Driving impression on the 05 GT

[SlowSVT]

I drove a new 05 Mustang GT the other day. All I can say is that I was not impressed. I guess it’s not a fair comparison coming from an 04 Cobra owner. Man that car felt real “soft” when I hammered on the engine and was sawing through the gear box. I even had a BMW challenge me coming out of a stop light and I could not shake him. In the Cobra he would have been just a memory after 2nd gear. The seats were not nearly as nice as my Cobra. I think my Cobra handles better but then again I have much better rubber then what was on this car

What I did like was the body felt very solid but no more then my 04 with the Hans sub-frame connectors. The shifter was smoother but that is about it.

Then I let my friend who's girlfriend owns the 05 drive my Cobra. He took it out on the 73 freeway and was doing 140 mph in a blink of an eye and was completely ecstatic about how strong that car pulls. He said the 05 got real squirly after 120 mph and didn’t much care for it. After driving my 04 his outlook on the 05 has completely changed :nonono:

Man I really glad I sprung for the 04 Cobra before they were all gone. The new retro body style does nothing for me and the performance was rather bland (I would rather own a fox body stang then the new one). My hope is that Ford re-designs the body style to reflect the 21st century rather then a 1967 automobile. EEK gads what were they thinking

 

[jpk]

Let's see how you feel after the GT500 comes out.

 

[SlowSVT]

Let's see how you feel after the GT500 comes out.

I'm sure the GT500 will be a diffrent animal. But I was more impressed with the 89 GT I drove compared to the 05. That car has a way more positive feel then the new one. As far as they styling goes, the GT500 needs a new set of duds. I would rather keep my o4 and upgrade the engine rather then spend all that money for that retro look car.

 

[Stevenbekah]

Interesting point to note as I did NOT see any mods in your sig so I'm not sure what's been done to your motor...however, stock for stock, our cobras are only .5 seconds faster 0-60...best times I've found through legitimate testing has been 4.5 and 5.0 seconds. So, stock for stock it shouldn't feel that different. Certainly the cobra has more up top so yeah, I'm sure it romps in 3rd and 4th gears

And hey, I'm with you regarding styling. It's funny actually, at first, I was so excited about the new stangs. But what's ruining it for me is all this BODY CLADDING SH!T that everyone seems to put on it. Hey this, is an opinionated forum so I'm sharing mine but damn that crap looks aweful to me. I drive by my Ford dealership here and they always seem to have some 05 out there with a fake Elanor kit on it or at least half of their 05's with 20" chrome wheels (that are way to friggin' narrow and AREN'T staggered!).

I think this whole body kit/dubs thing is ruining the MUSCLE part of our cars!

 

[ShelbyGuy]

just wait until the aftermarket catches up.

a more likely scenario is the car is more quiet so you dont think you're going as fast. in reality, you are going nearly as fast as your cobra.

 

[FireRed04Vert]

I drove a new 05 Mustang GT the other day. All I can say is that I was not impressed. I guess it’s not a fair comparison coming from an 04 Cobra owner. Man that car felt real “soft” when I hammered on the engine and was sawing through the gear box. I even had a BMW challenge me coming out of a stop light and I could not shake him. In the Cobra he would have been just a memory after 2nd gear. The seats were not nearly as nice as my Cobra. I think my Cobra handles better but then again I have much better rubber then what was on this car

What I did like was the body felt very solid but no more then my 04 with the Hans sub-frame connectors. The shifter was smoother but that is about it.

Then I let my friend who's girlfriend owns the 05 drive my Cobra. He took it out on the 73 freeway and was doing 140 mph in a blink of an eye and was completely ecstatic about how strong that car pulls. He said the 05 got real squirly after 120 mph and didn’t much care for it. After driving my 04 his outlook on the 05 has completely changed :nonono:

Man I really glad I sprung for the 04 Cobra before they were all gone. The new retro body style does nothing for me and the performance was rather bland (I would rather own a fox body stang then the new one). My hope is that Ford re-designs the body style to reflect the 21st century rather then a 1967 automobile. EEK gads what were they thinking

Obviously, America doesn't agree with you. The new GT is basically sold out, sales will be up 70% over last year, and you are going to have to wait until 06 if you want to order one. Pretty impressive sales stats.

