New Mustang after 1 yr and 20,000 miles

I was an early adopter, I got my Mineral Grey Automatic Mustang GT Thanksgiving weekend, 2004. It was largely an emotional decision (which I'm not known for), but one that I have never regretted. I also got a great deal, since a family member offerd me his X-Plan pin.

After shopping around for a car to replace my 2000 Chrysler Sebring Convertible, I was looking at some of the imported "luxury" cars such as the BMW 3 series, the Mercedes C class, the Infiniti G coupe and the like. All were very nice cars, but none had the Mustang's mystique (in my opinion of course).

Fast forward one year and 20,000 miles and I'm still very happy with my decision. The mustang GT has plenty of power, handles highway and backroad miles very nicely, and even gets me reasonable gas mileage on long trips. (I averaged 24 MPG on a recent long highway trip). I will talk about some of the things that I noticed about this car one at a time:

Handling:
The Mustang handles extremely well for what it is (a 300 horsepower "pony" car). Last spring (at around 7,000 miles), I took the mustang to a high-speed driver's education course. There, it ran around the course with the likes of Porsche 911s, Porsche 944s, Corvettes, and even a few of the same import cars that I mentioned above. The mustang handled it very well. I was able to push the car far past what I would have anywhere else except a closed race course, and it ran very well.

Specifically, the suspension is very well tuned, as to avoid much body roll when cornering hard. Additionally, the car structure is very stiff, which makes for a stable platform to have the suspension work with. The tires are just about right, with a good mix of high-sidewall comfort, grip and treadwear. Finally, the brakes are more than adequate. For those that don't know, brakes take a beating on any road racing course. In this case, we were running the car in back-to-back 30 minute stints, with two different drivers sharing the car. So, it was out on the track being run hard for one full hour at a time. The brakes never overheated, the engine ran great, and the transmission even did its job wonderfully (better than I expected out of the auto).

Engine:
Where do I start... this is a great engine. Ford graced the Mustang with a 4.6 Liter v-8 with computer-controlled valve timing. This means it can be optimized for torque at low RPMs and optimized for high horsepower at high RPMs (the best of both worlds). So, it has plenty of power. It also has a GREAT exhaust note. I have also owned a 1996 cobra in the past, which had a GREAT engine exhaust note. I actually like this '05 sound better. Plus, it is much quieter inside the car, I assume due to better insulation and better muffler placement.

Transmission:
I own the 5-speed automatic version of the mustang GT, and I have driven the 5-speed manual on more than one occasion (my father actually owns a manual '05 GT). Both are great transmissions, but I REALLY like the auto for what I do. As you can see, I drive quite a few miles, and much of my daily commute is stop and go. Therefore, I really appreciate an automatic transmission, so long as the car can still feel "sporty" with it. Ford managed to hit the nail on the head with this transmission. It is fairly quiet, provides smooth shifts, but lets the driver control it if he chooses. There are selections for 1,2,3,D (1-4) and OD (1-5). When I was running the car at the track, I was actually manually shifting it (mostly between 3 and D - which was 4th). It performed flawlessly, totally beyond my expectations. I have had absolutely no problems with it, even after beating it around the track for 2 days.

Interior:
Some have commented that the interior seems cheap. I wonder if they have ever owned any other mustangs. This interior is a big step up from other interiors of the past. I admit, there is a lot of plastic, and when it is cold outside, there are a few rattles, but I still like this interior over any of the mustangs' ineriors of the past. Compared to the other cars I was looking at, the mustang's interior is definitely a step down. However, I spent an average of $10,000 less than any of those, and got a big american v-8 under the hood for it! I'm willing to make that trade. The seats are nice, the steering wheel feels good, and the stereo is great. Those are the things one touches most while driving, and they are superb. Other aspects of the interior might be cheaply made, but it honestly doesn't bother me.

After one year and 20,000 miles, I can't think of a car I'd rather have in the Mustang's price bracket (or even for $10,000 more for that matter).