The joy of a Mustang

[Avalyn]

I'm now about 4 months into the ownership of my 5.0 GT manual

I'm up in Aberdeen, and my wife had to go to Elgin on Saturday to do some work so I offered to chauffeur her up. She jokingly said she'd pay my fuel costs (retracted after I said it would probably be about £50 ) for the 130 mile round trip.

If anyone knows the route from Aberdeen to Elgin, it's a nice road (A96) but unfortunately (usually) a busy single lane drive, with the occasional overtaking lane, and well used by tractors/large lorries :frusty: Basically it's an hour and a half of frustration, where folk who can't do more than 45 mph immediately speed up to 70 for the overtaking lane section, then slow down to 45 again :tsk:

I've driven this road of many occasions, and the best approach is just to take a chill pill, settle back and enjoy the scenery while watching out for idiots.

I had 2 on the way up. One woman in a Scenic who pulled out in front on me from a garage about 300m ahead while I was doing 60 mph (cue heavy braking, with lots of horn and flashing) and another where a guy in a Nissan Plumpy or something drove 3 inches from the guy in front so I couldn't pass safely from an exit on a roundabout :doh:

However in comparison to my previous cars (S3, BMW 335i, STi) this is where I think the Mustang shines. The S3 was very very good for overtaking, but very very dull at 50-55. So the journey would have been taken with more risk/stress, on plastic leather seats with a drone/fart from the engine/gearbox.

The 335i would have been a similar experience, granted in more austere surroundings but dull nonetheless, with some horrible wallowing around the bends.

The STi would have been errrr noisy, uncomfortable, more fun, but I wouldn't have got out at the other end relaxed. Deaf maybe

That big 5.0 is so full of character, as is the car to be honest. Relaxing in the heated seats, with some tunes on the Shaker. Hardly needed to take it above 1,500 revs at any point. It just eats the miles in comfort with that lovely engine warbling away, it feels pretty much unburstable and pulls from tickover speeds in any gear with no delay. On the odd occasion I could use the overtaking lanes, it's pretty quick and seems to get quicker the higher the speeds.

Another bonus too, was the mpg. Given you're stuck at an average of around 50-55 all the way, I managed 31.3 mpg. I usually get @18-20. Clearly the 5.0 thinks it's a diesel if you have a gentle right foot

I can't think of another car I'd rather have done the journey in. The missus even fell asleep. A few thumbs up and waves, and even a toot from the guy in the Fiesta ST I left for dead after a roundabout when he eventually caught up (I stopped accelerating at 65) and he passed me going errrr, well, far too quickly tbh.

Had a nice chat with the guy in the Maserati that parked up next to me in the car park in Elgin. Nice car he says ..

Even gave the big black beast a wash yesterday to remove some of the salt and grime. One of my more stupid ideas it turned out as the water/alloy wheel cleaner froze on the car :doh: if left alone for more than 5 mins. Ever tried to towel dry a frozen car?

It's exactly what I was after. A car that you don't have to rag to enjoy. I'm sure in a mapped R I could have arrived 10 minutes earlier, with a few more overtakes, but I'll take the character of the Mustang any day

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[Nomadic]

Yes, the 5.0 rumble is what makes the car enjoyable at pretty much any speed. That's great gas mpg. I average 15!

 

[Avdb]

That is why I want a Mustang - a good looking car that is enjoyable for longer journeys as well as a daily drive

 

[v8hgt]

Funnily enough my main reason for getting a mustang was I needed a decent GT in the old fashioned sense of the word. Something that would regularly do 300-400 miles a day in comfort and stress free, with room for 2 adults and 2 kids with a decent sized boot for all our bags.
I had it nailed down to the Maserati GT or Mustang GT and test drove both. After a 400 mile test drive in a manual mustang GT and 30 miles in an auto Maserati GT back to back I concluded that overall the Mustang felt like a more capable and comfortable GT. Less road noise, softer more comfortable seats, lower rpm at 80 mph, more power when needed. The Maserati had a nice auto gearbox, a great noise (too high pitched for the kids in the back), and a slightly more inspiring front end (hydraulic power steering). The hard seats and road noise make it too hard to live with for hours on end in my opinion.

