Hey Dubya I searched and couldn't find any Katzkins kits for the 05-09. Not sure why since they make them for the '10-11. :/

 

When I orderd my 06, the only option I added was the interior upgrade ( I ordered the charcoal panel option sight unseen and loved it!). It added the premium steering wheels, the charcoal dash pieces, the MY color dash, siver door handles,a/c vents etc. It cost $600 and was worth every penny. I ended up getting leather seat covers later for much less than the premium option.

Fast forward to 11. I ordered my 11 with no options other than an auto tranny. The only way to upgrade the interior was to go to a premium model that was 3k more. that is ridiculous. The cloth seats were nice, the steering wheel sucks monkey ***** and should never be put into a sports car. I traded my base seats and some cash for the 401 a upgrade seats with the grabber stripe (much better feel than the leather but thats personal preference). I got an 05 upgraded GT steering wheel for $75 and looked great in the car and feels much better. Ambient lighting? For $10 bucks I put blue LED bulbs in the map lights BANG ambient lighting lol. The new interior is very nice fit and finish I think some lower cost options for the interior would be a welcome addition.

 

Dang, well now I got a million dollar idea

 

^^agreed. I love a nice interior but it comes in a distant second to good performance. If it was the other way around, I would have gotten an S5!

I plan on swapping the steering wheel to the Boss wheel and going to ebay for the leather seat covers. If I could just find a cost efficient way to swap the guage cluster for the GT500 or Boss cluster, I'd be in heaven.

 

100% agree. I miss my '05 as well. Sync, Nav, Climate control, and the rest is nice, but I would rather have a stereo I could change out if I wanted to. If they [Ford] are going to continue to build in stereos and DVD so that it is difficult to change, then put a kick *** stereo in and make me NOTwant to change it.

 

Auto tranny....

 

I test drove a newer GTI and I do have to agree, I absolutely loved the interior.

 

I opted for 401 leather and I wouldn't change it for anything, I know it's not the best looking interior in the world but I just love it

 

The GTI interiors are super nice. I'm not much of a VW guy but certainly wouldn't mind having a GTI for an every day car.

 

I'm with the OP, I really don't care about a fancy interior, and wouldn't want all of the gadgets and other stuff that comes on the Premium Mustangs that are loaded up inside with all the options. My '08 GT is a Premium, but that's because I was buying one off the lot, and there were no base cars in acceptable colors available. Mine has leather seats, but I'd prefer cloth, the two things I do like to be a bit more upscale though are the things I'm actually touching with my hands, namely the steering wheel and shift ****. Mine came with the same cheap crappy plastic steering wheel Ford is still using, so I upgraded that to a leather Bullitt steering wheel, and changed out the plastic shift **** as well.

 

As long as I get leather seats

 

And leather steering wheel

 

It's traditional for the GTI to have plaid seats, but you can get them in black leather.


Exactly... Mustangs are about performance per $, not necessarily fancy interiors.

 

I actually like the VW Golf's interior. I do not agree with the OP regarding the 401A not coming close. While the mustang may not have a Maybach interior treatment but I actually find it better than what is offered in the Golf. I mean overall layout, material quality, and features. But that is just my opinion so no one is wrong. I added some pics to support my opinion as a direct comparison. But I have to agree the interior layout in the Golf is well sorted out and appealing.

Overall it is a tradeoff, I can live with a balance of power, refinement, and affordability. Funny thing is here a Golf GTI R32 or similar VW Schiracco cost around 38K Euro which is the cost of a Boss Mustang or GT500. These VW cars lose their appeal everytime to me when I see a $50K price tag. Almost shameful.

I learned to live with a car that may not have the best this or that but I appreciate when it evolves into a nicer overall call with my mods or the next generation like the 2010-201? mustangs are to the 2005-2009 mustangs etc.

 

My '11 came without options--just the base car. It does just fine as is, although I'm sure I'll do something with the seats someday. Even the base radio isn't bad. I kept my '05 as it's mostly a race/car club cruiser. I got the nice stereo but took it out, took out the seats and replaced them, have never used the mycolor BS, etc. Clean and functional, and pure performance are my goals.

That said, we need a sedan or small SUV for trips and hauling around a few friends on weekend outings, and I could easily see optioning that out completely...

 

I personally enjoy nice interiors regardless of the kind of car. I expect such interiors in luxury cars, but they also make performance and economy cars more enjoyable day in and day out. Leather (or good vinyl) and a few trim bits can really transform a cars interior, in my opinion. I think the Mustang is a good example of this. The base interior is perfectly fine and functional, but the premium interior is much more impressive to look at.

I went with the premium trim because I wanted leather, the nicer steering wheel, the aluminum dash trim, and the ability to get HIDs and 19" wheels. I don't mind the upgraded stereo, even though it doesn't sound very good, but I really didn't want the power seat, Sync, and MyColor. (No offense to MyColor fans, but this seems like something ten year old girls, not adult males, should want). Still, because of what I wanted and Ford's packaging, I ordered the premium trim. It irks me, however, that Ford charges $4,000 more for the premium trim when it costs them very little extra to produce over the base model. Then again, why is upgrading from the 3.7 to the 5.0 $7,000 more in the Mustang but only $1,000 more in the F-150? I guess you have to pay to play.

 

The interiors on the Premium package cars are sooooo much nicer looking than the base GT cars. I completely regret ordering a base GT. To the point that I am really really thinking about trading it for a 2012 Premium GT.

And on a side note, anyone who thinks that the S197 interiors only rate a B+, surely has not logged much seat time in an SN95 car

 

I said that and I'm not the OP

 

What's the OP?

 

It is really nice. I wish I could have the seats from the GTI in the mustang. They're more comfortable and the bolsters actually hold you really well.