We tested the 4.6 liter V8 model, which had more than enough power. In fact, it had too much power...but we'll get to that in just a minute.
The car we test-drove was an ugly gold-brown color. But, once we got past
the, uh..."earthy" color, we really started to like this car. It's speedy.
It's sporty. It handles well. Oddly enough, we found the Mustang to be
extremely comfortable--even at high speeds. Plus, it was quiet, which is
something of a surprise for a convertible that we otherwise would have
expected to rattle and groan a lot. What is this car going to be like in
five years? Will the roof be leaking? Will it be squeaking and rattling
down the highway? Time will tell. (Hey, Ford...send us one in a different
color and we'll report back to you in five years.)
One downside: we felt like we were sitting in a hole. The seating is very low in this car, close to the floor. Plus, it has what the cognoscenti call a high "belt line"--the dashboard and the doors are high in relation to the driver. So, there's not much of a feeling that you have command of the road, and short people may have a particularly hard time getting comfortable in the driver's seat.
Also, if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line, we'd insist that you have a second car for the winter months. You would be nuts to try to drive this rear-wheel-drive car around Chicago in the middle of January.
But...there is something we have to mention:
Tommy thinks the Mustang is a "criminal car." He says to make a vehicle with this much power should be against the law. Why? Because the car was designed to appeal to young adults. And what will young adults do with an overpowered, sporty car? They'll kill themselves in it! (Editor's note: Tommy has a 16-year-old son who just started driving, and he's going through teenage parental panic at the moment!)
He's right in that this car, unfortunately, encourages its driver to be reckless. Even calm, collected, sober Ray found himself driving, as he put it, "in ways that I would never drive normally." Why? Because the car is capable of it. It's fast. It handles well. So, you start to think, "Maybe I can take that corner at 45 miles an hour." Your natural curiosity gets the better of you. Granted, most people have enough sense not to try such stunts when they're driving their mother-in-law's Hyundai. With a Mustang, however, the temptation is always there.
But we enjoyed driving the Mustang. It's a comfortable, fun car. It's well put together and, for the price, it's a pretty good deal. If you're over 30, aren't out to impress anyone by driving fast and think you can drive responsibly, this car could be a lot of fun to own.
View cars.com model report on this vehicle.
