Perhaps? What have I to say after spending some time driving around in it?
1st, car is a 2002 GT 'vert, 5spd.. mineral grey, all options....
Power, only 3XXmiles on it, and to be safe I'm only running it up to 4000rpm. Initially from a smooth takeoff it feels like most family sedans, smooth.. electric.. not very muscular. Once it gets a lil over 3k it started to pull much harder. The lil mod motor doesn't FEEL like it has much lowend at all, its begging for some gear. Feels to me like 4k-6k is where I need to be
. This is of course coming from someone used to much.. much more, so the way I perceive it may be sliiiightly skewed.
Controls.. eh.. I like them, everything is nicely upholstered (for a 26k car =) ), everything's within easy reach... everything I went for anyway. The shifter.. I don't like it (I'm used to my pro5.0). Aside from it obviously being a mushy stock unit, its too far away dammit! I have short legs (30" inseam) and adjusting the seat so I could comfortably put my clutch foot on the floor STILL had me too far back, IMO anyway. I believe a profiveoh like I have in the 'maro would yield a huge improvement in throw, feel and driver confidence. Especially when I'm stretching to solidly hit 3rd. The clutch.. perhaps I'm used to my aftermarket one, which I have adjusted so that from fully engaged to fully disengaged is the top ~2" of pedal travel. When I shift my car, I simply tap it. In the stang, stock (fbodies may be like this stock, I honestly don't remember) the clutch engages right off the floor. Not a big deal, and a good thing I suppose since I was getting as close to the shifter as I could
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Handling.. mmm, it isn't bad, but its noticeably taller and more narrow than my z.. which is low and wide. I haven't pushed it very hard, I'd rather not wad it up. Honestly it feels vague, but I DO like the IRS. Around the very tight and ROUGH corners it feels planted. Whether I want to take the bad (wheelhop) along with IRS' good points.. I dunno what id choose.
Comfort. This damn thing is a caddy compared to my car lol. The ride is killer, the seating position etc are all very.. casual. I like it ALOT, tho they chose to sacrifice some feel for ride quality (understandable, they're businessmen), I'd have to do a lil suspension modifications
. Honestly the interior makes me sad when I lookit my car. Obviously its new, but I've seen rattles etc. from new fbodies I've been in. Right now the stang interior is taught, smooth and quiet... we'll see if it stays this way or what I suppose. One thing that I'm really REALLY jealous of... the BRAKES. They're not like the ones on the old mans C5, but they make me feel even more like I'm throwing a rock tied to the back of my car out my window to slow me in the Z. They're nice and sensitive.. pedal is firm, but only needs a light touch for normal stopping. It makes the Z feel like it doesn't have power brakes comparatively
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Eh.. other misc BS...
I like the looks, a lot. Those grey torque thrust looking wheels are the sh*t, and the mineral grey.. mmmm I catch myself looking turning around to look at it. Sucks, makes my black Z look sick. Of course the old dog is battle hardened and has a bite like a
motherf*cker.. so I grin a lil when I think about how incognito the Z really is... so long as its not running or in the evening when the gauges are readily viewable.
Overall? If I had to buy a new car.. I'd buy one of the stangs b4 I bought another fbody. I don't buy new cars however, it'd be one of the 1999-2000 with the "windsor" modular instead of the "romeo" of the 2001's and up. I think it'd make a killer daily driver. The damn thing is begging to have a gear thrown in it... full exh (mmmm love that sound), shifter, a lil boost... It'd be a killer daily driver
. Its not as focused as the new fbodies, but I can easily see why it outsells em 3:1. Do I want the Z to be mustangized in 04/5 so they appeal to everyone? Helllllll
NO, I love my rattly, brutish piece.
Thats my long-winded pseudo-review of a new stang from a fbody guys POV. keep in mind... its prolly somewhat understated regarding performance & controls b/c I'm used to SO much more power & shifter/clutch etc. thats very.. defined
awright.. ill stop talkin now
-Phil