I can't imagine anyone not realizing how nice and tight the new body is compared to the 04 and earlier. There's just no comparison. As to being softer? I would hope so! You're comparing apples to oranges. When the new GT500 comes out, then you can make a comparison.

Shelby is correct...the 05 GT is quick. Not as quick as an 04 Cobra...but a lot closer than the 04 GT was. Ford hit a home run with this one. Like the boys in Hot Rod said....they can't imagine why anyone in the world would buy a new GTO when they could have this car. It's nearly as quick as a GTO, is a nicer all around car, and is thousands less.

 

[CobraBob]

The '05 might "feel" slower because of its size, quieter cabin, and suspension. The exhaust should about the same loudness as the stock Terminator. I just can't get excited about the upcoming GT500. My first impression of any 2005 Mustang is that it just looks bloated. The Terminator is nicer IMO.

 

[SlowSVT]

Stevenbekah

Yes, I should have noted my Cobra has a JLT CAI and a Magnaflow cat back.

Like I said, it's not a fair comparison between the 05 GT and an 04 Cobra. Like any car it can be improved with aftermarket parts.

I was just somewhat disappointed in the lack of punch that GT had. One reason maybe because if the computer controlled throttle body. My understanding is a stock 05 will dyno at about 270 rwhp though it didn't feel like it. I drove a box stock 99 Z28 with a slush box tranny that felt like it would easily walk that 05. That car left me smiling, this one didn't.

I imagine some of the reason Ford is selling so many of the new Mustangs is because it's "new", has the nostalgic look of a 67 and it's the only real American Muscle car available except for the GTO which won't win any styling awards.

 

[Romans8:28]

Shelby is correct...the 05 GT is quick. Not as quick as an 04 Cobra...but a lot closer than the 04 GT was. Ford hit a home run with this one. Like the boys in Hot Rod said....they can't imagine why anyone in the world would buy a new GTO when they could have this car. It's nearly as quick as a GTO, is a nicer all around car, and is thousands less.

The best case average for the 05 GT is what 13.7 or 13.8 @ 101/100 mph through the qtr? ("real life" tracks = usually 3 thenths higher) compared to what 14.0-14.3 @ 97-99mph for the 04 GT?........

compare this to 12.7 or 12.8 @ 111/109 for the 03/04 Cobra and 13.0 @ 107 for the 05 GT and the 05 Mustang GT is found lacking.

For the money (at the moment anyway) the GTO is a MUCH better bargin than the 05 GT. The mustang is selling at 3-7K over MSRP in many cases while the GTO is significantly under it's MSRP. When the price is approximately 29K for either car, I would most likely buy the GTO assuming performance was my cup of tea.

The most disappointing thing to me about the 05 Mustang is its lack of pull at higher speeds, it's a dud in the top of third and all of 4th IMO.....

Line up a Terminator against a 05 in a race to say 140 mph (or higher) and the GT is gonna get spanked with extreme predjudice.

 

[Emil]

I think the '05 gets it's good 1/4 mile speed by hooking up real well and having some great lower gears just like the Evo's and Sti's. They recognized that there is more to acceleration than just brute power. So when you're not launching it real hard and just driving around and stepping on it from a roll the Cobra will feel much stronger because it is. This is evidenced by the guys that drop in solid rear ends and can get into the 11's.
I do like the '05's though .

 

[Juiced-03]

Obviously, America doesn't agree with you. The new GT is basically sold out, sales will be up 70% over last year, and you are going to have to wait until 06 if you want to order one. Pretty impressive sales stats.

I can't imagine anyone not realizing how nice and tight the new body is compared to the 04 and earlier. There's just no comparison. As to being softer? I would hope so! You're comparing apples to oranges. When the new GT500 comes out, then you can make a comparison.

Shelby is correct...the 05 GT is quick. Not as quick as an 04 Cobra...but a lot closer than the 04 GT was. Ford hit a home run with this one. Like the boys in Hot Rod said....they can't imagine why anyone in the world would buy a new GTO when they could have this car. It's nearly as quick as a GTO, is a nicer all around car, and is thousands less.

Well I must not be American because I agree with him too. It's ugly, still slow, and UGLY. I can see how people who lived in the old Mustang days would appreciate the '05, but I must have been born too late because I just cannot appreciate it. Seriously, I think the GT500 is hideous and my '03 Cobra will probably be the last new mustang I ever buy. My next mustang will probably be a 94-95 Cobra.

