CAP'S REVIEW OF HIS TEST DRIVE OF A 2011 MUSTANG GTok.....i stopped by the ford dealer today. to be honest, the 2012's are outta my price range, if equipped with anything beyond bare bones.
i looked at a 2011 that was a demo....one of the sales managers was driving it. it had 5700 and change on the clock.
black, with 18" 5 spoke wheels, the ones that look like a cross between keystones, and cragers. standard 4 wheel disc brakes, 6 speed manual tranny. interior is grey, with beige leather. that threw me a bit. it took me a bit of getting used to, as i like either grey, or black interiors.
FIRST IMPRESSIONSINTERIOR very nicely put together. everything just sort of "fell" into my reach, without much effort. the gauges were easily visible, the seat(heated) is 6 way power adjustable. it was pretty far back. i had to raise it some, and pull it forward, to get a comfortable position to drive.
the shifter is right there, unlike the old "fox chassis" mustangs, where you were almost over-extending to hit 3rd gear. no cup holders in the way, no arm rests to bang your elbow on when shifting. not a single blind spot in the entire car. visibility is fabulous. the pedals are set up perfectly, for "heel/toe" driving(which i did a lil of)
EXTERIOR sex on wheels. nuff said.
driving this dealer is right on rt 30, which is a 4 lane road.....2 each direction, with its fair share of incompetent drivers. i slipped the shifter(short throw) into gear, and eased out the clutch trying to get a feel for it. this part is weird to me. if i were 20, i'd be saying that this clutch was made for sissies. since i'm 49, i think it feels perfect. very light effort, yet extremely firm and smooth engagement as i started out. it engaged right about level with the brake pedal, which to me is perfect. i let her idle out to the drive way.
pulled out onto rt 30, still trying to feel it out a little.....wound 1st to 4500, and granny shifted, wound 2nd the same(both less than 1/2 throttle), and was nearly doing 60, when i had to brake for traffic.
coming up on a notorious hiding spot for our local men in blue(i kinda forgot), i gave her a little kick in the arse, and was suddenly doing 70. it didn't feel like 70. speed limit was 35. i downshifted to drag the speed back to some semblance of legal.
had a guy nearly stopped to turn off the road a ways up, i clutched, and braked, but left the shifter in 5th. at 20mph, i let the clutch back out, and fed in the throttle slow and smooth. know what she did? she accelerated to 60 again, in nearly the blink of an eye. no "lugging", no lurch, just smooth acceleration.
i took her through a turn, that i used to managed at about 45mph in my old gt...and was working to do it......i hit this turn at 55, and was accelerating coming out of it.
i took her up a road, that again......at night, when i know there's 0 possibility of kids being out, and no ones cars are still parked on the street.......i've done stupidly fast in my gt. i was younger, and stupid too.
i currently drive this particular road at a screaming 25-30 in my jeep, or 35-45 in my dakota. since this isn't my car(yet) i didn't really hammer on it. it felt like i was creeping through the turns, so i glanced in at the speedometer....i was doing 40. this roads condition sucks. bumps, and poorly filled potholes(imagine that shocker here in nj), in the worst places.....no hop, no back end misbehaving.....she just went where i pointed her. this car easily could've maintained in the 65-70mph range on this road(although i wouldn't)
turned around, went back out to one of the roads to take me back towards the dealer. i pulled out, easily, then hammered it. shifted at 5800rpm, and this monster was STILL PULLING. i only shifted that early, as i didn't want to beat on it too badly.
went past the dealer, winding the gears again, heading for a big empty parking lot to try to take(make) some very hard turns(at the suggestion of the salesman). went to the very end of the lot(this is the very same lot i used to do this crap in in the snow, some 30 years ago)wound 1st, then second, then turned HARD. know what happened? the dam thing turned right where i pointed her again. no tire squeal(till i punched it again to kick the back out)
the brakes, as mentioned are standard 4 wheel disc. nothing really special. the average middle aged person that may buy one of these will never exceed the capability of these brakes. they stopped this car beautifully every time i tried. i do know, though, that should i put this car through her paces on a road course, i will cause brake fade. i can upgrade them though, probably cheaper than it would cost to option them onto the car.
OVERALL IMPRESSION to be honest, i was expecting something that felt like my 89 mustang gt. that one fit me a little tight, and things that this car breezed through, were hard work for that car. that is what i expected to feel, but in a prettier package.
what i got, was a car that i cannot believe ford is selling so cheap. this car impressed me, and actually got me excited....of all times, on a friday night, after a hard 10 hour work day in a 100F+ shop. i could feel my pulse going faster each time i let that clutch out.
this car doesn't lean(or at least it doesn't feel it) in the turns, nearly as much as i expected, it doesn't nosedive under heavy braking, and when you punch the go pedal, she.....whelp......she goes......like a bat outta hell.
if the other mustangs are better than the gt..........well.....i think i'd have a "crisis" each time i got behind the wheel of one of them.
and alas, i didn't manage to scare the sales dood. i never noticed him looking for the "jesus" handle, nor trying that thing nervous passengers always do, which is putting on the brakes from the passengers seat.
when we got back, someone asked him if i scared him. he said no, this guy knows his s%^t.
COOL/GROOVY STUFFsirius radio......first three months free, then the normal fee per month.
3 years voice activated turn by turn driving directions. after that, $60/month.
ford/microsoft sync system. this is cool.....you can sync your phone to it, much like i think onstar does for gm? and when a call comes in, it comes through the stereo. you do not take your hand off the wheel to answer. the button is right there on the wheel.
heated seats(remember dicho, this is joisey), drivers seat is 6 way power.
vanity mirrors on both visors. YES!!!! now i too, can do my makeup, or shave whilst driving!
traction control can be disengaged.
i forgot to look in the trunk, to see how many bodies could fit in there........but that's ok. if it's small, i just need to chop em into smaller bits.
to be honest, i think i'm gonna jump on this.....presuming that my credit goes through.
