^^^THIS^^^

 

Back in 2004 it took me a whole year to decide between the '05 GT and a BMW 330i. Test drives in both a new GT and a 3-year old 330i finally convinced me - the BMW is a quality car all the way, really nimble, quick, and classy. But it was also a pre-owned car that cost $5K more than a new GT. The new Mustang, OTOH, looked like a race car on the street in screaming yellow, out-torqued the BMW by a country mile, and was a performance bargain at $26K.

Now, 7 years and 62,000 miles later I've got the new car itch again, and the 5.0 Mustang is the front-runner. Again, I still like the BMW 335 and the 135 as far as quality, performance, and image. The 335i coupe is a sleek looking car too, while the 135 is rather homely. The 1 series M coupe improves the 135 look with its fairings and bulges, but it is still essentially the same blocky shape. And then there's the ultimate BMW coupe - the M3.

If money was no object, I'd get an M3. If $60K + was unacceptable, but $50K was okay, I might go with the 1 series M coupe.

But money is an object, so it looks like a 5.0 is in my future. Which is fine with me. I love driving the Mustang on the street and especially on the track at road courses. I like the image, where it's not stuffy or pretentious at all -- it's like a blue-collar car, but one that must be taken seriously, even by sports cars that cost twice as much (M3).

Others:

Camaro - When this was announced I figured I'd get one. 426 hp, a 6-speed, and that styling - how could you go wrong? Plus, I have owned three Z28s in my past (followed by three Mustang GTs), so I do have a soft spot for the car with the bow-tie badge. A friend of mine has a red SS with painted gloss black stripes, and the car is a stunner. He replaced the factory exhaust with a Kooks system, and when I heard it I was almost embarassed to start mine up -- talk about menacing! But then Ford responded with the 5.0, and I just prefer the everyday ergonomics of the Mustang (I had a hard time seeing out of the Camaro because the seating is so low), and the Ford's interior is a bit classier for my taste.

Challenger - Great looking car. I'm sure it would be the most comfortable of the Big Three pony cars on a cross country trip. Never a serious contender though because of it's bulk and sluggishness. The SRT-8 is serious, but is also seriously overpriced.

370Z - probably a great car and fun to drive. The problem with Japanese automakers (other than the GT-R) is that they never understood what a proper muscle car should be. They don't sound like muscle cars, and they don't have the low-end torque.

Mini Cooper S - what?! Yes, I said Mini. My daughter has the standard Mini, and that car is a blast to drive. The steering is ultra-twitchy, quick, and dead-on precise. The size of the car gives you the perception that you're going a lot faster than you really are, and since it feels that way, it's just fun to drive. It handles. And it gets incredible fuel economy - close to 40 mpg on the highway. If only it was RWD.

 

I too drove a camaro ss. love the look, but not the drive. But i have to say, this IS one sweet camaro! Saw this at an air show in MI over the wekend.....

 

Saw that at the Detroit auto show. Great car

 

Maybe this will change your mind back to an M3.. you can get a decent low mileage M3 and get it certified for around $50k now.



I was in the same boat..got out of the PCar as a way to free up some cash flow and I really wanted to get into a Mustang..I think the new 5.0L is just a awesome car for the money, just the interior...I'm sorry it was a deal killer for me...I just got spoiled by the 2 previous E46 M3s than the PCar..

I think the next Mustang is going to go more upscale when it comes to the interior.

Dave

 

If you put the extra money you would spend on a used M3 you could get as good as an interior you want, not to mention if you put performance mods into the mustang it will destroy the M3.

In all retrospect if you are driving a mustang for the "interior" you are driving the wrong car. Mustangs have never been known for the flash on the inside.

 

considered: A G37, A 2008 GT500, 350Z. test drove a 2011 mustang, took ownership 2 days later. BEST decision on a car ive ever made. As for the #8 Cylinder issue.. there are far less than we think. New engine , yeah we fix our problems and go stronger. My 2011 is modded and i LOVE IT!!

 

Think that would look good on about any car.

 

Woulda loved an M3 - but considering it's 2x as much as my GT (having paid $28K) - it was way outside of my budget. Wouldn't have any money left over for mods

 

Camaro- simply garbage.

Went for a 2012 5.0 6M 401A for obvious reasons.

I found one good use for the Camaro SS and that's to carry car parts like transmissions and driveshafts that I would never allow in the interior of my 5.0.

I went on a long 6 hour drive in the Camaro SS. It made me miss my 5.0 so much. I was dying! It's less then what one would expect from a sports car. It handles horribly and it felt heavy and slow. The interior was very CHEAP and everything in the interior was HUGE, HUGE blind spots. My brother drove the Camaro SS and asked me "is this the V8 one? Lol has anyone seen the visors on the SS? I'm insulted that they compare this POS to a Mustang.

 

hahah sweet photo with that transmission in the back seat!!

 

I test drove a Bumblebee SS, just to make sure it was badazz. I have always loved Camaros and Mustangs, so historically I'm not really partial to either. But this test drive was SCARY. Like all that said it before, NO peripheral vision no matter how hard you crank your neck around (and no preinstalled blind spot mirrors either!!!). Let her rip on the on-ramp to the freeway...one word to describe that experience - BLAH. That was all I needed to see. The Mustang was a very easy choice for me.

I honestly thought to myself, "If I buy this Camaro, I will die in it" That's not good.

