New Mustang

[Leveller]

My wife's '98 Explorer is probably about due to be changed and I'm probably going to give her my ML, with that in mind, I've been trying to decide what I should get myself since we don't really need two SUVs.

 

List includes

 

300C

Charger (Maybe, but haven't driven one)

Magnum (Same as above)

Mustang GT

Audi A3 3.2S

 

 

I know there are a few Mustang owners here and I'm not really looking for a fan boy opinion, but wondering how the ownership experience is going? Is it all it initially appeared to be, have you had any serious problems, niggling little issues etc.

 

I know that the 300 and Audi are probably going to be solid as a rock, but my heart's leading me down the Mustang route, wanted to make sure that if it does win the battle with my head I'm not going to regret the decision in 6 months time.

Edited September 20, 2006 by Leveller

[[LaW]Maverick]

I'd look hard at the Mustang's reliability ratings...and whatever consumer reports gives them, subtract a few poitns. Opinions are biased because it's a popular car.

 

That being said, aside from reliability...look at performance. The car is decently fast, but it's no corvette. Also, if it handles like the 2002 mustang I drove...well, let's just say, I wasn't impressed.

 

Again, opinions (including mine) are biased on the Mustang, so all I can say is go drive one. Ford's reliability ratings are not the best, and if you get it, up your tire size one because they skimp on those. (I work for a company that's in the tire-testing business)

 

One car you may want to add to your list is the Grand Prix GXP...303 horse power, 5.3L V8, and still gets betweey 26 and 34 mpg on the highway. Not only that, 'tis faster than the mustang GT in the quarter mile and has more features (NAV system, overhead display on your windshield, etc.)

 

When I sat in the Audi, I didn't like the blind-spots....but other than that I don't know a whole lot 'bout the car. Go test-driving my friend, that's the best advice! :-)

[Leveller]

Thanks for the thoughts, there's no way I'll buy without test driving all the above, in fact there's probably a couple of others I'll take a look at as well.

[[LaW]Maverick]

Anytime my friend...I'm a huge car-nut, so if you want any specific advice or anything like that, just let me know. Also, I know a lot of nice resources for getting both professional reviews and consumer reviews

[Leveller]

Having moved here from UK two years ago and only having bought a European vehicle since I moved I'm a bit out of touch with US manufacturers (since their European counterparts are generally pretty different) so I'm not completely familiar with common issues etc.

 

Ask me about a Peugeot or Citroen though and I can help you out

[GOrnE]

As a mustang owner, I shall try to give you my most unbiased opinion.

 

I took delivery of a brand new '06 Mustang GT, got it with .5 miles on the odo so no other previous owners fudgin her up.

 

I took her home around the end of February, and now she has about 11,500 on the odo. I drive mostly to school/work/church and that's a mixture of highway and local. And a road trip to Atlanta. I drove there straight, all 14 hours, only stopping for gas and food. Nothing was out of line and everything was just perfect. Got around 24mpg cruising at around 80-85mph.

 

The stang I can honestly say is alot different from the other cars on your list. The stang is more muscle car, while the others are comfortable cruisers. It all depends on I think what you want. *Side note: If you're looking for the fastest out of them, the stang wins I have raced all the above expect for the A3 on multiple occasions and won w/o any problem.

 

So far I have not had any problems with her so far. She's a pleasure to drive anytime and honestly, you get alot of compliments/looks when you're cruising around. Now, no car is perfect and there are a few small minor problems.

 

1. Under hard braking, she kinda leans to the left (or is it right? I forget at the moment). At first I thought i was just on a bad groove in the road, but I've talked to other owners and they have it as well. It's not horrible, but its there fyi.

2. The gas tank is horrid. At some pumps, the gas will come out too quick and if you're not careful, it will spill out everywhere, even if the tank's not full. Apparently, there was a recall for this and it should have been fixed for the late '06 and the '07 models. Mine is perfectly fine now too.

3. This seems to be an isolated experience, but at one point, all the electronics went haywire. The doors would lock/unlock themselves at random points, all my warning lights came on and off and so forth. It lasted for about a day like this. The next day on my way to the dealer, it stopped and never came back. Oh well.

4. This really isn't a problem, but alot of people complain about the throttle lag caused by the drive by wire system. You don't really notice it too much, unless you punch it from a roll. There is a custom tune for it that will fix it of course.

 

Other problems I have yet to encounter or just forgot at the moment but honestly, it's still a brand new car and this being my first ford, I can't comment on its long term reliability. I mean so far so good though, and I'm sure that Ford won't take any chances with the only car that they seem to be selling at the moment.