 

[lachj1]

I couldn't have said it any better Juiced -03. For me, i feel that I have the last Mustang that I will ever buy. If Gm comes out with a cool looking camaro with a comparable motor to the cobra, I'll never llok back to the new retro mustang.

 

[pj_rage]

Interesting point to note as I did NOT see any mods in your sig so I'm not sure what's been done to your motor...however, stock for stock, our cobras are only .5 seconds faster 0-60...best times I've found through legitimate testing has been 4.5 and 5.0 seconds. So, stock for stock it shouldn't feel that different. Certainly the cobra has more up top so yeah, I'm sure it romps in 3rd and 4th gears

And hey, I'm with you regarding styling. It's funny actually, at first, I was so excited about the new stangs. But what's ruining it for me is all this BODY CLADDING SH!T that everyone seems to put on it. Hey this, is an opinionated forum so I'm sharing mine but damn that crap looks aweful to me. I drive by my Ford dealership here and they always seem to have some 05 out there with a fake Elanor kit on it or at least half of their 05's with 20" chrome wheels (that are way to friggin' narrow and AREN'T staggered!).

I think this whole body kit/dubs thing is ruining the MUSCLE part of our cars!

I agree with you. I thought I loved the car at first, but what has ruined it more than anything (for me) is that there is an INSANE, and I do mean INSANE amount of V6s out there (and many times, chicks driving them). No exaggerating, from driving around, I have seen a total of about 50+ different 05 stangs. Not more than 5 of them were GTs. I'm not even sure I have seen 5 different ones, but I'm trying not to exaggerate. Don't get me wrong, nothing is better than a chick that is into cars, but these girls get them because they are "cute" not because they are into american muscle. In my eyes, the 05s have been turned into "chick cars." :nonono:

 

[Emil]

That's all I see too are V6's with the lame stripes. When they first came out I saw a few GT's but now it's a rarity.

 

[MachGT]

It's the computer management of the 05 stangs that really holds them back. Some tuning really wakes them up.

The drive by wire and torque modulation don't let the throttle blade open fully at wot

 

[hydroshutter]

I drove a new 05 Mustang GT the other day. All I can say is that I was not impressed. I guess it’s not a fair comparison coming from an 04 Cobra owner. Man that car felt real “soft” when I hammered on the engine and was sawing through the gear box. I even had a BMW challenge me coming out of a stop light and I could not shake him. In the Cobra he would have been just a memory after 2nd gear. The seats were not nearly as nice as my Cobra. I think my Cobra handles better but then again I have much better rubber then what was on this car

What I did like was the body felt very solid but no more then my 04 with the Hans sub-frame connectors. The shifter was smoother but that is about it.

Then I let my friend who's girlfriend owns the 05 drive my Cobra. He took it out on the 73 freeway and was doing 140 mph in a blink of an eye and was completely ecstatic about how strong that car pulls. He said the 05 got real squirly after 120 mph and didn’t much care for it. After driving my 04 his outlook on the 05 has completely changed :nonono:

Man I really glad I sprung for the 04 Cobra before they were all gone. The new retro body style does nothing for me and the performance was rather bland (I would rather own a fox body stang then the new one). My hope is that Ford re-designs the body style to reflect the 21st century rather then a 1967 automobile. EEK gads what were they thinking

FINALLY!!! Someone who shares my same opinion! :thumbsup:

 

[Madhouse]

Well, I like mine.

 

[philthy]

I cant believe that you guys are compairing a SVT car to a regular GT! The 03/04 cobra's are nearly 100hp more than the 05 GT's. I have an 05 roush and it's not the fastest car out there, but damn pretty and the 1k I spent in mods (off road X pipe, Roush axel back, C&L CIA and predator w/custome tune) I got more seat of the pants feel then I did with 7k $ in mods to my C5.

 

[SlowSVT]

philthy

I did state that is was an unfair comparison. The post was really not directed at comparing the two. I guess I was expecting a little more from the car. Having that BMW knocking at my back door was rather embarrassing. I think all the car needs is a few mods and the situation will improve. The GT500 is gunna be a monster.

 

[M SIX]

Just another cobra owner who had to remind everyone that his car is better than a stock GT mustang. Hey, thanks for the road test champ. :thumbsup: