NoOp Test Drives The '05 Mustang GT <Long Rreview

In the words of Billy Crystal, "Marvelous, simply marvelous."

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up about the '05 GT. It's a terrific car...worlds better than the previous cars, the Fox bodies and the Fox-4s. But let's get into the story, shall we?

The local dealership here got their first batch of '05 Mustangs about two days ago. I was driving by their lot that evening when in the corner of my eye there she was... a sparkling new black GT (Why did it have to be a black one? Didn't they know about my weakness?) sitting out on their front lawn. My head snapped over to get a better look and I slammed on the brakes at the same time. Then I flung my Cobra around to go back to take a closer look. When I pulled into their lot there were already about five other people standing around talking about/and looking at her. All were enthusiastic about the car, and all thought the new 'Stang would be a huge hit for Ford. After walking around the car, checking out all her details, I had to agree, stylistically. But what would she be like to drive was the bigger question, because we all know styling will only get most folks to take a look and that the "fun factor" is what gets the vast majority to sign for the 4-5 year note. But I digress...back to the styling.

Let's start with the outside. From the front 3/4s view, the new Mustang is a BEAUTY! The round headlights, the forward leaning grill, the bulging fenders, the roof line, the little "Shelby-style" rear quarter windows...perfect, just perfect! To me, only the rear end disappoints, and then only a little bit. I like the three-bar tail lights and the exhaust tip cutouts, but the rather tallish rear bumper area, to me, doesn't quite flow. It's close... all the details are there, it just seems to me that maybe the designers were still tweaking this area when they ran out of time. I don't know...maybe it'll grow on me. The other thing about the tail end is the tail lights lens themselves. Again, the 3-bar thing is cool, but the lenses are plain. Maybe a few small red vertical ribs running through them would give them a little pop, or just a switch to some richer looking plastic would help. I also have to knock the 65-series tires. They are so out of place on a modern GT! Why Ford switched to a tire with such a tall sidewall I have no idea. The car's ride height could also be lowered a little too. A chop of a half to a full inch would be just about right, but I guess that treatment is for future Mach 1s, Bullets, and Cobra's though, right? Oh, some in here have complained about the front driving lights. I say take another look. I think they look great, much better looking than the previous GTs and Cobras. Though I'll hold my final judgment until I can check them out to see if they really work like real driving lights should.

Let's summarize our review of the Mustang so far. In the looks department, from the waist up, she's awesome... a solid 9 plus. However, the ass end only get's a 7 or an 8...she looks good in a pair of shorts, but wearing just a G-string it's clear the butt needs some squats or to run steps for a while to tightened it up just a little. Overall though, looks wise, still a solid 9 plus.

Next, let's step check out her personality, the interior/feel of the car. The first thing you'll notice are the seats. Let me tell you they are a HUGE improvement over the seats in my car, and the previous generation Mustangs! They are very comfortable and the headrests are set PERFECTLY. The console is also very well done--the materials used have a nice durable feel and the arm rest is also located perfectly. The shifter is also perfectly (I see a trend here.) located; however, its action is a bit notchy. (Why can't Ford just farm out its shifters to the guys at Pro 5.0?) The dash area is nice and clean without any goofy frills. The speedo and the tach work okay and have some neat retro chrome rings around them. The other gauges however are squeezed in between the speedo and tach and don't really catch your eye like gauges should. The seat controls are typical Ford, a couple buttons down on the side of the seat. Not the best location or number of buttons, but I'm sure a new owner would get used to their location fairly quickly. The blinker and windshield wiper switches feel a little bit flimsy, but not too bad. A big complaint inside was the location of the power mirror switch. It's up near the base of the driver's side mirror. You have reach up there and fiddle with a little knob to adjust both mirrors. It's a weird location... I'd rather have it relocated down on the center console near my right hand, or on the door panel near the window switches. Big kudos goes to Ford on the new Mustang's overall driving position. The angle of the windshield, the seat and dash height, the location of the pedals, and the location of the seats to the steering wheel is very good. And speaking of steering wheel, I love this new one!! (Ford, give the person who designed it a big Christmas bonus because they did damn good!) My last complaint about the interior is the height of the top of the door panel. It's just a bit too high to comfortably cruise with your arm out. For you taller guys (I'm only 5' 9") it'll probably be okay though. The trunk of the new Mustang might be just a little bigger than the former car. The rear seat is a split fold down, which doesn't really increase trunk space, but does allow you to slide in some long narrow items. Under the hood, the "new" 4.6, to me, kind of looks like GM's LS1. There's a composite intake manifold with individual runner tubes and a center mounted intake tact. The exhaust manifolds are casted, but have a "header shape" to them. Overall, let's just say the engine compartment has a "functional" look. Which means fairly clean ? no big plastic shrouds covering things up and there's some room around the motor so you can do some tinkering. But there isn't anything under there that will catch your eye? in other words you won't be popping the hood to show off the new three-valve 4.6. Personality score: High 8.

Now onto the legs of this beauty?how does this mother run? Let's just say the guys with the '96-'01 Cobras will find the new GT's power delivery very similar. There's no torquey trashing down low?it's not like a 5-oh car when you punch it and you instantly get tire spin, the rear end slides out to the left and the body twists a little bit. With this new GT, the power comes on very smooth, and she just grabs and goes. There is NO wasted energy! Keep your foot down, snap off a couple shifts, and you're doing 85-90 mph before you know it, all with very little drama. She's deceptively quick! Another thing, I didn't power shift it, I only speed shifted, but I found it's much harder with the new ?Stang to break the tires loose on the shifts than it is with a 5-oh car. Again, this one just grabs and goes. And speaking of going, you'll want to be going on some long trips with this new girl. Cruising her down the highway you'll find she tracks very nice, wind noise is hushed, and the chassis IS tight. This one is going to make a great highway car! When it comes to hitting the off-ramps you'll find the steering has a nice weight and an accurate feel, and the brakes are okay too. Stomping on the stop button produced decent braking distances and a little nose dive. (My guess is stopping is probably a bit better than the previous GT, but it doesn't match up to something like say a Honda S2000.) Okay, this is all great, but what does she sound like when you're really pumping on her, you ask? Well, she's not a moaner like an old loud rumbly IROC Camaro, but she puts out some terrific sounds. The sound that come up from the exhaust pipes under the floorboards, while a little muted, is beautiful music! If I bought a new GT, I'd just toss the radio out the window because I'd never use it. Getting intimate score: Solid 8.

The big decision: Would I take her home and love her forever? In a minute! But only with a pre-nup stating I can later add a future Mach