RE: Ford Mustang GT facelift: Driven

[unpc]

Plug Life said:

1967 vs 2015

It's not a big car by modern standards. Not much bigger than an A5 and seems smaller than a 6 series and people don't usually say they're too big for UK roads.

[mac96]

unpc said:

Plug Life said:

1967 vs 2015

It's not a big car by modern standards. Not much bigger than an A5 and seems smaller than a 6 series and people don't usually say they're too big for UK roads.

It's definitely not a big car in absolute terms- it is big on the outside relative to the inside though. Which is part of its character and not a problem at all.

[Pommy]

unpc said:

Plug Life said:

1967 vs 2015

It's not a big car by modern standards. Not much bigger than an A5 and seems smaller than a 6 series and people don't usually say they're too big for UK roads.

The Mustang is 3mm longer than a Mondeo and 60mm wider. Not much bigger really

[qube_TA]

Took one of these for a spin, think they're marvellous. Had a green light from the wife to get one also.

Arm has been twisted

[irocfan]

Plug Life said:

1967 vs 2015

look at the weight difference betwixt the 2

[Plug Life]

irocfan said:

look at the weight difference betwixt the 2

Maybe because of the width difference!

[Rawwr]

mac96 said:

it is big on the outside relative to the inside though.

I once knew a girl like that.

[mac96]

::

Rawwr said:

mac96 said:

it is big on the outside relative to the inside though.

I once knew a girl like that.

[Stig]

croyde said:

Coin Slot. said:

throwyourbike said:

Older generation Mustangs built exclusively for the American market had a style of their own - they were brutal, almost ugly. Flawed but full of character.
Opening the car up to the Europeans has ruined it.

As Rory on Top Gear said... I don’t want a Mustang my mum would drive.

What a load of guff

As for the Top Gear quote, desperately trying to be Clarkson with a quote like that.

I remember that really annoyed me. I had waited ages for the Top Gear test but then they gave it to that young idiot who didnt know what a Mustang was all about.

Drive one and see what it is about. Mine was as far as any European car as was possible.

Although it did handle.

Watch this instead, ironically from a couple of years ago - with his co-presenter who can actually drive (Mr Harris)!

[zeb]

erm....watch what?

[ffhard]

Put simply...
WANT!

[R400TVR]

Are 10 gears really necessary? Why not just use a CVT, they sound similar anyway.

[Zed Ed]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

But yes, for me the main thing to take away is that the Mustang is essentially M4 performance and times, for MUCH less money.

More desirable in the round too.

[unsprung]

Coin Slot. said:

throwyourbike said:

Older generation Mustangs built exclusively for the American market had a style of their own - they were brutal, almost ugly. Flawed but full of character.
Opening the car up to the Europeans has ruined it.

As Rory on Top Gear said... I don’t want a Mustang my mum would drive.

What a load of guff

+1

It’s not as if Mustang is now a Twingo Dynamique with a horse badge slapped on the grille.

But… Mustang has always been a car your mum might drive. See the 1960s adverts below.

The entire point of a mass-market brand like Mustang is that vast sales of lower-spec -- but no less cheerful! -- cars allow for relatively low pricing to the enthusiast. It's a product range that's horses for courses. (sorry)

Let us salute the mums, teens, and leisurely adult drivers, almost none of whom have heard words like bum bag and fortnight, who waft about each day in 4-, 6-, and base 8-cylinder coupes and convertibles.

They provide the foundation for versions with track-inspired dynamics like the Mustang GT Performance Pack and Camaro SS 1LE (rivals compared at the link elsewhere in this thread).

If you fancy yourself a sort of Bullet-Tooth Tony in terms of performance, both OEMs will bin their bog-standard V8s in favour of track-ready cars like the Mustang GT350 / GT350R and the Camaro ZL1 / ZL1 1LE.

Neither manufacturer claims to have finished their current pony car work -- as additional enthusiast versions are on the way this year and next.

Thanks, Mum!



Below: the aforementioned adverts

Note: the last advert, above, plays upon a popular and mildly sensational book of that era, “Sex and the Single Girl”.

[throwyourbike]

Coin Slot. said:

throwyourbike said:

Older generation Mustangs built exclusively for the American market had a style of their own - they were brutal, almost ugly. Flawed but full of character.
Opening the car up to the Europeans has ruined it.

As Rory on Top Gear said... I don’t want a Mustang my mum would drive.

What a load of guff

As for the Top Gear quote, desperately trying to be Clarkson with a quote like that.

It’s not a load of guff at all.

I’m not saying the new generation Mustang isn’t a good car, I’m just saying that in my opinion it’s not a proper Mustang.

