Test Drove a Mustang GT - drive review

[Bikeman315]

I do and the GT understeers.....sorry to break it to you....

Yes, it does. But it is also one of the easiest fixes for a Mustang. Just check with Steeda.

2024-mustang-suspension

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[Upacurb]

Yes, it does. But it is also one of the easiest fixes for a Mustang. Just check with Steeda.

2024-mustang-suspension

Yes...I love me some Steeda products.....I feel like they have emerged as the one to have for suspension parts on the S650.....

Anyone with a bunch of Steeda parts in So Cal want to let me drive their car? lol

 

[caddison524]

Interesting write up.

Numb steering, definitely. A bit over boosted imo. Not the worst in the world but idk what Ford was thinking with the new system.

Now, torque, yeah, the 5.0 is not a torque monster. I love an engine that revs out, personally. It feels natural.

Sound is subjective to most. I think, the active exhaust stock is a bit quiet lol. First mod I am installing is a Corsa Extreme. Stock headers tho.

 

[ThisBlueGrabsYou]

I was not referring to understeer. That (understeer) was one of several topics in the OP thread, which also included the car being too small, too loud, and a number of other things. I was just commenting on overall comfort. We can agree to disagree, and that is OK.

Sorry, should have quoted in the first place. Was referring to OP. Now, as for this...

I do and the GT understeers.....sorry to break it to you....

It does understeer, but it takes some provocation. The way you describe it though makes no sense:

1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement.

Like... what? It sounds like you're describing the front suspension's slow response to steering inputs (which would be a fair critique), but is very much not understeer. Understeer is when too much weight transfers to the rear and the front end loses grip, so the car just wants to plow forward in a corner. It's more accurately described as turning the wheel and *nothing* happens, usually when carrying too much speed into a corner but also if you apply too much throttle at the apex (pushing the weight rearward and robbing the front end of grip). You balance it out by transferring weight forward either through (gentle) brake application or reduced throttle.

Mustang definitely understeers, but again, it takes some doing – it's not a thing to be concerned about on public roads.

 

[Stonehauler]

Congrats on test driving a GT! I've test driven several and hopefully I can provide some useful feedback.

Steering feel: S650 GT definitely has less feedback/weight than the S550 GT, even in Sport steering mode. However I felt more confident taking turns "spiritedly" in the S650.

Torque: Less torque at lower RPMs equates to a smoother driving experience in the city. I honestly prefer it to how the Eco accelerates from a standstill.

Size: I'm 5'5" and I find the Mustang to be very accommodating without feeling like I'm in a tank or bathtub. Shockingly I didn't mind sitting in the rear seat at all the fees I tried it out.

Noise: Interesting you found Quiet mode loud. I still remember test driving an '18 GT without active exhaust thinking that was too loud (this was my introduction to V8 muscle). My how times have changed.

I think I agree with the rest of your assessments. The improved 10A shifting and better damped suspension compared to the S550 definitely have me considering the S650 GT if the Mach-4 doesn't deliver what I'm looking for.

At 6’2”, the list of vehicles I don’t fit in is longer than the list of those I do. Thanks to the prevalence of sunroofs, most vehicles with them do not accommodate me…even my beloved F350 has This problem because if I don’t slouch in my seat (properly adjusted of course), my head wants to go about a half inch into the headliner. I do not have that problem with the Mustang front seats. Our first question to the dealer isn’t..how much does it cost, can we take a test drive, how much HP does it have, how much can it tow, etc…it’s can I sit in it to see if I fit? More than half the time, the answer is no, I don’t fit…

 

[Stonehauler]

Sorry, should have quoted in the first place. Was referring to OP. Now, as for this...



It does understeer, but it takes some provocation. The way you describe it though makes no sense:



Like... what? It sounds like you're describing the front suspension's slow response to steering inputs (which would be a fair critique), but is very much not understeer. Understeer is when too much weight transfers to the rear and the front end loses grip, so the car just wants to plow forward in a corner. It's more accurately described as turning the wheel and *nothing* happens, usually when carrying too much speed into a corner but also if you apply too much throttle at the apex (pushing the weight rearward and robbing the front end of grip). You balance it out by transferring weight forward either through (gentle) brake application or reduced throttle.

Mustang definitely understeers, but again, it takes some doing – it's not a thing to be concerned about on public roads.

it wasn’t the wheel’s response that was the issue. You turned the steering wheel, the front wheels turned, and it continued to move forward for a bit until the tires and suspension bit in and started turning the car itself..until then, it was just snowplowing a bit. Not much, just a few feet maybe just one, but it was there.

 

[Wiley Marmot]

Mom always told me that if I didn't have anything good to say to not say anything. So, I'm not saying anything. Just sayin.............................

 

[RLE55]

Our first question to the dealer isn’t..how much does it cost, can we take a test drive, how much HP does it have, how much can it tow, etc…it’s can I sit in it to see if I fit?

Exactly. Most folks research the car they're most interested in, so by time they go to the dealer, they're asking "other" important questions.

