Hi gang,

Some '05's are starting to appear on dealer lots. I live in Raleigh, NC. Today I went by Capital Ford to see what was what. They had six or so V6s in stock. Several were Premium with Leather. Non had the IUP. I drove a Redfire V6 for a 10-15 minute test drive. This was the first time I had seen the '05 up close and actually touched the car. Awesome! Even in base form the car has a nice look and feel about it. The standard interior was very nice and the 'Mustang' woven into the seat fabric is pretty nice looking though the leather interior is my choice. I do think the IUP will add a lot to the look of the car and I wouldn't want to own one without it. The V6 Premium wheel with the spinners is very attractive. It reminds me of the Halibrand wheels of the AC Cobra back in my 1960's boyhood. I actually prefer this wheel to the optional 17" GT wheel that is seen on most photos. The fit and finish was excellent on all the cars I looked at. All had production dates of 10/04. One had the wrong headlight switch fitted from a GT because it had a position for the fog lamps similar to the current model Expedition and Explorer. Several of the cars had no spoiler and when (notice I said when, not if) I get one I will have no spoiler and no stripes. The sliver and the mineral gray cars were both impressive. Both had Charcoal leather. A white car had the Parchment leather. The little C pillar windows were nice to have in traffic and the view out the back was good.

The view under the hood is also impressive. The V6 looks good in the engine bay. The engine mounts and all of the fit and finish under the hood is of a high quality and looks better than the old 3.8L V6. There is a Degas bottle now instead of the old coolant catch tank on the older cars. The under hood pad now has 2 ponys. A nice touch.

The V6 auto I drove had excellent power. The car only 13 miles on it and was low on gas so I didn't get into it too hard but did pull out into traffic 'briskly'. The power was there right from the first punch of the throttle and much more responsive compared to my 2002 V6 'vert. Impressive. It reminded me of the power of the old Fox 5.0 cars from 15 or so years ago. The 5 speed automatic was absolutely smooth as silk. Impressive. Anyone who runs down the V6 doesn't do the car justice. I can see some enterprising soul comming up with a Shelby GT350 version of this car. Sounds pretty good actually. I think with a bit of tuning and tweaking this car could be in the ballpark with older SN95 4.6 GT's horsepower wise.

The whole car felt very solid and responsive. Very nice and worthy of the name Mustang. I think that a lot of people will be pleased with this car. It's a lot of car for $21,000.

UPs: Price, fit, overall look, impressive power, smooth, responsive, great wheels on the Premium V6, good trunk volume.

Downs: Needs IUP to complete the interior look, seat belts lack minders for easier reach, not a lot of legroom in the rear with the seats back, wish it had a real dead pedal not just a carpet covered footrest.

 

Oh yeah, the V6 gives much more bang for the buck than the GT. People don't give it enough credit. 210 BHP is nothing to laugh at.

At the Atlanta Ford Innovation Drive, I had the extreme pleasure of racing one around the track. I had to come to a complete stop halfway around the track because I caught up to the GT in front of me! The V6 is a great car. I'm planning on buying one this spring!

 

It's 210 SAE Net HP, not BHP.

way back in Feb or Mar a Ford engineer form Cologne, where the 4.0 V6 is built, e-mailed Brad to say that the V6 really puts out over 220 HP.

 

There are tons of rumors regarding spec'ed HP vs actual HP. How much of that is true, and how much is wishful thinking?

Personally, I believe that if the V6 really put out extra HP, Ford would use it to promote their product.

People around these boards seem to believe what they like and disregard what they don't like.

 

Ford ever since the Cobra incident in 99 has under rated there horsepower on the Mustang. They also do it for insurance reasons as well. They have put the Mach 1 on the dyno and got ratings of 320 HP and Ford rates it at 305 HP so you never know the V6 might really be rated at 215 or 220 HP. Someone needs to put it on a dyno.

 

another point to consider, reagrding the performance of the 4.0: even though the final drive isn't as short on the v6 as the manual v8, the gearing on the manual v6 is much shorter than the manual v8; that, coupled with the big bore design of the cologne v6, should surprise some people at a stop light. jackg 90seville 95k

 

justgreat,
I agree with you on the performance of the V6, but I'm not sure where you got your figures on gearing.

