My dad asked me to give him a ride to go get his ranger pickup from the dealer where he had taken it in for service. Same dealer where I had gone to last weekend and looked over the Mustangs they had.

I was out looking at the Mustangs again while I waited for my dad to pay for his service and get his truck. Of course Mr. Johnny-on-the-spot car salesman comes up to me while I was looking at the cars. Introduces himself and starts to tell me about the new Mustangs. I listen politely for a few minutes and then he says, "Want to drive one?" SURE!!! So he jots down the number off the car and says he'll be right back has to go get the keys and then he asks for my drivers license so he can make a copy of it, so I give it to him and he goes to get the key. About that time my dad strolls up. A couple of minutes later the salesman comes back out and hands me the key and my drivers license back. He has to move another car out of the way so we can get the one I want to drive out, it is the only manual tranny V6 they have. I ask him if we can all three fit, my dad is a big guy and so am I and no way either he or I am going to fit in the back seat. Salesman says not to worry, he isn't going along, just tells me to make sure not to run it out of gas. Gas gauge is down to the red line but the readout says 30 miles to empty so we are good to go.

So, my dad and I climb in and I back it out of the slot and we roll out of the dealer lot.

#1) Clutch - it is so on-and-off and all the clutch take-up is very close to the floor, will take some getting used to. I never stalled it but it grabs quick when it hooks.

So I roll down to the highway underpass and make the u-turn under and head south down the frontage road. Wait for some traffic to clear and drop the hammer.

#2) OMG!!! I am so freakin' amazed at how hard this thing pulls! From 3000 rpm it felt like a rocket sled, power delivery was so linear.

#3) OMG!!! Shift to 3rd at just short of 7000 and get LOTS of rubber!

We run down the frontage road a little ways further and hit the entrance ramp and run up on the freeway, suddenly the car stops pulling and I look down and the speedo is showing a shade over 115. I'm in 5th and it's as if we are doing about 70 except for passing all the cars like they are standing still. I hadn't even touched 6th gear so far.

The steering is super sharp, even on the skinny BFG tires on the car, it still seems to handle very well.

I am so impressed with this car, so surprised by the acceleration.

The car was a base V6 manual tranny with the standard 2.73's.

So, we get off at the next exit and made another u-turn under the freeway and head back toward the dealer. Stopped at a light and we were at the front of the lane at the light, nobody ahead of us so I just had to try and do a drag start and run it out the back door.

Well, a 2000 rpm start don't cut it. Squealed the tires a little then bogged, but as soon as it picked up we were off like a shot. **** I LOVE THIS THING PULLING TO 7000!!!

Feels like it could pull all the way to 8000 rpm or more if it didn't have a rev limiter.

I can only imagine how much faster this car would feel with the 3.31 gears.

I never did a full throttle shift to 4th but every shift from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, got rubber every time. Almost impossible to avoid barking the tires when shifting near 7000 and having such a sharp clutch engagement.

At the start the readout said 30 miles to empty and we only went about 7 or 8 miles in it and when we got back to the dealer it showed 14 miles to empty.

I really shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have driven it. Not in a position yet to buy one, may have to make a deal with the devil, I really, really want one...

Oh, and by the way, it is so quiet inside and way too quiet outside, definitely the first mod should be exhaust.

I really shouldn't have done it!

 

Sucker!!!

 

This is the same exact reason I have not driven one yet. I know that deep down I will want to take it home right then and there. I did drive an '11 V6 and I was really impressed. I just love the sound of a V8 though.

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

If the car I drove had been Kona Blue and I had quite a few more $$$ in my posession I might have done it because they were ready to drop the price quite a bit below what x-plan would be on the one I drove.

I'm going to stick to my guns though and get the Performance Package and the color I want when I get one.

 

lol So this means you will be joining the V6 PP club soon?

If you test drive the GT.. you might end up making two deals with the devil.

 

Soon?

I could only wish.

The second deal with the devil on a GT would have to be for low insurance premiums...

 

Welcome to the world of the new V-6 Mustang.

 

I think the description of this test drive makes an excellent case for you guys that say you'll never buy a car off the lot...

 

Then again there is the philosophy that says a hard break-in is good for the engine, as long as you don't over-do it with long periods near red-line, or worse yet, long periods at the same low/lugging RPM

So Ltngdvr -- I agree you shouldn't have done it, as if being on this board all the time wasn't torture enough, now you went and actually drove one! I intentionally did not drive the 2010 GT until I was ready to buy, because I knew the little taste would lead to full-blown undeniable addiction.

 

It'll never make any difference to the car or any future buyer of the car, it was at max revs for only short periods. And the car had about 26 miles on it already when I drove it so who knows how it was driven those first miles before I drove it. I wouldn't have had any problem with buying the car off the lot if it had been the car I wanted and I was ready to buy. And even if it was the car I wanted and I was ready to buy it I would have still test driven it the same way, no worries there.



I drove a 2010 GT quite a while back, was what first got me totally hooked on the new body style and smoothness. Now I didn't hammer the 2010 quite as hard as I did this 2011 V6 because when I drove the 2010 the salesman was riding along and I did feel a shade more intimidated about beating on it, but I would be hard pressed to say the 2010 GT felt stronger or more torquey. The 2011 V6 moved just as hard from down low as the GT did, at least it felt like it did to me. So on the other question of whether to buy the 2010 GT or the 2011 V6, it's pretty much a toss up on performance but I do agree that in stock form the GT sounds better but the V6 can be made to sound lots better and will blow the GT out of the water on fuel economy and insurance premiums.

My dad wishes he could have the 3.7 motor and 6 speed manual tranny in his ranger except he is afraid he would be destroying too many tires if he did.

 

lol test driving it is what sucked me in as well. If you already know you love them without driving them, then definitely don't go drive one.. makes it sooo much worse.

 

I had convinced myself I wanted the 2011 V6, until I drove them side-by-side, and walked away with a complete reversal, 100% sure I wanted the 2010 GT . . . . the sound factor of the V8 was more than I anticipated, and it felt stronger to me down low. The V6 was an automatic so that probably contributed to that feeling, it was not a direct comparison stick-to-stick.

Either way they are both great cars . . . and I admire your ability to withstand the torture.

 

I think if you had driven the manual tranny V6 car you would have a different opinion. Like I stated in the first post, I can only imagine how much better the V6 acceleration will be with the optional 3.31 gears.

As far as being able to withstand the torture, I unfortunately have no other choice right now.

 

I took a solo test drive in a 2010 GT (M/T & 3.55 gears) about a year before I took delivery of mine (2011 V6 M/T & 2.73's).

Still burned in my memory a year later, I thought it was definitely more powerful and fun in the low-mid RPM's where it counts ... but I don't feel I made the wrong choice as I wanted max MPG's for my weekly 400 mi commute.

Would have been a gamble hoping a 4.6 even with the base 3.31 gears could match the range of the 3.7 & 2.73's.

Doug

 

Sucka!

 

My comment isn't the necessarily the way I feel... just that there are a whole lots of folks that absolutely don't want a car that anybody else has driven... specifically because of the 'unknown' test drives.

When I test drove trhe Charger and Challenger, the salesman drove like a madman.

 

This story sounds all too familiar. I went to my dealer to test drive an 11 GT, got back to the dealer and filled out the paperwork for a factory order on my car. Best decision I ever made

 

Ugh. Exactly why I haven't gone to test drive the 11s now that I have my license back...I can no longer afford one.

 

Yeah, but it gives you the incentive to keep trying.

And if nothingt else, at least you got to drive one!

 

Nah I won't be able to afford one for a long time. Years. I drove a 2010 GT, which I would have been 100% satisfied with, but I didn't pull the trigger. I wish I had. So I already know I'll love the 11s. At this point it wouldn't be incentive...just torture.