 

[croyde]

Waah! I miss my GT!

 

[Kristian87]

I'm still giggling at "Nissan Plumpy" :lol:

Great little write up - I too enjoy the gentle cruising, it's just a great place to be sat in that drivers seat, and when/if you need the power, it's there!

 

[Spike-S550]

Yes have to agree with everything you say they are great cars had mine for 18 months now and no problems and above all no regrets !!

 

[Avalyn]

The clue is in the title I think, it's a GT.

It's not supposed to be the last word in handling or feedback. It's a muscle car and a GT first and foremost and I think it's really really good at that role with the minor flaw that the range (even with 31 mpg ) isn't that good. It could do with a larger fuel tank.

I'm always one car ahead in my mind, and am struggling to think what I'll replace the GT with next in 2-3 years (if I get that far :tsk. Another one springs to mind, but I think the price to change to effectively be sat in the same car (albeit with a few things improved) would be daft.

I promised myself a 911 before I'm 50, so a 997.2 S manual is my current plan. Who knows - I can never make my mind up

 

[vikkic]

I'm exactly the same - also had mine since September, and already thinking WTF am I going to replace it with? Apart from my RX8, this is the only car I've had that I would either keep after a couple of years or have another.

I also agree with the comfort - I've only been a passenger in it once, and I had a really comfortable sleep - I love the fact that unlike a lot of cars, the headrests are fully adjustable rather than just up and down.

I love how versatile it is - you can throw it around, overtake easily, or just cruise if needed. Plus with the Vredestein winter tyres I've got on, it's like my previous A5 Quattro, it just pulls itself round corners like it's 4WD.

I took mine for a day at Millbrook Proving Ground and had a great day pushing its limits around the outer handling course, skidpan and high speed circular track.

 

[v8hgt]

I’ve decided my mustang isn’t getting replaced. Well not in one go. It will become a triggers broom of the automotive world with parts being swapped for more powerful bits as the years go by.

 

[Avdb]

^do you have to wait 3 years untill warranty has passed?

 

[Manders Mustang]

^do you have to wait 3 years untill warranty has passed?

Not technically, warranty is per part (unless it's a tune or engine work then RIP engine and drive train and shiz).

 

[downthepub]

Not technically, warranty is per part (unless it's a tune or engine work then RIP engine and drive train and shiz).

I see that some of the Focus RS boys are having problems with HG warranty claims on modified cars. Interesting to see that they think the root cause is related to using the same head gasket part as the EB Mustangs on the RS engine, which has a slightly different head design ...

 

[McXtravert]

A good road I agree. You are blessed with of nice open roads in the 'shire . I sadly miss them down in this part of the world.

 

[Manders Mustang]

I see that some of the Focus RS boys are having problems with HG warranty claims on modified cars. Interesting to see that they think the root cause is related to using the same head gasket part as the EB Mustangs on the RS engine, which has a slightly different head design ...

Don't believe the sh1t you read on sh1t pages/groups that don't have the information right. (and are getting the original data from jalopnik lol).
Mind you they did get one thing right that the FRS and EBM engines are different, quite vastly but use the same stating point (Just like the EBMs is an adaptation of the 2.3 mazda engine). Ford are putting the 'right' head gaskets in, if they didn't because of how the water lines are the car would literally die within the first couple of hundered miles if that.

FRS doesn't use the EBM head gasket. The head gasket on FRS is failing on stock cars, not just modded cars. If I'm not mistaken it's already a TSB fix on them.

The head gasket, is at fault, but it's because by design it's rubbish, not because they're using the EBM one. EBM head gasket, is also, rubbish, like most of fords gaskets, but seems to be holding up alright.

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