V6: 1st gear = 3.35, rearend = 3.31, combined = 11.09
V8: 1st gear = 3.38, rearend = 3.55, combined = 12.00

The Boss Hog

 

umm idk about you guys but i wasnt impressed withe the power at all!! i currently own a 99 v6 and i feel like i have alot more power through the rpm range! i must say that the 05 has lots of torque down low but the power seems to stop at about 3k!!! my car pulls right to about 6k ithe 05 has good low end torque but in my opinion my car would probbly blow away an 05 v6 in the 0-60 and 1/4 mile but i guess ill just have to wait and see!

 

Motorweek saids 0-60 mph 7.0 sec. that good for a V6, c:

 

i was hoping it was faster than the V6 accord. oh well, its just .10 seconds slower 0-60. what was the mustang's # for the 1/4? the V6 accord's is 14.91


EDIT: Double
those are the automatic V6 Accord numbers

 

you say 7 sec is fast i tell ya its def alot slower them my v6 now so idk why you guys believe eveything you read!!!

 

my girlfriend got to test drive the satin silver V6 today at Calistoga Ford, in Northern California. she said it was faster, and had more comfortable leather than her '99 V6. She said the tone of the engine and exhaust is a lot better also. She also noticed the big speakers on the door lol. She got the passenger scared, because of her fast driving LOL thats my girl! :drive:

 

maybe i got a fast 99 that runs 16's or they got a slow 05 all i know is the one i drove felt like my friends mazda 3 with the 2.0 sluggish to say the least but only past 3k rpm's the down low was great!

 

The 05 mustang is putting down 15.3 to 15.2 in the 1/4, where as the older 3.8 are putting down 15.7. So this is a big improvement. Saw these on other threads. I can tell you that I took down a 5.0 yesterday in fourth gear and hit the limiter

 

You took down a 5.0? Good job!

I know the V6 is pretty fast since I test drove both the V6 manual and auto.

Have you dyno'ed yours? It would be nice to see what the "real" HP is of the V6.

 

I drove the V6 and the V8 back in November at a car show. I chose the V6 because I can get it loaded and afford it. If I want raw power, I drive my IROC. If I want to remember how far Ford has come, I drive my 67 Mustang. The 2005 V6 is a great car at a great price. I'm delighted to be driving a V6 as my daily driver.

 

No, I have not dynoed mine yet, and will probably not be allowed to. The wife does not believe in upgrading the pony. Now my 64.5 is on the chopping block she wants to sell it. She said that now that I have a new pony there is no reason to keep the old one. Eventually she will let me get a classic stang but for now two car payments and a restoration project is not in the budget so she says. :notnice:

 

Well, I went to the dealer last week to buy the GT. ( Northern California )The GT was marked up $5,000 over MSRP, and he wouldnt go lower, so I test drove the V6, and I was gladly surprised.
I had a 03 V6 and I got rid of it because it had low tourqe and not much power.

05 V6 rules ! I got it for $12,000 less then the GT( I spend 5 hours negotiating ) and it has excelent performance for the price. Great response and stability on curves. I might put later a cold air intake and a flow master wich will give me an extra 50 HP, but so far I am really satisfied.

By the way, I killed the Acura RSX on HWY 12 . It might have been just a bad driver factor, but it felt good, lol.

I would highly recomend this car, and yes I know GT has 300 HP, but for its class the V6 holds the gold. ( Lower Payment, Lower Insurance, Better MPG, ..... )

 

Congrats! I too think the V6 Mustang is a great deal!

I'll be getting one myself as soon as I can!

 

Wow, $12k less were they asking for $35 for the gt and $23 for a V6?
If i could get a V6 for $12k less then the GT i have on order ($24996) that would be sweet!
Oh by the way keep dreaming if you think a cold air intake and an exhaust will give you 50 hp, If you have ever built a motor you would realize that the cold air and intake will net you 20hp if your lucky, I have 4 modded mustangs to prove that with.
Good job on the RSX though