 

Anyways, I'm at work so that's all I can come up with at the moment. If you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to PM me.

[Leveller]

Gorne, thank you. Well enough in depth for me.

 

Sounds like it's definitely an option, the haywire electronics sounds interesting though.

 

Will keep you all posted, I've thown two dark horses into the mix in the last 24 hours as they seem to be doing some cracking deals on the V6 Passat (completely out the blue, but it may be a great option if I end up keeping something reasonably long term). The other completely out of left field option is that Mercedes called me to tell me about some lease deals on the R class, which my wife has a thing for, so we'll try one of those as well.

 

The A3 is no longer in the running, by the time it has the options I want on it, more expensive than a Charger SRT8 and nearly as expensive as a 300SRT8. I can't justify that money for a "compact" car no matter how good it is.

 

I think the Charger is out as well, I will drive both a charger and a magnum, but if everything else is the same I'll probably take the Magnum out of the two, I just prefer the looks.

[GOrnE]

Maverick' date='Sep 20 2006, 01:56 PM' post='367181']

I'd look hard at the Mustang's reliability ratings...and whatever consumer reports gives them, subtract a few poitns. Opinions are biased because it's a popular car.

 

That being said, aside from reliability...look at performance. The car is decently fast, but it's no corvette. Also, if it handles like the 2002 mustang I drove...well, let's just say, I wasn't impressed.

 

Again, opinions (including mine) are biased on the Mustang, so all I can say is go drive one. Ford's reliability ratings are not the best, and if you get it, up your tire size one because they skimp on those. (I work for a company that's in the tire-testing business)

 

One car you may want to add to your list is the Grand Prix GXP...303 horse power, 5.3L V8, and still gets betweey 26 and 34 mpg on the highway. Not only that, 'tis faster than the mustang GT in the quarter mile and has more features (NAV system, overhead display on your windshield, etc.)

 

When I sat in the Audi, I didn't like the blind-spots....but other than that I don't know a whole lot 'bout the car. Go test-driving my friend, that's the best advice! :-)

 

Idk where you got that the grand prix is faster in the 1/4 but from the times I've seen, it's not even a close race. The times I saw for the 2005 grand prix gxp were around the low 14's (14.3 by Car & Driver). The new mustang's can do mid to high 13's(13.5 by MotorTrend). Yes the grand prix has more hp and torque but it still comes with a 4sp auto. On top of that, it's a few hundred pounds heavier.

 

With the vette starting at 45k and the gt at 25k, I myself would hope the vette is faster too.

I think for the price range, the gt has very few competition in terms of speed.

 

As for handling, just like any other muscle car, that's not the stang's strong suit. Handling though, trust me is alot better than previous generation stangs. My dad had a 04 gt and everything just feels different. Unless Lev is a autocross junkie, any of the cars would do fine I would think in terms of handling.

Edited September 21, 2006 by GOrnE

[Leveller]

Well, if I was still in the UK I'd be really focussed around handling (past cars of mine include Audi Ur Quattro 20v, Audi S2 Coupe, a heavily modified 1986 Supra single turbo import with 440bhp that I picked up for about $5,000 in 1997 and an E36 M3 GT Limited amongst others (yes I was a bit of a speed nut in my younger days)), but I can't say I've had the opportunity to drive or seen roads here in the US, that unless I was specifically looking for them would come close to testing either of those cars.

 

I'm really more interested in something that I can comfortably drive from a to b, with a little bit of performance if I need/want it.

 

If I want a track car, I'll buy a track car (one of the guys I work with has a GT3 Porsche that he only uses for track days, but that's more than a little out of my price range).

Edited September 21, 2006 by Leveller

[TheGeek]

The last time I checked the mustang only had stock suspension. When I heard that my mouth dropped. When the front of the car rears up when you slam on it, the suspension is a little soft.

 

Here is a vid from youtube. TopGear reviewed it. They are a UK show, so you will see them complaining about the handling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYy_ozsnw_0

[ReNNeN]

Get the A3 Leveller =) I have driven the DSG Tranny and it works and feels great.

[Leveller]

Thx for the feedback all, perhaps I'll give the A3 DSG a go, I've only tried the manual.... my best friend in the UK had an A4 with DSG until recently and he loved it, so I guess I'd be doing something very wrong if I didn't try it.

 

Oh decisions, decisions..... another option crossed my mind last night and having priced it up didn't seem like a bad idea.

 

New 330 sedan.

 

 

Guess I'll be spending most of tomorrow at different dealerships.

