A disappointment: 2003 Mustang GT

[graywolf624]

The test drives continue this week, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Sunday test is one for a different thread, but I have to say the Saturday car was a real disappointment. I had a lot of difficulty getting enough attention at a dealership to test a car. I finally managed to get enough attention to drive a 03 Mustang GT auto.

Now to give you a little background, I've always hated the SN95 mustang. I think they are ugly, and based on a test drive of a 99, they handle for crap. That being said I always assumed they would be at least semi comparable to a F-Body in a straight line. Well, so on with the test with my biases recorded for posterity.

The car has 30000 miles on the clock and looks straight. They are asking 18000 which is inline with what I paid for the ta with ultra low mileage. The disclaimer at this point seems to be that the car may hold some hidden damage but it doesn't look it. Normally I test drive New cars, but in this case I'll just have to assume it hasn't been beaten.

Anyway, the window sticker says 260 BHP and 300 ft lbs of torque. So right, first things first its down almost 50 BHP and 40 ft lbs of torque on my TA. My thoughts are confirmed when the salesmen tells me he thinks I may be disappointed in the power. Ok well, I've gone this far, I might as well go for it. I tell him I'm looking for a toy to modify and he gives me the keys.

The first thing you notice in the car is the dashboard. It is horrible. Of course I already know this as I had a roommate with the V6, but man it's pathetic. So right, the interior isn't doing this car any favors. That being said the car was equipped with the option mach 1000 stereo system, which has 4 elevated amps and quite a few speakers. I was suitably impressed by the sound system at high decibels. Not what I would buy a car for, but I would say it is decent quality. My Trans Am has the optional monsoon system, and I have to say this system is comparable or may even receive a slight edge.

So time to turn the key. The sound is much louder then the T/A. I've heard people say the mustangs sound really nice, but sadly I couldn't open the window to listen, it was just too cold.

So out we turn from the lot, the same exact route as the GTO. I slam the gas and the rear doesn't go anywhere, the car just about dies. I look at the dealer with a wtf look. Apparently I'd left the traction control on and it's uber nanny sensitive. It just completely shut off the car. So off goes the tc and down goes the foot.

Now I'd always heard that mustangs had horrible Automatics, well I can confirm I'd heard right. It took the tranny what seemed like 3 days to down shift, and then it did it in a jerky motion. I received more of a push back in my seat from the hard shift then I did the car launching. The engine just felt like it had Asthma. It felt like it couldn't be hurried even if I kicked it. This was a completely different feeling to me, the LS1 feels so much more immediate in auto or stick. So right, it doesn't feel nice, it doesn't go fast... So what does it do? I hit a corner at a decent rate of speed only to feel the worst sudden snap oversteer I've felt in a long time. So right.. Scratch the handling off the list as I nearly end up on the curb before I can recover. It really would hurt my ability to continue these test drives if I ended up on the evening news.

After all this driving I pulled back into the dealer and I flat told the man I was disappointed. He tried to talk me into a 06 ZO6!?! (Odd because they didn't actually have any on the lot). He was right though, I'd never be happy in the Mustang. That doesn't mean all mustangs are this bad, the 03 Cobra and GT 500 would beat my T/A in a straight line (not corners), it just means the masses that buy them have to be out of their minds.

After completing this review I went on the internet and took a look at some things just to confirm it wasn't the nut behind the wheel, the specific car, or the fact that I had a passenger. The first thing I found was a claimed 14.4 1/4 mile time, more then a second slower then the T/A. In fact this was inline with my old 1988 Camaro which felt much quicker. So right, if a magazine driver squeezes out a 14.4, it isn't all telling, but it certainly confirms this car is not even in the same league as the T/A.

I continued to look through various specifications, and just about the only thing I found in it's favor was it weighed a hot girl in the passenger seat less. So then why did it sell so well? Through some polling of other people I have found out the manual is not nearly as bad as the auto, even if it still is nowhere near as fast as the T/A. I also find out that I stand alone on my opinions of the look. That being said I stand by my opinion that the car is not special and would not recommend one. Comparing this car to the GTO of last week is like comparing Richard Simmons to Sugar Ray Robinson. Sure both are athletic, and in similar fields. But I'd much rather be boxing for a title then sweating to the oldies.

I personally left the dealer quite down on the whole experience, and I got to burn the tires and use the gas for free. My conclusion: Friends don't let friends buy base model mustangs, V8 or otherwise.

[SPEEDKILLAR]

wow, that bad, good review.

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by SPEEDKILLAR wow, that bad, good review.

the old GT really wasn't that good. It just looks good since 1999. ~ subjective

[silentm]

nice review, i'm kinda surprised it's supposed to be that bad...

[ViperASR]

I have a friend that has a '97 Mustang GT. Black with a 5-speed. Its actually a nice car, after its been modded. He's got a full exaust, cams, rear gear, shocks, springs, anti-roll bars, tortion bars, and a few other go fast goodies that I cant think of off the top of my head.

Another friend as an '03 Mustang GT auto with exaust, tranny, rear-end, 125-shot of NOS, and again, a few other goodies I cant think of. Its really really fast with that shot. The auto has been tuned, and the car has been dyno tuned, so it runs and shifts pretty nice. The tranny and torque converter are basically set up for the drag stirp, so its not a comfy shift, but itll do what you want it to do. That car goes from 60-120mph faster then anything I have been in. He's pulled an 11.8 in the 1/4 mile.

As for the stock mustangs, yea, a friend dosnt let a friend keep it stock.

[TopGearNL]

Good write up, you can really feel the experience!

That bad eh, never would have thought that :shock:

[Erez]

can't wait for RC and nthfinity..