New Mustang how will it compare?
Discussion
So finally we have another right hand drive "muscle car" we can actually buy in the UK - the Mustang. So how will it compare to the Monaro? Outwardly we have two cars of about the same power to weight ratio, 400 BHP and 1.7 Tonnes. So we have to look deeper into the detail.
So the biggest difference is in the gearbox. We know how import gearing is, the 2004 Monaros were criticised for being over geared and this was addressed on the 2005 6.0 using the shorter M12 set rather than the earlier MM6. The Mustang is offered in the USA with a choice of rear ends, 3.31, 3.55 (assumed here for the UK) and 3.73.
Traditionally car performance is measured against the clock, 0 to 60 and quarter mile times. These are easy to measure but not the direct "shove in the back" the driver actually feels. Today of course we have an app on our phone. Acceleration performance can be calculated from:
Acceleration = Torque x Gear ratio x Final drive ratio/Weight x Rolling radius
Crunching the numbers the Mustang has the Monaro beaten by a surprising margin, all down to it's gearing.
So on the road the Mustang will leap ahead and then maintain a small advantage as pure power to weight ratio comes into play. The Mustang will eat up its gears much quicker which may enhance the subjective experience. I have an 05 CV8 though with the M12 box retrofitted. So the Mustang should show a further 7% or so improvement over what I'm used to.
The Ford "Coyote" engine gives away a whole litre to the GM LS2 but achieves the same torque through all the modern tricks of variable valve timing, 4 valves per cylinder etc. The GM unit is perhaps much truer to the muscle car concept though, being a classic ohv 2 valve design. It will be interesting to see how they compare on low end torque where the cubes may count more than the technology. Certainly my car has a lovely old school flexibility about it.
The Mustang appears good value for money at £33K, the Monaro 6.0 was £37K and we have had 28% inflation over the last 10 years. Most of us would have enjoyed a similar earnings increase. In real terms the Mustang is 30% cheaper then.
I look forward to reading a UK instrumented road test, if any one sees one please post a link, and get a test drive. Ford in Bristol have one.
So the biggest difference is in the gearbox. We know how import gearing is, the 2004 Monaros were criticised for being over geared and this was addressed on the 2005 6.0 using the shorter M12 set rather than the earlier MM6. The Mustang is offered in the USA with a choice of rear ends, 3.31, 3.55 (assumed here for the UK) and 3.73.
Traditionally car performance is measured against the clock, 0 to 60 and quarter mile times. These are easy to measure but not the direct "shove in the back" the driver actually feels. Today of course we have an app on our phone. Acceleration performance can be calculated from:
Acceleration = Torque x Gear ratio x Final drive ratio/Weight x Rolling radius
Crunching the numbers the Mustang has the Monaro beaten by a surprising margin, all down to it's gearing.
So on the road the Mustang will leap ahead and then maintain a small advantage as pure power to weight ratio comes into play. The Mustang will eat up its gears much quicker which may enhance the subjective experience. I have an 05 CV8 though with the M12 box retrofitted. So the Mustang should show a further 7% or so improvement over what I'm used to.
The Ford "Coyote" engine gives away a whole litre to the GM LS2 but achieves the same torque through all the modern tricks of variable valve timing, 4 valves per cylinder etc. The GM unit is perhaps much truer to the muscle car concept though, being a classic ohv 2 valve design. It will be interesting to see how they compare on low end torque where the cubes may count more than the technology. Certainly my car has a lovely old school flexibility about it.
The Mustang appears good value for money at £33K, the Monaro 6.0 was £37K and we have had 28% inflation over the last 10 years. Most of us would have enjoyed a similar earnings increase. In real terms the Mustang is 30% cheaper then.
I look forward to reading a UK instrumented road test, if any one sees one please post a link, and get a test drive. Ford in Bristol have one.
The chart illustrates the peak performance the driver will feel in each gear. So though higher than with the Monaro it will be occurring at a lower speed.
Low to mid range acceleration is what matters in our 70 mph limited world so the shorter geared Mustang gives more scope to play.
With Premium coupes and saloons pushing 550 BHP, I doubt traction is an issue with a mere 400 in good conditions. Certainly my Monaro experience is it would benefit from a shorter 1st and easily cope with it. When I changed the box 1st dropped 49 to 44 mph @ 6000 rpm and I would say 40 mph would not be too short.
