Exactly the same for me. I am getting 21mpg.

The Z's sporty feel works for it and against it at the same time, i was attracted and bought my Z for the same reasons you sold yours

Now why would you take the time to post something like that on our forum since it is not a mustang forum? duh! The fact is, you bought a FORD, it is a FORD. Give it a few years of ford reliability and then post another review not to mention how well it holds it value.. Welcome to the land of thousands and thousands of mustang owners out there... lol

I guess you didn't read the fanboy spoiler alert.

I think the OP did an honest & good review of both cars. An open mind is an intelligent one as well.

The OP is a Z enthusiast who's needs have changed, nothing wrong with him buying another car. I for one, appreciate him taking the time out to share his experience with the GT. Who better suited to do this than one who was just a recent Z owner?

I'm not a fan of the Mustang mostly because they're just so common and so big. It does seem like a pretty good alternative to the Z though and I have to say, yours looks awesome.

Thanks for the write up! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts after some track time.

I prefer my stangs as blacked out as possible in order to make it seem less "stang" like, but to each their own.

Good luck, I'm envious of that v8.

I don't really have anything against the 5.0, I just hate the fact everyone and their mom has one. It's like the traditional national American car to buy if you want a sports car.

and the fact that most their owners will rev their engine trying to drag race you any chance they get to show off their "muscle"

I love the fact that you have torque ready with the Coyote 5.0 though.. must be nice at times

I like and respect the 5.0. It's not my cup of tea, but I acknowledge it's a great car. If the styling was more sports car-ish and less muscle (and maybe if mustangs were a bit less common), I might be tempted. If I was to get a muscle car, though, it would definitely by a 5.0 over any of its American rivals.

Although, the thought of a 5.0 for a DD sounds intriguing...

The Mustang has the highest resale value in its class and reliability is as good as if not better than the Z. In fact, if you compare my Z to my 5.0 only the Z has failed to start (steering lock failure).

Haters gonna hate. :)

This is not a place for facts.

My apologies.

If I were to move out of the Nismo, I would get the Boss. Either a used Laguna or a new base Boss. My first car wa a 66 Stang coupe with a 4 speed and power nothing and drum brakes.

Yeah it's actually cheaper to buy a 5.0 w/Brembo pkg new than it is used. At least that's how it was the last time I checked. They are surprisingly hard to find in the used market.

Interesting, not the case in Alberta. 09 370 sport goes for around the same price as a 11 5.0. There is still a lot of mustang hate up here.

Very nice write up, but I have to ask how old you are? I am 48 and I do not have issues with getting in and out of the Z. I love being low to the ground! Anyway the new Mustangs are flippin nice when they have the track package they are great. Being an old Mustang kind of guy I am glad they stepped up their game from just sheer HP. I won't be buying one anytime soon but they are nice these days.


Just a quick edit: I will say that as far as American muscle I would only go the the Stangs. Ford to me is on their game while other companies are playing catch up.

I am considerably older than you. It didn't hurt to get in or out of the 370. I just found myself feeling less and less willing to do it. The biggest factor in my change was the fact that as my DD, the Z wasn't right for me. If I could afford it, I would own both cars right now.

Since I am in old fart mode, I discovered a couple of truly nice touches on the Mustang: When the headlights are on during the day, the dash illumination and nav screen do not always go to "night" mode. The light sensor on the car stays in "day" mode if the exterior light is bright enough. Also, when the wipers are on, the headlights go on. Nothing that would influence my buying decision, but fun to discover. One other thoughtful touch: When you use the window washer, the wipers do their normal thing, then there is a few seconds pause and they do one more wipe to catch those annoying drips. Gotta love a car company that is that thoughtful.

Driven a Vette lately? :tup:

Not since I test drove a 2010 ZR1. Car was amazing, interior sucked.


I should state I also drove my Bosses 06 Vette a few times and it was a blast to drive just to bad it had many electrical issues. And once again, cheesey interior.

I've tested both the vette and the stang, and I'd take the Vette every day and twice on sundays, unless I needed 4 seats.

But I'm sure you would agree that a Vette's interior is still better than a Mustang's.

I think my Mustang's interior is just as good as my 370Z's. :stirthepot:

I prefer the styling on the 370, but think the mustang quality is solid.

I think the Mustang's interior styling is pretty cool. The retro dash has its charm, the shifter looks nice, and the seats are decently upholstered, especially if you get leather. Double impressive are the leather recaros in the 2013 GT Premium, but it is what it is.

I think the Z's interior is pretty awesome, especially without nav (personal preference, I think the cubby is fetching). I like the stitching in the vehicle, the suede/leather of the touring package, the modern cockpit with throwback three gauges.

I like both cars inside.

I like the interior of Shado's Bugatti the best.

I liked being inside m4a1mustang



's Mustang GT.

