I Test Drove One

TongMan

If some of you guys remembered, I was very curious about the 2013 Mustang GT. I was free today, so I finally took the time and went to actually look at one in person and drove one. Before I give you my initial review, here are some pics that I took.

Saw this BOSS 302


...then I saw the sticker They were asking $74k for it. Didn't take a picture, cuz I quickly got the hell away from that car.

Here's the car I drove.










So here's my thoughts about it.

Hmm...where to start?

Okay, so the interior. I was actually surprised at how well the interior was in this Mustang. The dash is soft touch. The instruments, knobs, and layout was actually attractive and welcoming. The only part that I didn't like was that the door panel was hard plastic. I had the window fully down and rested my arm on the panel and it was very uncomfortable. The sound system was very good. This is the GT Premium, so it's got the Shaker system with Ipod, Pandora, Bluetooth integration. I didn't really get to test out the sync system, but the radio music sound really nice. Had great bass to it. The interior gauge illumination, door sill illumination, and the ability to change the color is a cool thing to have and show off. The pony ambient light underneath the side view mirrors is neat.

The steering was direct and felt very similar to the Z. The blind spots were much better than in the Z. The back seats are cramped. If I'm sitting comfortably in the front seats, the rear seats have no leg room at all. I am 5'11" tall. Basically the rear seats are useless, just take them out and make the car a two-seater and save some weight at the same time. The BOSS 302 doesn't have rear seats.

Driving it on the street under normal driving conditions, the Mustang felt quiet and softer than the Z. Bumps and dips are less felt. The bump in the hood makes you feel like the front of the vehicle was high up. I think that for a smaller/shorter person, you may have a hard time seeing outward. I love the added and functional hood vents. While driving the car, I felt big and muscular. I guess muscle cars tend to have that impression.

I finally tore it up in the on-ramp and off-ramp. As heavy as the Mustang was, it actually handled very well. The car has tons of torque in every gear, even 6th gear. The car was definitely much more powerful than the Z, you can feel it. The V8 roared and sounded really sweet. We took the car out to the empty roads and I did some quick 1-2-3 pulls. It felt really good and powerful. I'm thinking stock quarter mile, this car can do 12's no problem. The salesguy told me that I could do burn outs and turn off traction control and do some doughnuts if I wanted to. I decided not to.

I can really enjoy this car as a daily driver. Gas mileage is on par with the Z, but it can also take regular unleaded. I may have missed other points, but I'm just spouting things as they come to me.

The dealership only had the one black 2013 Mustang GT Premium available. I wanted a red GT, but they said they'd have to order it and would take approximately 8 weeks or more. If they did have a red one on the lot with the track package and the 3.73 limited slip rear, I suspect that I would have crack and bought it. But I hated the black exterior.

So, I finally drove one and now I understand why people ditch their 370z for the new mustang. It's a nice car and Ford did a good job with it.

I forgot to add that the e-brake handle was very stiff and required some muscle to pull it up. The shifter is not as smooth as the 370z.