 

[Jim Bob]

So last night, I went an test drove a 2024 GT (and an EB) My impressions, based on the GT
1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement. It's not quite as surefooted as I would have liked
2 - lack of torque - t the torque seemed to be lacking in this vehicle, especially at the low end. This EB seemed to have this issue as well. I know that I am spoiled coming from a line of cars that had more torque than HP and most had good bottom end torque, especially my last one that had 450 from 2500 on up and my F350 which has 800 Ft Lbs even lower. I am aware that this engine needs to be wound up to produce power and torque, but even then...it just seemed lacking.
3 - Numb steering - this might be the new system or maybe there was a mode I should have activated, but it did not communicate the road back to me like most of my other cars have. The last car I had that had steering this numb was a Lexus GS. Again, this could be a setting issue

The purely subjective - The two below are just from my preferences. Others (especially here) will probably disagree and that's fine.

just too small for so big a car. Don't get me wrong, the front seat is the perfect size, great seats, good headroom, plenty of room for my feat, but for car that big, it felt smaller on the inside than it should be...like a reverse TARDIS. The trunk opening could be a bit better and that would help out quite a bit

Too loud - it will attract the attention of every police officer in the area, or at least dirty looks from every neighbor, even if you are just using a light foot. For reference, I had a 5.7L boat that did not have mufflers and exhausted above the waterline that I feel was quieter. Combined with the fact that you need to be in the upper part of the rev range to start moving and I start seeing "displays of power" citations. As my wife said, it seems like this vehicle is the Huskey of the car world..."I must sing the song of my people" - FYI, I was on "quiet mode" of the active exhaust. Again, this is a preference I have, but I can see why some people woudl love it.

Now, it did have a number of very good things

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing. The sway bars kept it flat in the turns when it wasn't understeering. I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting like some other "sport" automatics. It also downshifted to get into the proper rev range extremely fast without a lot of "gear hunting"
• As I noted above, the driver and front passenger had lots of room up front. Hips, feet, head room were all great
• Cockpit like interior. Driver controls are oriented towards you and makes it easy to check while still driving and paying attention to the road. It does lack a heads up display when I find extremely useful though.
• Touch screen layout - While it's different the mechanical switches and buttons I am used to, I feel like it was designed by someone who knew about cars instead of a computer engineer just designing another interface. Of all the "touch screen layouts", this one ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive (leather), and felt good to sit in. While I miss a power recline and some other adjustments, I feel the inclusion of a mechanical recline to keep weight down a bit was the right call.
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise and did not feel floaty. I felt the wheels turned when I turned the wheel, it was just missing that feedback of a mechanical connection.
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one I have used in my test drives, and I've driven about 15 vehicles over the past 2 weeks.

Thanks for your forthright comments, good and bad, on your test drive. I appreciate the honesty and lack of overt fan-boy bias. That said, I just took a 25 GT for a test drive and was very impressed. I'm wondering if your test car had the Performance Package as mine did? I suspect that would alleviate a lot of the understeer concerns you expressed.

 

[MAT1955]

I'm confused (nothing new here). People drive a Mustang then compare different aspects of a bunch of other vehicles to the Mustang to show areas that it lacks in comparison. If the other car(s) is/are so great why didn't the "reviewers" just they buy one of them? How is the Mustang (or any car) supposed to stack-up against options cherry-picked from a bunch of different vehicles and why is that even relevant. It seems this dumba$$ topic comes up regularly (too regularly IMO). The Mustangs aren't perfect but we aren't paying the kind of money for perfect. We get an iconic car that many can only dream of or can't use because it's a two-seater....hello - sports car? It has an absolutely amazing engine (fantastic technology 12:1 compression ratio best sound anywhere) Mine is super comfortable on long drives etc. etc. etc. My advice if you find the Mustang lacking in some area - either buy it and modify it or don't buy it. Do I sound cranky if I say this is a forum to celebrate our beloved Mustangs not one to rag on them .....and if you don't like them, then just shut up and buy something else and go on that forum? Yeah, I agree with myself - that's probably cranky - but I'm so tired of the frickin' whining.

 

[Stonehauler]

Thanks for your forthright comments, good and bad, on your test drive. I appreciate the honesty and lack of overt fan-boy bias. That said, I just took a 25 GT for a test drive and was very impressed. I'm wondering if your test car had the Performance Package as mine did? I suspect that would alleviate a lot of the understeer concerns you expressed.

I will check on that, thank you

 

[Alan Applegate]

One needs to remember that 1 or 2 is really ugly when "ten" is the standard for the best. I call it the "Bo Derek" standard

 

[Stonehauler]

One needs to remember that 1 or 2 is really ugly when "ten" is the standard for the best. I call it the "Bo Derek" standard

I was thinking more like first or second place…again, sorry for the confusion

 

[Bikeman315]

I'm confused (nothing new here). People drive a Mustang then compare different aspects of a bunch of other vehicles to the Mustang to show areas that it lacks in comparison. If the other car(s) is/are so great why didn't the "reviewers" just they buy one of them? How is the Mustang (or any car) supposed to stack-up against options cherry-picked from a bunch of different vehicles and why is that even relevant. It seems this dumba$$ topic comes up regularly (too regularly IMO). The Mustangs aren't perfect but we aren't paying the kind of money for perfect. We get an iconic car that many can only dream of or can't use because it's a two-seater....hello - sports car? It has an absolutely amazing engine (fantastic technology 12:1 compression ratio best sound anywhere) Mine is super comfortable on long drives etc. etc. etc. My advice if you find the Mustang lacking in some area - either buy it and modify it or don't buy it. Do I sound cranky if I say this is a forum to celebrate our beloved Mustangs not one to rag on them .....and if you don't like them, then just shut up and buy something else and go on that forum? Yeah, I agree with myself - that's probably cranky - but I'm so tired of the frickin' whining.

 

[Upacurb]

It does understeer, but it takes some provocation. The way you describe it though makes no sense:

Im confused....I never described it?

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