the rear window.

There are still some minor issues with the transmissions, but I think they have the bugs mostly worked out, and they were never super bad; you hear the stories about the few bad ones, but never hear about the majority good ones.

I'm pretty sure Grabber Blue has been available for all years since around 2010 but not positive. You could find the brochures on line to find out for sure (Google will find it).

 

Thank you very much for your reply...

And I will try a test drive when I can, or at least a sit-down literally with a sales vulture... ^^

 

I'm in the camp of 'wife in passenger seat and daughter right behind her in the back seat', provided your wife can move up far enough. Otherwise, NO, Mustangs are not good cars for more than two people. My wife is 4'11" (weight from 120 - 135 for the most part over the years) and it's tight even for her in the back seat. Over 40 years we have owned 4 Mustangs. I can say the same about all of them. We just bought a 2014 GT 'vert last week and it replaced a 2007 GT/CS convertible (5 speed manual) we had since 'new', That 2007 was an excellent car but I am compulsive about maintenance and detailing. I never would have sold it but had to move on with a sore knee (clutch). The tranny and clutch were problem free over the 65,000 miles we put on it. The ride was fine but getting bumpier as the years rolled by from general age and use. This 2014 we bought seems quite similar overall except for the big upgrade with the 5.0 Coyote. Space seems about the same. Back seat is good for coolers and toting stuff around.
If I was in your situation with 3 people, I would lean in a different direction unless the GT is a must for you. What would I suggest? A newer model Challenger with either stick or auto. The back seat is very comfortable and even I could exist back there at 5'9". It's a bigger car for sure, about 300 pounds heavier, but the Hemi gives similar performance to the Mustang GT. My R/T is a 2020 that I bought new two years ago. Having both in the garage is a treat but for passengers, the Dodge wins.
Good luck with everything. Feel free to ask more questions as each member here will think differently.


My old 2007 GT/CS was an excellent car.

2014 GT is quite similar as far as ride amd size.

 

Rear seats are tight for adults. I know I have sat back there. It would be fine for a short trip... I am 5' 11" about 205. There is not much room to move around, but there is room under the seats for my big size 12s. I know my pre-teen and younger grandkids love it back there. In the S197s the rear seats are designed to be similar to individual bucket type seats, so they can be restrictive. I think the S550s are similar. They are not uncomfortable, but I felt a bit confined. Love my 2014 coupe with the glasstop. The glasstop helps to make the car feel more spacious and may provide a bit of head room to the front seats, but probably at best no difference, but maybe less head room to the rears in a regular coupe.

As to the MT-82 transmission, I have had no issues with mine. The shifting could be better, but that may require a Driver Mod. I still have the stock shifter, but have thought of going to the MGW upgrade. Have heard great things from all those that have gone this route. From my research the MT-82 is usually a solid daily driver transmission, if you want one to pound on for the track, especially drag racing, that is a different story.

Good luck on your search. Love mine. Had it for just under 9 years and no major issues, complaints, or regrets.

 

I'm pretty much in agreement with the above post responses, therefore, no point in adding more than what's already been posted... In the meantime, welcome aboard!

 

I'm 5'9" the wifey is 5'1" and both of my daughters are 5'8". They both fit back there in my '13. Now I also love to sit upright and so does my wife so we don't push our seats way back. There's my two cents.

 

Well, surprise surprise... ^^

We went to our local Ford dealer (Apple Ford, York, Pa.) and met with a rather nice sales vulture named Lizzie and
asked questions about the 2017 Mustang GT there on the lot.

(It was a very very nicely used Race Red coupe with only 8,000 miles. Wow.... )

With Leslie's permission, we tried sitting in the Mustang, and guess what... we all did, rather comfortably as well.
Our daughter who is 5'1, sat best in the seat behind my wife who is 5'3", and I even sat in the passenger seat a good bit forward as I'm 5'7" and daughter said she still had room for her legs and feet. Her head didn't hit the rear glass or the roof edge and said the seat was comfortable. I didn't sit in the rear seat myself because the temps were over 90* outside.

Leslie did ask if we wanted to take the car for a test drive, but I declined, saying I will take one when my finances are able to buy one that night. I did start the GT tho, and I loved how it sounded, so did wife and daughter.

If I had the cash for the Mustang GT, I would have purchased it right there. ^^

Overall, I was very impressed, and even with the wife and daughter's blessings. After my SSDI case settles after 8 years, I'll find myself in a new 2022 GT OR a factory built Mach 1 in Grabber Blue, Race Red or Ice White.

Cheers everyone.
Deaf Gryphon ^^