Swamp Dweller

Would like to know how many of you looked at and/or drove any of the competitors cars before buying their Mustang. I am referring to the likes of Camaro, Challenger, G-37, Accord Coupe, Genisis Coupe, etc.

No, I am not talking about driving older models of another car, compare TODAYS X to TODAYS Mustang.

TheNewPony

Test drove a Camaro and the seat stitching was already ripped a little so I just got out and never ended up driving it.

flySWA737

Test drove the new Camaro SS for comparison. Felt like I was driving a chopped top hot rod in that tiny enclosure. Also wouldn't accelerate as well as my Mustang does. Just not as fast.

Additionally that spot on the dash in front of the passenger just pisses me off being so void of anything. They could of just put a camaro logo or something but it just bothers me too much to be my choice of a car. I'm a Ford guy anyway.

Ivan 5.0

I was interested in a EVO X and the new STi Sedan - neither dealerships would let me test drive one. Wasn't too interested in the Camaro. Went to Ford and they let me test drive an '11 GT. Went back in the next weekend and got one

c0achmke

Hope u drove back by the Mitsubishi and Subaru dealers to say hi in your GT!

Turboba6

Yep, the Mustang GT 'Was' winning this one until the motors starting pucking the #8 cylinders...
Was just on several Camaro forumns and their all jokin about us now....Geez....

flySWA737

They can joke all they want there still in my rear view mirrors where they belong. LOL

The camaro and challenger are just porkbellies who need big 6 liter engines to move. I don't want a tank that moves like a tank I want a car that fits me and moves like a nimble sports car. How's that for making fun of them.

KonaBlue5.0

I contemplated the Camaro SS, EVO, STi, 370Z and Genesis Coupe. None of them had the feel or power of the '11 GT, which is what I ultimately bought.

Also: Did you really list Accord as a comparison car? Crack pipe? Lol

xlover

when shopping for my 2010, test drove G37 and 335i coupes.

R1V3R5

As someone who has been shopping for the past few months and has not yet bought a Mustang...

370z
Love the interior, love the synchro rev match shift option, love the nimbleness and suspension. However, it was lacking power compared to the new 5.0 and the front of the 370z is umm.... too adorable. I don't want adorable in my sports car, I want it to look more aggressive. The Mustang looks downright menacing from the front.

Camaro
Love the look from the front, despise it's rear end. The inside was disappointing in my opinion, blind spots were huge! Also, it lost in most test comparisons when up against 5.0 despite the HP advantage.

Challenger
Love the classic looks, really pegged the old-school Mopar/Hemi look. Overpriced compared to equivelent Camaro/Mustang. Heaviest of the bunch. Chrysler quality worries me.

Evo X
I will be honest with you when I tell you that Mitsubishi is my favorite of the Japanese auto makers. They may have the worse reputation, but I always enjoyed the VR4, Eclipse, etc. Love the styling of the Evo X from the front, don't really care for the rest. Of course, never really cared for 4 door cars. Love the engine, love the AWD. My biggest complaint is the transmission. The 5 spd feels dated and the dual clutch system does not take to large HP increases. Overall, far less power than a 5.0, obviously. Mitsubishi's decision to discontinue the car helped me remove this is a possible choice.

eas9898

And what were your impressions?

MRGTX

Drove a black Camaro SS with orange interior and a 6spd and really liked it...plus Chebby dealer was VERY friendly and willing to work with me on the price (and made an awesome offer on my 2009GT trade in).... but drove the 5.0 and fell in love.

I am a huge fan of the Challenger...I waited and waited at the Dodge dealership to give one a try even after I was 99% committed to the '11 Mustang...couldn't find a salesman so I just threw up my hands and walked out after 1/2 an hour. Seems silly in retrospect but I was so excited about the Mustang that I felt like I was wasting my time.

Next time I'm car shopping, the Challenger R/T will be first on my test drive list.

xlover

I was looking for a 4 seat sport coupe, wanted min 300hp nav, leather, manual trans. In my short life i have been mostly a ford guy, almost bought a new stang in summer 07 after graduating college, went with an AWD fusion instead to be practical plus i didnt love the interior on the stang, sticker was about the same, always regretted that a bit so when the 2010 redesign came out i wanted to upgrade. Loved the new styling and the new interior was exactly what i wanted. I was shopping for a daily driver with some attitude and style, no tracking, no drag racing other than stop light heroics ..... so thats the backround.