The Mustang is good value and can only get better as prices will presumably drop once the initial demand is satisfied. Remember the 04 CV8 dropped 28650 to 26650 when the 05 came out, and this dropped 30K to 24K when Vauxhall got left with a paddock full of them. VXRs dropped 37 to 31K. Early adopters like me payed a premium but I don't regret it.
The Australian dollar has dropped massively against the US and £ over the last year, so VXR8s and Maloos should be 35K now to.
Come on Autocar lets see a proper instrumented road test.
Low to mid range acceleration is what matters in our 70 mph limited world so the shorter geared Mustang gives more scope to play.
With Premium coupes and saloons pushing 550 BHP, I doubt traction is an issue with a mere 400 in good conditions. Certainly my Monaro experience is it would benefit from a shorter 1st and easily cope with it. When I changed the box 1st dropped 49 to 44 mph @ 6000 rpm and I would say 40 mph would not be too short.
The Mustang is good value and can only get better as prices will presumably drop once the initial demand is satisfied. Remember the 04 CV8 dropped 28650 to 26650 when the 05 came out, and this dropped 30K to 24K when Vauxhall got left with a paddock full of them. VXRs dropped 37 to 31K. Early adopters like me payed a premium but I don't regret it.
The Australian dollar has dropped massively against the US and £ over the last year, so VXR8s and Maloos should be 35K now to.
Come on Autocar lets see a proper instrumented road test.
Not had a test drive yet, cars remain in high demand it seams.
Autocar have published a full instrumented road test in the paper magazine, dated 24th February. Outright acceleration just pips the 6.0VXR though in gear it is quite a bit more punchy due to the shorter gearing. It is more accelerative in 3rd than the original CV8 Monaro was in 2nd.
Autocar relatively more impressed with the Monaro 6.0VXR 10 years ago than they are with the Mustang today, reading both tests. A sign I guess of higher standards of today given cars like the Focus ST and the BMW M cars.
Autocar have published a full instrumented road test in the paper magazine, dated 24th February. Outright acceleration just pips the 6.0VXR though in gear it is quite a bit more punchy due to the shorter gearing. It is more accelerative in 3rd than the original CV8 Monaro was in 2nd.
Autocar relatively more impressed with the Monaro 6.0VXR 10 years ago than they are with the Mustang today, reading both tests. A sign I guess of higher standards of today given cars like the Focus ST and the BMW M cars.
Finally got a test drive last week. Reasonably impressed, the engine character is very different to the Monaro. Where as my 05 CV8 is best between 2000 - 5000 rpm, the Mustang is much more peaky ever pulling harder the higher the revs. On WOT you feels subtle steps ups in power as all the trickery gets to work and really pulls above 4000 rpm. The shorter gearing compensates for less response lower down so I would imagine the Mustang is faster than the Monaro in every situation, as the calculations indicate.
Didn't notice anything different in ride/handling/steering so I guess these must be similar to what I'm used to. Brakes did feel a bit more immediate. Lots of bonnet to look over reminiscent of my 73 and the Granadas.
Lead time is now 12 months and some of the colour options have changed. Also some combinations of interior, exterior and option packs are linked and the combinations I tried on the website all looked forbidden. Salesman said sales would be limited to 4000 or something, maybe just scare mongering.
It's wider than the Monaro with just 6 cm theoretical clearance with my garage door (2.14m) even with the mirrors folded. I will have to mod the Monaro with bits of card board and practice...
When my brother and I turned up for the test drive we were told an online check of our driving history was required requiring our national insurance numbers. So I had to phone a colleague at work to look on my pay slip in a draw and my brother got it off a tax related website. As we are twins we have consecutive numbers.
So I'm pondering the potential purchase.
Didn't notice anything different in ride/handling/steering so I guess these must be similar to what I'm used to. Brakes did feel a bit more immediate. Lots of bonnet to look over reminiscent of my 73 and the Granadas.
Lead time is now 12 months and some of the colour options have changed. Also some combinations of interior, exterior and option packs are linked and the combinations I tried on the website all looked forbidden. Salesman said sales would be limited to 4000 or something, maybe just scare mongering.
It's wider than the Monaro with just 6 cm theoretical clearance with my garage door (2.14m) even with the mirrors folded. I will have to mod the Monaro with bits of card board and practice...
When my brother and I turned up for the test drive we were told an online check of our driving history was required requiring our national insurance numbers. So I had to phone a colleague at work to look on my pay slip in a draw and my brother got it off a tax related website. As we are twins we have consecutive numbers.
So I'm pondering the potential purchase.
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