10' GT500 or 11'/12' GT?

[01silverstang]

Let me preface this and say they are both amazing vehicles. I don't want this to turn into something out of hand where proponents of both start flaming one another which car or motor is better. I'm just looking to get some real world advice.

In the next few months I am hopefully going to pick up a new vehicle. I will be daily driving this vehicle in Kansas so even in the winter I should be fine. My commute to work is about 4 miles each way. I initially set my sights on a 2011 Performance White GT. Test drove it with my wife and instantly fell in love, in reminded me of my old 04' Oxford White Mach 1, but the interior, fit and finish, and power were all maginified. This is easily the rational, smart decision.... However the last couple times we have been at the dealership and at a recent car show we have ran into a 2010 GT500, and instantly all reasonable thoughts exit my head.

This will probably be my last really fun vehicle for awhile. My wife and I are wanting to start a family soon, and so new vehicles purchased down the road will be more practical. This leads to a little bit of pressure. The GT no doubt about it will be more than I ever need, I like to cruise and occasionally have a little fun with the car... but will never be road racing it, or really taking it to a quarter mile track.

I have looked and found quite a few 2010 GT500's that are priced low enough that while they would still be more than the GT, they seem like I might be able to swing one. I was hoping to get some honest opinions from owners about which they would recommend knowing my situation.

The only major concerns I'm having are these. 1) Gas Mileage; it seems the GT500 sucks down gas. While my commute is short, gas prices keep going up and the GT500 takes premium only... IS the gas mileage as bad as everyone says if you don't run it hard every time you get in it? 2) No comfort package? I understand the goal of keeping the car performance oriented, but why would they not offer a power passenger seat or the optionto have heated seats? Both these features can be had on a GT... and 3) Insurance, I know the only way to answer this one is to get a quote from my agent. Did any of you notice a large jump from GT to GT500?

Any other comments would be appreciated. I know on paper its simple, just get the GT. However I think the GT500 over time would continue to be unique while the GT may become somewhat bland down the road. I know I'll never use the GT500 the way a track junky might, but think it would be a pretty fun car to go to cruise nights and date nights in...

Thoughts?

 

[breoland]

Hands down both are really fun cars. if you are going to go with a 10 then might as well find an 11 and get the alluminum motor if that is possible
or if you really want to save some coin, you can find a really great deal on an 09 with low miles or even a king of the road shelby (kr)

as for gas miles, the gt500 runs on premium and the great thing about the supercharger is there when u need it. so basically the heavier the foot the more gas you are going to use.
all gt500 comes in a 6 speed no automatics if that makes a difference.
im sure others will chime in. I am a big fan of mustangs, i love them all and wish i could have them all. I have an 09 gt500 and its great, I even smile when nailing the gas pedal and watching the fuel gauge go down

 

[03MUSCLE]

GT500 and dont look back!! You can never have enough power

 

[01silverstang]

Hands down both are really fun cars. if you are going to go with a 10 then might as well find an 11 and get the alluminum motor if that is possible
or if you really want to save some coin, you can find a really great deal on an 09 with low miles or even a king of the road shelby (kr)

as for gas miles, the gt500 runs on premium and the great thing about the supercharger is there when u need it. so basically the heavier the foot the more gas you are going to use.
all gt500 comes in a 6 speed no automatics if that makes a difference.
im sure others will chime in. I am a big fan of mustangs, i love them all and wish i could have them all. I have an 09 gt500 and its great, I even smile when nailing the gas pedal and watching the fuel gauge go down

I would love to get a 2011 GT500, but that may be beyond what my budget will allow. The 2010 may also be beyond the budget... but we will see. I have searched for the 08' and 09' GT500's and think I would prefer the 11' GT over the previous body style. I'm a shift my own gears type of guy so the manual transmission isn't a problem. The gas mileage thing is really the biggest thing holding me back, I doubt insurance would be that bad, and I guess I could get over the lack of comfort package... but in a recent thread people are reporting mileage as bad as 10-12 mpg and claim to be driving like miss daisy. If I could get 16-17mpg city driving easy, and 24-27 highway... I think my mind would be made up.

 

[me32]

For a dd get the new 5.0

 

[01silverstang]

For a dd get the new 5.0

Any specific reasons why?

 

[me32]

Any specific reasons why?

BETTER on mpg an a lighter car fells little more tq cause of weight in stock forum. Also you can run 87 in the 5.0 an it runs fine. Not so in the gt500.

 

[01silverstang]

BETTER on mpg an a lighter car fells little more tq cause of weight in stock forum. Also you can run 87 in the 5.0 an it runs fine. Not so in the gt500.

Yeah the MPG thing is killing me... I think it may get to be a headache down the road if gas continues to rise. Even midgrade 89 octane is above $4/gallon here in Kansas.

Like I originally stated I know for all practical purposes the GT is the right choice, there is just something about a GT500 that keeps calling to me lol.

 

[me32]

The GT500 is an awsome car hands down. But I know if I had to dd my gt500 I would be working just to drive the car. So what it really comes down to can you afford to dd a car at about 4.50 a gallon of gas 5 days a week at about 15/20mpg an insurance vs 19/26 mpg

 

[01silverstang]

I guess I wonder what 10' owners are actually seeing in terms of gas mileage, compared to 11'

On paper it seems like you are only losing a couple mile per gallon city and highway...