I didnt consider the challenger or camaro, too big for my taste, bloated looking not my style. challenger looks like a caricature of a sport coupe cuz it is so huge in person. in pictures with no perspective it looks great

G37, did not like much about this car, felt cramped in the front, seats were comfortable but the ride was terrible. didnt really like the styling, or the interior layout although the materials were good. I felt like it lacked low end torque of the stang and BMW. handling was ok i felt like the car had minimal suspension travel it just kinda bounded along almost like a go cart, this was the S model with the sport suspension.

335i, i really liked this car, interior was first rate, materials and fit and finish top notch, i didnt mind idrive, minimal turbo lag felt like it had plenty of power. I drove an xdrive model as well it chirped all 4 tires in 1-2 shift. ride was excellent as was handling couldnt tell the diff seat of the pants between xdrive and RWD. what was not excellent was the price. I was looking at another 15k+ over the mustang for what felt like 5k more car. i couldnt justify where that other 10k was going other than to the badge on the front. i really liked that car alot. I would have gotten xdrive as well for the ultimate all weather sports car.

mustang, had the high quality interior i was looking for, as has been mentioned door panels still craptastic but i can live with that for the price. I would have happily paid more for them to turn all those other hard surfaces to soft then i think the interior would have been pretty much perfect for my needs. sync and the voice control are tremendous. ride was better than G37 not as good as the BMW. handling response felt similar to the BMW other than the documented axle hop over bumps in the corner which again, easy to live with at the mustangs price. styling, much better IMO, lastly the V8 which can never really be replaced, the sound, the feel, NA response and this was the 4.6 with 3.73.

MY next car is either going to be a next gen 335i which is undergoing a model transition this winter or a 2013 mustang also getting an update for spring. I am already leaning toward a 2013 have test driven the 5.0 and the extra power is tremendous, plus the brembo suspension is a huge improvement over my std 2010 suspension (not track pack)

uncle phil

We may have maybe 10 engine failures but we dont have to pony up for stronger axles as soon as we add a little power like the camaro guys. Also how many are modded like our 50s. Look how few you see at the track. Whens the last time you saw a bone stock camaro running low 12s especially an auto.

SoFlo Mustang

Camaro. Loved the looks of it. Couldn't see jack

SoFlo Mustang

335i is my favorite lol

Timeless

Not in any particular order:

Camaro - sat in it, never drove it as it would have been a waste
Vette (All models except a ZR1) - did not see it making a good daily driver
Challenger SRT8 - too big, too heavy, too pricey for what you get
2009 GT500 - too abused and not really as good a daily driver either
2011 GT Automatic - too boring and tranny was unresponsive
2011 GT Vert - too floaty and not as responsive (gears and weight I suppose)
2011 GT Premium in Sig - just right

Edit: Also tested the 370Z in coupe and convertible. Not enough power although the rev match shifting was nice as hell.

11SHELBYGT500

Sorry, I don't believe the Mustang has any competitors.

kn7671

Considered the:

BMW 335i = too expensive to run up the miles (25k per year)
Infiniti G37 = too expensive for a Nissan
VW GTI = nice car, not fun enough, too little power
Camaro = thought about it, that's about all
Challenger = way too expensive to get the top motor
Mustang GT (2010) - liked it, not enough power, decided to wait
Mustang GT (2011) - just what I've been waiting for..

The thing about the Mustang GT is that Ford is one of the few companies that gets it. You can't get a stripped down G37 or 335i for under $30k. Even if I wanted a Challenger or Charger with the top motor, you are forced to buy the top model, which is well over $45k. If Chrysler and the others did for Ford and Chevy are doing with the Mustang and Camaro, they would be selling a lot more Challengers and Chargers for sure. There is absolutely zero reason to couple the engine to the package level of a car.

justindo

I started thinking about getting a fun car in late 2009 but didn't end up purchasing anything until mid 2010. That car was a Dodge Challenger R/T Classic with the Super Track Pak. Last month I ordered a 2012 Mustang GT Coupe for a daily driver. Here are my impressions of some of the cars I've driven within the last 18 months in which the original poster expressed interest.

Honda Accord: In a moment of practicality, I considered this car for basic transportation a few months ago. The V6 EX-L version is nicer than the I4 SE, but I was underwhelmed by both models, as they are basically boring appliances, albeit better than a Camry. Interior quality has gone down from the previous generation too. I'm sure the EX-L V6 coupe with the manual is more fun, but the Accord really competes with the Nissan Altima and not rear drive cars.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track: I don't like either the front of this car or the weird rear side window dip, but otherwise it looks okay. The engine, transmission, handling, braking, and interior are all okay, but nothing special. It also seemed to have a lot of road, tire, and wind noise like other Hyundais I've been in. After reading all the rave reviews of this car, I was disappointed and underwhelmed. If these stickered for $25,000 instead of $33,000 I might have considered it more seriously.

