'05 Mustand test drive.

dahun · Jul 30, 2004

'05 Mustang test drive.

Last weekend I test drove a '05GT and found a couple of things.
DISLIKES:
Workmanship...: on par with todays GT.
Materials: not impressed, on part with todays GT.
Instrument cluster: SUCKS!!! Terrible layout; can't see 1/2 of speedo and tach. Chrome is cheap looking. Sun reflects on bezel and whashes out the gauges.
Auto Shifter and gate: CHEAP! Looks like a kids toy, with molding line in the middle of the handle.
Sun visor: CHEAP! unpadded sorta like the 60's - 70's.
Door panels: not impressed. the speaker looks like was an after-thougt with this large bulky speaker grill.

LIKES:
Styling: nice
Side mirrors: I like 'em large with good visibility.
Power: GOOD! good torque. Transmission shifts at the right points, shifts firm but smooth.
Seats: much more supportive, better side bolsters nicer looking then current.
Center console: Clean, easy to reach/read.

Otherwise a lot of carry-over from '04 GTs. MSRP is about the same as now.
They have to fix the instrument cluster and the shifter, and hopefully take care of the other things, before I'd buy one.

FWIW.

trublustang03 · Jul 30, 2004

Where did you get a chance to test drive one. I wish I could test drive one, you are lucky.

So far I have seen about the same amount of people complain about fit finish as well as people that say fit and finish is great.

Wish this car would come out already so that I can reach my own conclusions.

natx808 · Jul 30, 2004

cool

i like the new look. are the internals the same? same hp?

itsgreat2bme · Jul 30, 2004

dahun said:
Sun visor: CHEAP! unpadded sorta like the 60's - 70's.

We need our sun visor to be padded? And if it's sorta like the 60's-70's, isn't that the point? It seems like its one of those things that they can make "retro" without sacrificing something modern from today (like power locks/windows or whatnot)

I think I'd prefer a non-padded visor, when I detail my car interior, that thing always manages to get so darned dusty, I wish I could just wipe it clean instead of having to vacuum it and everything

/rant off

66Satellite · Jul 30, 2004

dahun said:
Last weekend I test drove a '05GT and found a couple of things.
DISLIKES:
Workmanship...: on par with todays GT.
Materials: not impressed, on part with todays GT.
Instrument cluster: SUCKS!!! Terrible layout; can't see 1/2 of speedo and tach. Chrome is cheap looking. Sun reflects on bezel and whashes out the gauges.
Auto Shifter and gate: CHEAP! Looks like a kids toy, with molding line in the middle of the handle.
Sun visor: CHEAP! unpadded sorta like the 60's - 70's.
Door panels: not impressed. the speaker looks like was an after-thougt with this large bulky speaker grill.

LIKES:
Styling: nice
Side mirrors: I like 'em large with good visibility.
Power: GOOD! good torque. Transmission shifts at the right points, shifts firm but smooth.
Seats: much more supportive, better side bolsters nicer looking then current.
Center console: Clean, easy to reach/read.

Otherwise a lot of carry-over from '04 GTs. MSRP is about the same as now.
They have to fix the instrument cluster and the shifter, and hopefully take care of the other things, before I'd buy one.

FWIW.

What about handling, braking, ride, body rigidity, etc....?

jadesville · Jul 30, 2004

How did you testdrive one?

new22003 · Jul 30, 2004

jadesville said:
How did you testdrive one?

HMMM

jadesville · Jul 30, 2004

new22003 said:
HMMM

are you implying something illegal?

Stangston · Jul 30, 2004

jadesville said:
How did you testdrive one?

He test drove one by entering that period right after we fall asleep.

new22003 · Jul 30, 2004

jadesville said:
are you implying something illegal?

LOL that or the dream thing.

dahun · Aug 2, 2004

Stangston said:
He test drove one by entering that period right after we fall asleep.

Actually, I REALLY test drove it through a market research group in my area. They had four coupes including the Mustang. It was a light metallic blue with cream/beige interior.
Power is (from memory) 305hp, 320ft-lb.
Braking was good, the rotors were about the same size as before.
Handling was good, and I think the new rear suspension will be a big plus, as it exhibited none of the "jumpy" live rear axle of today. Ride was very good also, stiff but not punishing...
Wind noise was less, but road noise was just slightly better than my '03.
My hangup with the sunvisors, was not really that they weren't padded, but they felt like they were 1/8" press board, covered with burlap potato sack, as was the headliner, felt coarse...