 

I test drive a camaro ss and a used gto, along wih a 370z and finally an audi S5. The nissan was just for kicks as i really was looking for a v8. i checked out some challengers at a dealership but never drove them because they felt too big when sitting inside them and was never all that impressed with their performance numbers so i knew it wasnt the car for me. The camaro was a let down and i dont think i could ever get over that interior no matter how good the paint job is. i feel like i need a shower when i get out, not to mention that when i do get out i almost always clunk my head on the top edge of the door well. lots of folks seem to think the mustang interior is cheap or crappy, but i thought it was very sweet! And to those people i say, "go look in a camaro!" Challenger interiors look a lot like other dodges.....for example the charger. The camaro was going for unique and certainly got it, but at the expense of pretty much everything practical. The mustang interior has throw back design cues and a unique look that is different from all other fords, yet very nicely done! good materials, well laid out. In fact everyone to see my car comments on how cool the interior is. So i'm not sure why so many people dislike the interiors, but to each their own.

the audi was a very nice car, but just not very fun when compared to the mustang. plus it was a lot more $$$.

The gto was/is the best alternative i found to the mustang and there are some good prices on some right now, but i wanted new with warranty and new car low mileage. Wound up with a slightly used 2010 GT500 because the ford dealers r a joke and i found them to be extremely dishonest so i cancelled my 2012 5.0 order.

I am a US armed forces supporter so seeing the camaro all painted up in patriotic scenes from our nations history looked really sweet and worthy of posting for all to enjoy. hope no one misinterpreted me posting those pics as being a camaro supporter. Tho i did always like the exterior looks, just nothing else.

 

Hahaha. +1

 

Yep; I drove a "Bumblebee" (not the actual Transformers package, but yellow with black stripes) Camaro SS. I liked them a lot when they came out (looks,never drove one until this test drive), but after driving it, didn't care for it in the slightest. Typical GM interior with layers of crappy plastic, awful visibility, etc. Went right over to the Ford dealer to check out a Mustang; unfortunately, there were zero GTs in the area, so I drove a V6 to at least get a feel for the build, but it took me about two weeks to track one down. Once I found one, I drove it, pulled it back in the dealership and told them to write it up, lol. First Ford for me, out of roughly 25 cars I've owned (not counting the 2 Windstars my wife had a few years back).

Absolutely LOVE my 2012 GT..

Some pics here

more pics in this thread

 

hahahahahahaha
hahahahahahaha

 

I had forgotten just how terrible the Camaro gauges were until you posted that pic. Ugh.

 

That's like partisan politics going on at the hill now. It's a Camaro board what do you expect. This place and I'm sure every other Ford site was ragging on the Camaro's teething issues as well (brake weights to silence squeaky brakes, snapping output shafts, etc. ) so naturally those who took offense would be quick to jump on it no matter how isolated the problem is. Hell I could have some fun with some of the quotes from some of the hardliners here, but I'm not here to troll so I'll let them pass. Some of us know there's no way you can bring a new engine or platform online with only simulated testing and a small test fleet and expect everything to go 100%. You can run 1000 motors on a dyno WOT for hours to test durability but theres always that #1001 that didn't get run with maybe a little looser tolerances that let itself go on some unlucky customer. If they didn't fix the issue then ya I'd worry but they are addressing it from what I've read here. If you want to play their game just laugh back at them because the Camaro didn't come off without a hitch either. It's as ugly as politics sometimes but just like politics it's mostly an, "oh ya well mine.........." game.

As a GTO owner, who is not gentle on anything I drive, I say stay away from the GTO if you A) put a lot of miles on them and B) drive it like you stole it everyday. It's not that it's a bad car but replacement parts for it on anything besides the motor and trans are expensive and take forever to get. I waited 6 months for a **** set of tie rod ends. Everything has to be ordered if you can even find them at an Autozone, O'reilley's etc. I love the car and will not part with it, but have had alot more problems with the same driving pattern than I did my Z. It's about to be parked as a DD in lieu of a mitsubishi truck as soon as I finish rebuilding the motor in it.

As far as competitors if it's not packing a V8 it's not in the same class IMO. Then it's semantics as to which one as IMO they are all nice with certain quirks.

 

I sat in the camaro SS, and keep in mind im around 6 foot 5 and 230 lbs +... I literally could not even fit in the camaro without breaking my neck. I could not sit in it due to the roof which was much too low and intended for the typical short cocky camaro type guys. Also i wont even mention the interior quality and parts used... some of the finest chinese plastic around

 

I had my first new car purchase narrowed down to four cars:
-Camaro:love the exterior styling and could probably live with the interior, but the drivetrain just didn't "wow" me.
-370Z:Probably the best mix of interior and exterior styling of any car I looked at. But the engine sounded like something out of a pick up truck. Yuck.
-C6 Corvette: Felt good, goes good, could live with the interior. Ultimately, I decided I just wasn't a "Corvette Guy."
-Boss Mustang: I drove a 2011 Mustang GT and knew within a half mile this would be the car I would buy. In my opinion, the exterior styling was pretty good and the interior was almost as nice as the 370Z. What hooked me was the responsive drive train and the sound of the engine and exhaust. Probably would have bought one, except a buddy of mine mentioned Ford was bringing the Boss back. Put money down in November, took delivery 2 weeks ago and haven't stopped smiling since(neither have my passengers). If I had one wish, it would be for less hard plastic on the doors. Other than that, everything is super.