[[LaW]Maverick]

It's good to hear that the mustang has cleaned up its handling a bit, and I checked the 0-60's again, and you're right. I was looking at an older GT, my fault. Sorry for the bad info. The truth is that the Mustang is about .4 seconds faster than the GXP 0-60 MPH, and .5 seconds faster in the 1/4 mile. That being said, I'm willing to bet dimes to dollars that the GXP is a better handling car. The old Grand PRix's handled better than mustangs, and since the GXP is by far the smoothest handling Grand Prix I've driven, I'm sure it takes the Mustang.

 

I did find some track times in which the Grand Prix GXP beat the Mustang, for the record. I'll try to find them again and post the link later.

 

That being said, I'm not much of an Audi fan...my dad had problems with his way back, but they look nice, I like the in-line motors, and they are supposed to handle beautifully.

 

Do me a favor though, at least test drive the Grand Prix GXP and let me know what you think! :-) IT gets better millieage than the Mustang in any case! :-)

 

If you do decide to go the mustang route, get the GT for sure. I beat the v6 mustangs of the older variety (around 2000) with my Pontiac Sunfire...hahaha...

 

I have also beat new V6 mustangs with my '99 Cutlass....they're sluggish and lose compression quickly. So the only mustang I would consider is the GT.

 

You may also want to consider the 350z if you don't mind losing the back seat, and if you have the cash, the new Maxima is pretty slick as well...not the fastest car in the world, but it's still fast, and has a lot of very nice features. I drove one around for 4 days on a rental, it was nice.

[GOrnE]

The last time I checked the mustang only had stock suspension. When I heard that my mouth dropped. When the front of the car rears up when you slam on it, the suspension is a little soft.

 

Here is a vid from youtube. TopGear reviewed it. They are a UK show, so you will see them complaining about the handling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYy_ozsnw_0

 

That's why there's an aftermarket.

[TheGeek]

The last time I checked the mustang only had stock suspension. When I heard that my mouth dropped. When the front of the car rears up when you slam on it, the suspension is a little soft.

 

Here is a vid from youtube. TopGear reviewed it. They are a UK show, so you will see them complaining about the handling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYy_ozsnw_0

 

That's why there's an aftermarket.

 

Yeah, I'm more of a corvette man. IF I had the money to get one.

 

There is also the RX8. It got near the same lap time as the BMW M3. BUT it needs a lot of maintenance once you put miles on it. Like a engine overhaul.

[GOrnE]

The last time I checked the mustang only had stock suspension. When I heard that my mouth dropped. When the front of the car rears up when you slam on it, the suspension is a little soft.

 

Here is a vid from youtube. TopGear reviewed it. They are a UK show, so you will see them complaining about the handling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYy_ozsnw_0

 

That's why there's an aftermarket.

 

Yeah, I'm more of a corvette man. IF I had the money to get one.

 

There is also the RX8. It got near the same lap time as the BMW M3. BUT it needs a lot of maintenance once you put miles on it. Like a engine overhaul.

 

Yeah, the rx-8 was one of the cars I was considering as well, but those rotary engines can be a complete pain if you don't know what you're doing. Plus, coming from a RSX, I wanted something with torque and that was what sealed the deal with the stang.

 

I too, am and always will be a vette fan for life. Now, it's just a matter of 70k to get me into a new z06. Any donations?

[TheGeek]

Yeah, the rx-8 was one of the cars I was considering as well, but those rotary engines can be a complete pain if you don't know what you're doing. Plus, coming from a RSX, I wanted something with torque and that was what sealed the deal with the stang.

 

I too, am and always will be a vette fan for life. Now, it's just a matter of 70k to get me into a new z06. Any donations?

 

not from here.

according to topgear the z06 is faster than a zonda and a koenigsegg (not ccx)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp6VQpG8CRE

 

I really enjoy the topgear vids

[GOrnE]

 

Yeah, the rx-8 was one of the cars I was considering as well, but those rotary engines can be a complete pain if you don't know what you're doing. Plus, coming from a RSX, I wanted something with torque and that was what sealed the deal with the stang.

 

I too, am and always will be a vette fan for life. Now, it's just a matter of 70k to get me into a new z06. Any donations?

 

not from here.

according to topgear the z06 is faster than a zonda and a koenigsegg (not ccx)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp6VQpG8CRE

 

I really enjoy the topgear vids

 

Uhh.. I don't think anyone is arguing that. Although given the choice, I'd take the Zonda or Koenigsegg over the vette simple for the wow factor. How many of those do you see running around?