Just as a side... I also drove the new Pontiac (forgot model name) with a 5.7L V8, rear wheel drive, coupe. I have to admit that I liked it too, except for overall visibility, the Mustang couldn't be beat by these other three. The one thing that stuck in my mind was the lack of a dead pedal, rear entry to the back seats was almost non-existent, and the carpet was cheap looking.
I did feel the rigid rear end as it behaved as a stock Mustang...

Also, drove an RX-8, and 350Z... and NO, this wasn't a wet dream....

UPDATE:

Okay, I just looked it up, it's the Pontiac GTO, rear wheel drive... IRS... so for some reason it didn't feel it was IRS... felt like it was a live axle....
... and has the Tremec 6-speed....

93 teal terror · Aug 2, 2004

did you see 02Roush there?? lol

ryanrule · Aug 2, 2004

seems like all of cali was invited to this little thing.

do u know what an NDA is? because if your invited to this kinda thing, your required to sign one, which means if this was real, ford is currently suing yur ass for much money

Hellmurder · Aug 2, 2004

93 teal terror said:
did you see 02Roush there?? lol

ButO2Roush got paid to drive the same cars as him. So did he get paid too?

dahun · Aug 2, 2004

ryanrule said:
seems like all of cali was invited to this little thing.

do u know what an NDA is? because if your invited to this kinda thing, your required to sign one, which means if this was real, ford is currently suing yur ass for much money

Let's see... would that be: Non-Disclosure Agreement?... Nawh...

Anyhow, I only signed an insurance release... and not one of the people mentioned that I should keep things secret...
Also, I was not hired by Ford, but by a 3rd party group...
Besides, I don't know how Ford or any of them could sue me for what Consumer Reports or Motor Trend, or Autoweek magazine would perform on current or next model year products...

And yes, I got paid for my time and gas...

jadesville · Aug 2, 2004

So one guy thinks the new rear suspension is a plus, one guy thinks its loose..

Im confused

02roush · Aug 2, 2004

Thats why they are called OPINIONS!!!

And do you ****ing morons think they would only invite ONE person to the testing? Is it really that surprising that more than one person in Los Angeles(population 20 million plus) would be invited to this?

This smilie should be called "what posting on stangnet is like."

SixtySix · Aug 2, 2004

Don't sweat it Rouche....... let the detractors say what they will, you know it's true

And I've personally been a part of one of these "focus" groups.

I got paid the same amount to drive 4 midsize pickups oh about 10 years ago when I lived in San Diego.

No pictures allowed, I got $150 (you'd think it might be a little more money these days!) and a free lunch (the sandwiches sucked)

So I believe it

93 teal terror · Aug 2, 2004

02roush said:
Thats why they are called OPINIONS!!!

And do you ****ing morons think they would only invite ONE person to the testing? Is it really that surprising that more than one person in Los Angeles(population 20 million plus) would be invited to this?

This smilie should be called "what posting on stangnet is like."

I hope you didnt take my post seriously....I was just trying to be funny and sarcastic more than anything. I personally believe both of you....I dont see any reason to question you guys. I just thought it was funny how quick people were to raise the bs flag. Its happened to me before too. I posted that I got 33mpg in my 5.0 on the highway. Why would I make something like that up. I dont care if someone believes me or not.....it was just for information purposes but some people felt that I had something to gain by lying about my gas milage

Stangston · Aug 2, 2004

93 teal terror said:
I hope you didnt take my post seriously....I was just trying to be funny and sarcastic more than anything. I personally believe both of you....I dont see any reason to question you guys. I just thought it was funny how quick people were to raise the bs flag. Its happened to me before too. I posted that I got 33mpg in my 5.0 on the highway. Why would I make something like that up. I dont care if someone believes me or not.....it was just for information purposes but some people felt that I had something to gain by lying about my gas milage

No, I'm just joking also. I think these stories seem legit, and at least they're not coming from people with 2 posts.

I will say that I'm disappointed that I'm not seeing any "WOW....this car is WAY better than last generation!" comments.

'05 Mustand test drive.

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