:yum:

I was looking at a 2012 GT with track pack on it, But they were giving me 5k less for my trade in then the Nissan dealership was. I was on the fence, as I found the Z better put together, interior to me was nicer, and having been driving 2 seaters a majority of my adult life, I am used to having one. But the Mustang, while they are everywhere, blah blah blah was extremely nice. Fast (on paper they are not much faster then a Z, but the Torque makes it feel much faster), it does have back seats (as my son is getting older, its less of an issue but still) and the 6 speed does not require as much attention as the 6 speed in my Z. I come from the "will never drive american" crowd, but the new mustang has made me much more open to consider a Ford product. hell, I said I would never have a kia/hyundai, but we just got my wife a 2012 Veloster and she loves it! and 43mpg on the highway :stirthepot:

This seems to be a time where previous biases are falling. This is my first American car in over 30 years. BTW the interior in the 2013 Mustang is much better than the 2012. I had a 2012 for a week and wasn't very happy with it. The dealer let me switch it for the 2013. A vast difference. I loved the 370Z interior, but I have to say that I like the 2013 Mustang better. The leather seats (I have the premium) are incredible; pretty and comfortable. I think the back seats are worthless. There's no room for anyone except a dog if the driver and passenger are over 5'5".

I looked up the sales numbers for Mustangs. This year the average month is between 5,000 and 6,000 cars. It's a lot by Z standards, but not so much that you see 25 in every parking lot. GT's are much rarer. The dealer told me that most people won't even consider a V8. Their loss. I am still getting 21 mpg, just like my Z.

Yeah, the day of the big v8 has passed us by. That Coyote 5-liter, and the 7-liter piece of heaven that Chevy throws in the Z06, the 6.1 liter SRT engines, those big beefy Mercedes AMG muscles...

Probably all going to be downsized at some point. Fuel efficiency is a good thing, but roaring V8's are a thing of pure beauty.

Quick Update:
I ordered the Ford Racing GT Performance Pack. It includes Shelby mufflers and a special performance tune. It's the least extreme of the Ford Racing offerings. NISMO should check this out. The pack comes with a tuning tool (to install the performance tune). It turns out that the tune, besides adding hp and a more aggressive throttle, also provides the ability to calibrate the speedo by inputting the true circumference of the tires. It also allows calibration to fuel octane. The tune is designed to work best on 93 octane gas. That isn't available here. I can get 92. Apparently in some places only 91 is available. If that causes spark knock, a simple setting on the tuning tool allows optimizing for 91 octane gas. All this without affecting the warranty.

They also offer suspension kits. Unlike the others, the kits include factory-matched parts that provide optimized improvements in handling. The prices aren't crazy either. The performance pack I bought cost me under $600 from an online dealer. Dealer install will be under $200. That is necessary to keep the warranty on the performance pack (3 yrs, 36k miles).

Wow, that is a great price and very cool from Factory! Way to go Ford.

Pics of my 13' GT base with recaros and track pack are below, I'm loving it!

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:tup:

I have been considering buying this exact same car. Same color, same trim, everything.

It's a win Shadowquad, do it! :)

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A neat fact I found post purchase: with the track pack, the whole rear end is from the boss 302, including the aluminum Shelby finned diff cover, although ford doesn't spec this. Also, the boss 302 tranny cooler scoop is a direct fit to work with the finned underside of the tranny for $110. Ford has documented a 20 degree Fahrenheit reduction with it. Amen to cheap effective parts and free goodies!

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Muscle car power is addicting no doubt. Handling has improved tremendously, and I say this admirably. Even the camaro that gets less respect is pretty strong taking corners... It's excessive width is the biggest weakness that reserves confidence in the corners. Hard to see out front.
The mustang proved the superior handler. I myself didn't drive the track pack back in 2011. Just the GT. I found the 5.0 suspension too soft, steering feel was on the gummy side but the power was just so good, I have no real words. Just, at the price point, the stang pulls like some kind of high powered exotic. The Z can't compete in the straight line feel of a mustang.
What I didn't like though were things that others may find negligable.

1. The ugliest,most outdated gauge cluster I've ever seen on recent vehicles.
2. In the sports car world, the worst seating position. Felt like a sedan.
3. Steering to Road connection. Extremely flat, when you combine it with horribly high ride height,can't get it right seating position and softish suspension... It's a dealbreaker.

Now i know the track package must solve many of my road connection issues. But with other factors that i know that cant be changed b a suspension pkg. I cant do it.

Would love to drive the BOSS 302. OP, who tested the BOSS and found the steering horrid... Which key did you use? The red or the gold? One sets the car to DD mode, The other for track mode.

That said. I used to hate mustangs after the foxbody because i always felt ford gave the people a great engine, great power to weight ratio and bad everything else. This is NOT the case anymore. Mustang is back with a vengence and taking no prisoners. I just hope the next gen stang addresses what i don't like about it. At least make a model thats dropped 2.5 inches lower than the current one, with a much lower seating position.

My Z may be totally inferior in power and the stang may be equal in the corners. But it doesn't feel equal in the steering wheel. That said,i'll take the loss with the Z for now... I bought a Z cuz I like feeling connected to the road and going fast. I love that low slung seating position. I love being close to the ground. It was the best compromise... Not slow like Mazda miata etc... but feeling very connected to the road and able to swing through corners with ease.

That said. Under 40k. Nothing will f*&k with a stang on the track.

The Mustang isn't supposed to be low to the ground because it's not a sports car. It's a GT style car with sports car like performance. I don't want them to turn it into a low slung sports car because that's not what it should be IMO. If you want a sports car... get a Z, Corvette, etc. If you want a Mustang... well, get one. ;)