[TheGeek]

 

Yeah, the rx-8 was one of the cars I was considering as well, but those rotary engines can be a complete pain if you don't know what you're doing. Plus, coming from a RSX, I wanted something with torque and that was what sealed the deal with the stang.

 

I too, am and always will be a vette fan for life. Now, it's just a matter of 70k to get me into a new z06. Any donations?

 

not from here.

according to topgear the z06 is faster than a zonda and a koenigsegg (not ccx)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp6VQpG8CRE

 

I really enjoy the topgear vids

 

Uhh.. I don't think anyone is arguing that. Although given the choice, I'd take the Zonda or Koenigsegg over the vette simple for the wow factor. How many of those do you see running around?

 

not that many lol

Imagine coming to the class reunion in a Zonda!

[Leveller]

Ok, went out in several things yesterday and currently top of the list is the BM, doing some good deals on '06 330s at the moment, but they had a couple '07 coupe's in stock and I absolutely love the styling of the coupe. (Didn't get to drive the coupe yesterday though, however I believe I now have the wife persuaded that we don't need two, four door vehicles, so perhaps I'll take one out next weekend).

 

I'd love the M Coupe, dark blue one in stock, but that's probably just too impractical.

 

I'd thought about the RX-8, I love the two door four door thing, and I'm sure they handle beautifully. However, as above I'm not too keen on something that I need to be revving at 7,000 rpm just to make it move and having watched my brother rebuild more than one RX-7 engine, I'm really not sold on rotary as being anything other than a great idea.

Edited September 24, 2006 by Leveller

[TheGeek]

BM?

Good thinking with the RX-8

[[LaW]Maverick]

The RX-8 would make a fantastic toy-car. The engine is significantly improved (reliability and maintenance wise) over the RX-7, but is still finicky. I test drove one though, and it was one of the most fun cars I've ever driven...period.

 

I would love to be able to afford an M series coupe... :-( I'm thinking about going to look at some used ones though.

 

Right now the Grand Prix GXP is still leading the race for me...by far the most bang for your buck. Great features, power, and reliability (better than an '07 Accord by a hair according to J.D. Power). I'm tying to stay at 30k though. If could afford 40 or so, I'd prolly be looking seriously at BMW and even SAAB has some cool cars out (turbochargers are fun).

 

I am curious about the new Audi's...but I know that they used to suck horribly where reliability is concerned. I'm sure that has improved though...it's been like 30 years since my Dad had his. He bought it in Audi's early years.

 

Maybe I'll go test-drive a TT

[Leveller]

Saab do make great cars, however I've been put off them for life. My brother had a 9-3 aero and it suffered from huge "judder" from the front wheels under power whilst cornering, it wasn't poor balance or anything.

 

He took it back to saab, went up the road with one of their engineers, showed him the problem and was told "ah, they all do that, it's something to do with the traction control".

 

Made it a horrible car to try and drive quickly.

[TheGeek]

Maverick' date='Sep 25 2006, 03:21 PM' post='368085']

The RX-8 would make a fantastic toy-car. The engine is significantly improved (reliability and maintenance wise) over the RX-7, but is still finicky. I test drove one though, and it was one of the most fun cars I've ever driven...period.

 

I would love to be able to afford an M series coupe... :-( I'm thinking about going to look at some used ones though.

 

Right now the Grand Prix GXP is still leading the race for me...by far the most bang for your buck. Great features, power, and reliability (better than an '07 Accord by a hair according to J.D. Power). I'm tying to stay at 30k though. If could afford 40 or so, I'd prolly be looking seriously at BMW and even SAAB has some cool cars out (turbochargers are fun).

 

I am curious about the new Audi's...but I know that they used to suck horribly where reliability is concerned. I'm sure that has improved though...it's been like 30 years since my Dad had his. He bought it in Audi's early years.

 

Maybe I'll go test-drive a TT

 

Remember, european cars are EXPENSIVE to fix.

Saab are good cars. BUT! I think all of them have front wheel drive. Once you put over 220 hp in the front wheels you get the judder and the MASSIVE understear.

 

Zester owns a Audi TT

Edited September 26, 2006 by {GpL}TheGeek998

[[LaW]Maverick]

This is very true, but since GM has purchase SAAB (I forget how many years ago) they've become a little less expensive to repair.

 

That being said, Torque steer is a huge problem with putting a lot of power through the front wheel drive car. That's one of the reasons I like the Grand PRix GXP so much, GM came up with this new computer controlled technology...I'm honestly not sure how it works...that minimizes torque steer. In other words when you crank that 303 hp through those front tires with your foot on the floor, my dad's old Acura TL had more torque steer. It really is a beautiful drive.