Richard Hammond in S550 Mustang GT

[SpeedLu]

Let's be fair -- the "cheap interior" bit is still true on base Mustangs.

Ask me how I know. . .

The interior is just fine. What are you smoking, cause I want some.

Sponsored

 

[Beef]

Let me add my 2¢ coming from a late S197 the interior quality in the S550 is leaps and bounds better mostly in the materials department, but there is a def QA issue with most 15s it seems like they rushed these cars off the line. i have seen early 15s with more panel issues than the later ones. mine was built in July 15 and the only issue I have with mine is the trunk isnt quite right.

 

[croyde]

Clarkson did drive the S197 GT500 in one of their races from the UK down to the South of France, or was it the Alps and James May wrote a great review of the Mercury Grand Marquis in The Times and he loved it.

Hammond owns some classic US Muscle.

I owned a 2000 MGM about a year ago and also loved it, even in London traffic at 12mpg with 'gas' at $10 a gallon lol.

First car I have ever owned which I sold on for a big profit. 50%.

And now loving my S550 GT which is not too big for British Roads but just a little too much for the standard UK parking space.

Think how much trouble I had finding space for the MGM though.

 

[higdominator]

Clarkson did drive the S197 GT500 in one of their races from the UK down to the South of France, or was it the Alps and James May wrote a great review of the Mercury Grand Marquis in The Times and he loved it.

Hammond owns some classic US Muscle.

I owned a 2000 MGM about a year ago and also loved it, even in London traffic at 12mpg with 'gas' at $10 a gallon lol.

First car I have ever owned which I sold on for a big profit. 50%.

And now loving my S550 GT which is not too big for British Roads but just a little too much for the standard UK parking space.

Think how much trouble I had finding space for the MGM though.

I remember that one. They were racing the GT500 vs the train to Milan.

If I remember correctly he had the same reaction that many of us do- ear to ear grin and boyish giggles every time he stomped the loud pedal.

 

[ATLalien]

It's better than it was, sure, but -- and I can't help but make this comparison -- the interior on my MY2015 Mazda 6, which cost $10k less than my Mustang, is MUCH better. I mean, MUCH better.

You have a decent point, I had an 04 Mazda 3 and loved it. The interior was much nicer than most cars in it's class with great fit/finish.

But it's a balancing act on where the money is spent by the manufacturer of any car. Mazda doesn't have a 435hp V8, so they can afford to spend a little more on interior refinement and still sell at a reasonably cheap price.

Ford put a little more of the purchase price into a great v8 and general performance, because that's what fans demand. Offering this kind of performance in the $35-$42K bracket means other things have to be done a bit more cheaply. Considering that, the interior of the current S550 is actually quite nice and initial reviewers agreed. It's not Mercedes nice, but then a Merc with 435hp will cost a lot more.

 

[brandonsmash]

That's where I'm at, and how I justify my purchase: I bought the car for the driveline, not for plush interior materials.

I could live with the hard surfaces, though, if they didn't squeak and rattle after less than 1,000 miles.

Acknowledging the car's faults isn't tantamount to proclaiming it worthless, it just points out an area that (really) needs improvement. At the Mustang price point, though, there's nothing else that competes with it in terms of style and fun-to-drive factor.

 

[ATLalien]

That's where I'm at, and how I justify my purchase: I bought the car for the driveline, not for plush interior materials.

I could live with the hard surfaces, though, if they didn't squeak and rattle after less than 1,000 miles.

Acknowledging the car's faults isn't tantamount to proclaiming it worthless, it just points out an area that (really) needs improvement. At the Mustang price point, though, there's nothing else that competes with it in terms of style and fun-to-drive factor.

Agreed. I came up from a 2012 and find the S550 interior to be a great improvement on that, but there's still room for improvement, particularly in initial quality control (wavy seat leather anyone?).

It's also true that one can point out areas that need improvement and still be satisfied with the car as a whole. A lot of us on this forum do this, including myself. It's good for the breed.

 

[MixTape]

Let's be fair -- the "cheap interior" bit is still true on base Mustangs.

Ask me how I know. . .

There's a reason Ford doesn't offer the base Mustang in Europe haha

 

[jon2002]

It's better than it was, sure, but -- and I can't help but make this comparison -- the interior on my MY2015 Mazda 6, which cost $10k less than my Mustang, is MUCH better. I mean, MUCH better.

I also own a top spec 2014 Mazda 6 GT, and while its interior is pretty good (for its price point), I do not necessarily feel it's better than my Mustang premium 401a with premiere interior upgrade.

If anything, I think Ford uses better quality interior materials. Mazda however is very good at making everthing "look" upscale.

Mazda for exterior body panel fitment is spot on though. Very impressive for such an inexpensive vehicle. I only wish my Mustang body gaps were so consistant.

 

[CoventryCapri]

Potential for this to be a stupid question....

Which red is this, looks like it's race red but then a couple of the pictures look very ruby redesque...

Didn't think the race red had as much depth as some of these pics suggest!

 

[brandonsmash]

Maybe that's where my complaint lies: I'm comparing base models to base models. I own a 2015 Mazda 6, and a 2015 Mustang GT. Base interiors on both. The Mazda does have much better panel gaps, obviously, but also the interior is much nicer (the textures are nicer and it doesn't buzz or squeak or rattle at all).

The base S550 is light-years ahead of what Mustangs USED to have, but they're still way behind the curve of what they COULD have -- though obviously I can't speak for the Premium trim.

 

[Aus-MustangGT]

Potential for this to be a stupid question....

Which red is this, looks like it's race red but then a couple of the pictures look very ruby redesque...

Didn't think the race red had as much depth as some of these pics suggest!

It looks like race red to me, I'm not a fan of the stripes but its such a beautiful car :love:

 

[goldengooner]

Don't know. Probably Europe couldn't handle the US HP.

Seriously, could be some emission stuff or more likely just different methods for measuring and no difference at all.

Its to do with the conversion to RHD and the manifold

 

[jrock]

Does anyone think this Richard Hammond fellow will become a member of mustang6g and chime in???

 

[Orgalorg]

Can't wait for the new show. I might switch to Amazon Prime just for the show.

I know I am.

Sponsored