What prevented Ford offering it in Europe before now? My guess is because it wouldn’t have sold. The same way the current Charger, Challenger, Camaro etc. wouldn’t/doesn’t sell. They are not “nice” cars.

Ford went back to the drawing board and designed a Mustang that would appeal to the masses.

Now UK owners are tripping over each other to buy into the whole “true American muscle” rubbish.

Where were all these passionate people during the last 50 years of Mustang production?

[marzman]

I've just bought an MY17 and I agree it is a dinosaur. Plenty of tech inside, but an archaic driving feel. Feels like im driving a Sierra Cosie. But I knew that going in to it and I still love it.

[throwyourbike]

marzman said:

I've just bought an MY17 and I agree it is a dinosaur. Plenty of tech inside, but an archaic driving feel. Feels like im driving a Sierra Cosie. But I knew that going in to it and I still love it.

This is the kind of thing I’m talking about!

“It is a dinosaur”

“Archaic driving feel”

Absolute rubbish

[Loyly]

CaptainSensib1e said:

Really disappointing review, basically read like a rehashed press relase.

As an owner of the old shape, I'm really hoping someone will do a decent side-by-side review of the two versions.

Indeed, it makes you wonder if PH have even driven the car. If they have, surely they can tell us a bit more about it. This review looks as though it was banged out in ten minutes.

[croyde]

throwyourbike said:

It’s not a load of guff at all.

I’m not saying the new generation Mustang isn’t a good car, I’m just saying that in my opinion it’s not a proper Mustang.

What prevented Ford offering it in Europe before now? My guess is because it wouldn’t have sold. The same way the current Charger, Challenger, Camaro etc. wouldn’t/doesn’t sell. They are not “nice” cars.

Ford went back to the drawing board and designed a Mustang that would appeal to the masses.

Now UK owners are tripping over each other to buy into the whole “true American muscle” rubbish.

Where were all these passionate people during the last 50 years of Mustang production?

Many of us that bought the UK Mustang when we hadn't even seen one in the flesh were already US car owners and enthusiasts.

I sold my Mercury Grand Marquis in order to start raising the cash for the ordered Mustang that turned up exactly one year later.

The Mercury was cheap, a classic Mustang was not and although I'd love to own one I couldn't justify spending 15k upwards on something that would need constant fettling and protection from the UK weather.

I wanted to drive.

OK I could have imported a modern Charger/Challenger/Camaro but all that cash on something that was not an official import would have worried me.

Besides when Ford UK first announced the price at 32,995 for the V8, it was such a bargain I placed a deposit the next day.

I certainly wouldn't consider one at 40k plus.

[teamHOLDENracing]

Zed Ed said:

kapiteinlangzaam said:

But yes, for me the main thing to take away is that the Mustang is essentially M4 performance and times, for MUCH less money.

More desirable in the round too.

I rented a 5.0 GT convertible 10spd auto in the US last week. I have an M4 Competition Pack in the UK. I know the two cars are at very different price points, but they are chalk and cheese.

As someone who raced V8 TVRs I was really looking forward to driving the Mustang and wanted to love it. It was a real disappointment.

Performance wise it felt relatively slow, especially in ‘drive’. The 10 speed auto slushes through gears - it just didn’t have the projectile-like go of the M4. Things are a bit better in ‘sport’, which also seemed to give a fruitier exhaust note. Left in auto mode it was clumsy shifting down as you brake, making the ride jerky.

Using the paddles didn’t really improve things. The box is relatively slow to shift, and it slurs through gears with such small changes in ratio you wonder why 10 gears are necessary. There is virtually no acceleration in 10th, or 9th for that matter.

In the end I just left the gear lever in Sport and ignored the paddles.

I admit that my comparison is a dual clutch box in the BMW which is precise and incredibly quick in comparison and perhaps not fair.

The BMW also feels like it has far more torque, and I was expecting a 5 litre V8 to have bags of it. You wouldn’t expect a V8 to need a 10 speed box - it should have enough torque to pull hard with fewer gears.

Build quality, fit and finish and technology - just no comparison. The Mustang has electrically adjustable seats, apart from recline which is a big plastic lever. That lever feels so cheap and nasty it just shouldn’t be in the car. The same with the handbrake. The door mirror wobbled so it was difficult to focus on it. The infotainment and sat nav system - feels incredibly low tech compared with BMW’s i drive system.

Overall though it was the driving experience which was far below what I was expecting. I fully expected the quality and trim etc to be below that of the BMW, but I thought the big V8 would be far more fun and feel quicker than it did. I love the look of the Mustang, but it disappointed in every other area. Disappointing- I really wanted to love it but couldn’t....