Chevrolet Camaro: I wanted to like this car, as I've owned more GM cars than anything, but after seeing it in person I didn't bother to test drive it. The exterior is a mixed bag, visibility is almost non-existent, and the interior is cramped and cheap. I'm sure the powertrain is great, but the rest of the car can't make up for it. The Camaro is also becoming almost as ubiquitous as the 2005-9 Mustang in my area.

Nissan 370Z: I think the Z is the purest sports car of any of the ones on this list, and although it has excellent power and handles very well, there are a lot of things I don't like about it. First, I'm not fond of the "boy-racer" image it seems to connote. Second, I'm not crazy about the interior or exterior looks. Third, it's pretty cramped with no back seat. I much prefer its more mature sibling, the Infiniti G37.

BMW 3-Series: I've always been a huge BMW fan and came very close to buying one at three different times during my life. In retrospect, I probably should have, as I just don't see a BMW in my future. BMWs are very well-rounded cars that aren't the absolute best at anything, but great at everything. Personally, however, I prefer the previous generation E46 to the current E90, which is going to be replaced next year. The E90 is still a nice car, even if it is a bit more pricy, mainstream (softened in terms of both looks and performance), and of lesser quality than the E46. The 328 with the sport package is a great car, and although the I6 is very smooth, it's underpowered for an enthusiast in this day and age. The 335 remedies this. The 3-Series' interior and exterior quality, handling, steering feel, and braking are the best of all the cars on this list, if it's equipped with the sport package. I do, however, have two major problems with the 3-Series. The first is that, moderately equipped as I'd like, the 328 stickers for around $40,000 and the 335 stickers for around $50,000. (I'd personally opt for the 335is, which is about the same price as the latter and if I were to spend that much for a German car, I'd seriously start considering a lightly equipped Porsche Cayman S.) That's a big premium over the Infiniti and the Mustang. The second problem I have with the BMW is it having a turbo (there is some lag, but not bad) and its reliability. BMW, like Audi/VW, has had lots of trouble with their turbos. After getting rid of my daily driver VW Passat turbo due to reliability, the only way I'd get into another German turbo would be to lease one and I didn't want to do this. Another thing is that there's a plethora of 3-Series where I live.

Infiniti G37 S: This is a very impressive car for the money and for me it was between this and the Mustang when it came to my daily driver. The BMW is better than the Infiniti in every way, save price and reliability, but the G37 is at least 90% as good for a lot less money. The naturally aspirated engine is powerful, if not quite a V8, and the car is a lot of fun, handles and brakes well, and is comfortable, although the rear seat has worse headroom than the Mustang. The interior is nice, but I don't think it shames the Mustang or Challenger. In terms of looks, to me the Infiniti sedan looks about as good as the 3-Series sedan, but the 3-Series coupe looks better than the Infiniti coupe. Aesthetically, I like the BMW and the Infiniti better than the Genesis Coupe and the Nissan Z, but I much prefer the muscular looks of the Mustang and the Challenger to all.

Dodge Challenger: This is the car I ended up purchasing as my fun car in 2010. To be truthful, I fell in love with the car's looks. The Mustang is a great looking car, but the Challenger is gorgeous; it's the first car I've owned that I go out into the garage just to look at. The Mustang is the faster, better handling, car and is more involving to drive, but the Challenger has excellent power (more low-end torque than the Mustang 5.0) and performs superbly for a car of its weight and size. The R/T with the Super Track Pak performs nearly as well as the 2010 SRT and costs substantially less, making the latter a poor value. The 2011 SRT does have a substantial power upgrade over the R/T, but it's $50,000, which is a lot more money than the R/T and the Mustang GT. The Challenger has a lot more room in the back seat, a much larger trunk, and a more comfortable ride than the Mustang, but the Mustang is easier to park due to its smaller size. Interior quality is comparable to the Mustang, but the Mustang's has more of a "wow factor". Exterior quality goes to the Mustang, though. The Challenger is really a muscle car while the Mustang is a Pony car. They both have distinct personalities and are really different cars.

Mustang: This really is the best car in its class and a tremendous value. For $20,000 after rebates and negotiation, the base V6 is an incredible value. It lacks the low-end torque of the Z, G37, and 335, but it performs well. The fact that a nicely equipped $35,000 GT can compete with a $70,000 (or more) M3 says a lot. Yes, the M3 is the more refined car, but it's also double the price. As someone who doesn't have a huge trust fund, I personally couldn't justify an M3 when a GT is half the price. Besides, BMWs aren't as nice as they used to be.