 

[CobraSoze]

I recently had the same decision to make. I have a 7 mile commute to work, although I try to only drive to work when rain is not in the forecast.

My advice is go drive them both if you haven't already. That did it for me and I ended up buying a 2011 GT500. Their both nice rides, but a few key points drove my decision; I like the exclusivity of the Shelby, I feel they'll hold their value better so worth the extra cash, and in the end I thought it would save me money as I'm less likely to mod the Shelby. I know I would have modded the shit out of a 5.0 to make it faster, etc. If you're looking for gas mileage, I don't think either car is good.

Good luck!

 

[01silverstang]

Not looking for a vehicle with amazing gas mileage… if I was I would probably be looking at a subcompact 4 cylinder making 40 mpg highway.

More attempting to decide if the mpg of the GT500 is something I could live with, if it's really drastically different than a regular GT…

The points you made about exclusivity and holding value, are thoughts I have had as well. In 10 years the GT500 will still be a GT500, whereas the GT will just be a Mustang. Hmmm...

 

[me32]

I recently had the same decision to make. I have a 7 mile commute to work, although I try to only drive to work when rain is not in the forecast.

My advice is go drive them both if you haven't already. That did it for me and I ended up buying a 2011 GT500. Their both nice rides, but a few key points drove my decision; I like the exclusivity of the Shelby, I feel they'll hold their value better so worth the extra cash, and in the end I thought it would save me money as I'm less likely to mod the Shelby. I know I would have modded the shit out of a 5.0 to make it faster, etc. If you're looking for gas mileage, I don't think either car is good.

Good luck!

Congrats on you 2011 nice car an better mpg than the 07-10 its 200 to 300 pounds lwsa.

 

[breoland]

I never really did the mpg test. is it really that bad when its all stock? I have 373 gears and cai with tb and a cat back. It cant be getting 10mpg can it?

 

[redline]

For a dd get the new 5.0

thats what i did . i got gt coupe with stick and 3.73 gears .nothing fancy .i keep the 2 shelbys for the weekend.

 

[PistolWhip]

My car averages 14.5 MPG going by the little MPG calculator on the dash. I've never reset it I don't think, so that's since I bought it new and it now has about 2800 miles on it. I don't drive it much and when I do, its kind of just beating around town so I'm sure it would be better if I drove it longer distances and / or on highway trips.
As for picking one or the other; that's a really tough call. If your a fan of the Shelby "mystique" than chances are you won't be happy with anything but the Shelby. Same goes for the SVT gang, which is where my allegiance is. I would have bought my car for the same amount of money for just the SVT name, even if it never had the Shelby name on it. Honestly, I kind of wish it was just an SVT and not a Shelby, it would make moding much easier as I wouldn't have to worry about what you can see and what you can't see and what names are on the parts. A Shelby would look kinda silly with Saleen pedals but that's just my opinion.
If you could care less about all the "Shelby, SVT" stuff and its just a matter of having a car with some balls and nice styling than I think the better bang for the buck is the 11-12 GT. You can make them pretty dam fast pretty dam easily and the fuel economy will help you in your daily commute.

If it were me, I'd be looking for a cheapo 4 cylinder compact to D/D and then buy a Mustang as a weekend car or nice weather car. That way you can factor out MPG as one of your shopping restrictions and get what you really want regardless of gas prices. Lets face it, if you really want a GT500 and get GT instead, your not going to be happy and the car will never satisfy you like a new car should.

 

[iamlightning03]

I would love to get a 2011 GT500, but that may be beyond what my budget will allow. The 2010 may also be beyond the budget... but we will see. I have searched for the 08' and 09' GT500's and think I would prefer the 11' GT over the previous body style. I'm a shift my own gears type of guy so the manual transmission isn't a problem. The gas mileage thing is really the biggest thing holding me back, I doubt insurance would be that bad, and I guess I could get over the lack of comfort package... but in a recent thread people are reporting mileage as bad as 10-12 mpg and claim to be driving like miss daisy. If I could get 16-17mpg city driving easy, and 24-27 highway... I think my mind would be made up.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
my 2010 shelby will do this all day long........easy!

 

[me32]

I never really did the mpg test. is it really that bad when its all stock? I have 373 gears and cai with tb and a cat back. It cant be getting 10mpg can it?

Your only getting that bad at wot. But ur prolly getting 15 in town an about 20-22 on the freeway.

 

[09Troublemaker]

if you can swing it then the 500 wins. with a 4 mile commute you really have no issues with the mpg. having more power with little effort is also a win

 

[JetmechF16]

I guess I wonder what 10' owners are actually seeing in terms of gas mileage, compared to 11'

On paper it seems like you are only losing a couple mile per gallon city and highway...

I see at the very least 15 mpg with all city stop-and-go driving. The mpg calculator is backed up with good ole fashion math when I fill up the tank. On long highway cruises I can get 25+. I drive moderately agressive, but I'm not punching it at every stop light. Hope this helps!

Oh and my '10 has a TVS and a rich tune.