spectremotorsports
Consultant
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2014
- Threads
- 23
- Messages
- 433
- Reaction score
- 107
- Location
- Scottsdale, AZ
- First Name
- Wes
- Vehicle(s)
- "Emma" 17 GT/PP Grabber Blue/Black roof
- Thread starter
- #1
Hello all, spent some time behind the wheel today with the '15 mustang GT and thought I would share my first impressions with you good folks that haven't had the chance to drive it yet.
Disclaimer: The car I drove was an Automatic unfortunately so no PP or manual for me to get an opinion on.
Exterior: First things first the outside of this car is gorgeous, it's much sexier and more intimidating than any prior mustang I've seen, It definitely has a far more exotic appearance than before, and has a lot of street presence. But you already knew this. As far as the widely mentioned panel gap issues we've all seen mentioned multiple times, I didn't notice any issues anywhere on this car save for the hood looking like the latch in the center was pulling it down just a hair too much, something I'm sure they'll QC eventually and nothing worth raging out over, It could easily be fixed,
Interior
My god, the interior on this car is lightyears better than its ever been, all the surfaces feel quite nice, the stock seats are far better bolstered than prior, honestly they were bolstered well enough to convince me that I no longer need the recaro option on mine. The steering wheel is the perfect size and thickness (at least for my hands) although I think I could do with a few less buttons, but thats just me. I honestly think my only complaint about the interior is I wish the toggles went both directions as I kept passing the option I wanted on the first try, but thats a minor pet peeve.
I did hop in the back seat to check it out annnnd nope, nothing too surprising here but the only people going in the back are small children/girls and people who reaaaaaally want to have neck problems when they get out. The problem in the back Isn't leg room, it's simply the angle of the roof wasn't designed for anyone who isn't the headless horseman, but its a Gt car not a Camry, so this isn't a shocker.
The Drive
I have a good report with the dealer I was at so I did get fair amount of time to play around with the vehicle in question, I did some city, highway and even a little spirited backroads driving.
The first thing I immediately noticed when I got behind the wheel is that while the view from the drivers seat appears as if the car is leaning back, almost like an aircraft, It wasn't major but it is something I would want to settle with some lowering springs to level everything out. Once I got moving it wasn't much of a bother.
Since this was an automatic I spent the majority of the drive in Sport+, manually shifting with the paddles and the steering set on sport as well. The throttle response on this car is fantastic, power delivery is smooth and doesn't really ever seem to run out of torque, the power isn't chaotic like a lot of vehicles I've driven, it comes along more like a muscular flex, very smooth and manageable. The automatic transmission, although not bad, definitely wouldn't be my choice. As much as I love paddle shift transmissions, the response isn't anywhere near as quick as it should be for this type of vehicle and really left me wondering how much better this car would be with something like the ZF-8 transmission or something Dual Clutch.
The handling is fantastic, seeing as how this wasn't my car I certainly didn't push it to "the limit", but I never once didn't feel confident about exactly where I was placing the car in corners. As other reviewers have mentioned, the front and rear and far more communicative with the wheel than before, and the car inspires a lot more cornering confidence and higher entry and exit speeds than I would have tried in an s197.
Given that this car wasnt a PP car, I'll wait to drive that model to say for sure, but the car could use some stronger dampening and anti roll and a slightly wider set of rubber to make it truly killer drive, but it was by no means a disappointing drive at all.
Feel free to shoot many any questions you have as these are just my initial thoughts on the car, I have plenty more to share if you'd like to know anything more specific!
Disclaimer: The car I drove was an Automatic unfortunately so no PP or manual for me to get an opinion on.
Exterior: First things first the outside of this car is gorgeous, it's much sexier and more intimidating than any prior mustang I've seen, It definitely has a far more exotic appearance than before, and has a lot of street presence. But you already knew this. As far as the widely mentioned panel gap issues we've all seen mentioned multiple times, I didn't notice any issues anywhere on this car save for the hood looking like the latch in the center was pulling it down just a hair too much, something I'm sure they'll QC eventually and nothing worth raging out over, It could easily be fixed,
Interior
My god, the interior on this car is lightyears better than its ever been, all the surfaces feel quite nice, the stock seats are far better bolstered than prior, honestly they were bolstered well enough to convince me that I no longer need the recaro option on mine. The steering wheel is the perfect size and thickness (at least for my hands) although I think I could do with a few less buttons, but thats just me. I honestly think my only complaint about the interior is I wish the toggles went both directions as I kept passing the option I wanted on the first try, but thats a minor pet peeve.
I did hop in the back seat to check it out annnnd nope, nothing too surprising here but the only people going in the back are small children/girls and people who reaaaaaally want to have neck problems when they get out. The problem in the back Isn't leg room, it's simply the angle of the roof wasn't designed for anyone who isn't the headless horseman, but its a Gt car not a Camry, so this isn't a shocker.
The Drive
I have a good report with the dealer I was at so I did get fair amount of time to play around with the vehicle in question, I did some city, highway and even a little spirited backroads driving.
The first thing I immediately noticed when I got behind the wheel is that while the view from the drivers seat appears as if the car is leaning back, almost like an aircraft, It wasn't major but it is something I would want to settle with some lowering springs to level everything out. Once I got moving it wasn't much of a bother.
Since this was an automatic I spent the majority of the drive in Sport+, manually shifting with the paddles and the steering set on sport as well. The throttle response on this car is fantastic, power delivery is smooth and doesn't really ever seem to run out of torque, the power isn't chaotic like a lot of vehicles I've driven, it comes along more like a muscular flex, very smooth and manageable. The automatic transmission, although not bad, definitely wouldn't be my choice. As much as I love paddle shift transmissions, the response isn't anywhere near as quick as it should be for this type of vehicle and really left me wondering how much better this car would be with something like the ZF-8 transmission or something Dual Clutch.
The handling is fantastic, seeing as how this wasn't my car I certainly didn't push it to "the limit", but I never once didn't feel confident about exactly where I was placing the car in corners. As other reviewers have mentioned, the front and rear and far more communicative with the wheel than before, and the car inspires a lot more cornering confidence and higher entry and exit speeds than I would have tried in an s197.
Given that this car wasnt a PP car, I'll wait to drive that model to say for sure, but the car could use some stronger dampening and anti roll and a slightly wider set of rubber to make it truly killer drive, but it was by no means a disappointing drive at all.
Feel free to shoot many any questions you have as these are just my initial thoughts on the car, I have plenty more to share if you'd like to know anything more specific!
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