I was fortunate enough to get a hold of an R a couple weeks ago. I have had it out for a couple of short drives but wanted to wait until I got a break in (per the manual) on it before taking it much more than 3500 RPM. Yesterday my friend with his non-R and I took a canyon drive for about an hour or so. After owning a '13 GT500 with plenty of mods (including a fabulous suspension via VAN) I was a bit worried if I would truly love this car as much. Main thing to know is that they are apples and bananas for types of car in the first place even though both are Apex Predators in the Mustang stable.
Driving comparisons:
Overall Refinement: '16 R is light years above the '13, and the '13 was good.
Fit and finish: '16 as expected because it is newer. But the general sounds of closing the doors are tighter and the finishes are really finished inside. Maybe I would have done some more with the doors but in the interest of weight, it is good.
Visibility: '16 can sit you at any place you want within the car (recaros of course) and the way the hoodline is set, you can spot your marks into corners. Big improvement over the big s/c bulging hood. (although I liked that feeling of knowing there was a blender on steroids whining away in there.)
Driving: The overall drive is much more compliant in the '16, even in Sport damping. (Thank you IRS & Magneride) When those reviewers say the car stays planted it is true. You never feel like the car will get away from you. We drove on real roads, with weather cracks, pebbles, grooves, bumps of all kind. The R just goes smoothly over them. My 13 was good and it felt tight, but as many of you know, it was twitchy and liked to cha-cha a bit on real roads in corners that made you feel just a hair uneasy at times, even when not even pushing it. While following my friend and watching the rear of his car, by looking at the plane of his Track Pack wing it was truly amazing. It just stayed level while the wheels soaked it all up. By comparison I was behind a couple of regular cars watching them bumping all over the place.
Cornering: R just keeps carving and wanting you to push it harder. I did not really push it as we were staying close to the legal limits, but the fun factor as you go into corners and how flat is remains is unbelievable. As I said the '13 was fun in corners but you just felt you were getting near the limit. The R... Im not sure I will find the limit unless on the track. And even then. Makes you feel really comfortable while having fun.
Acceleration: Okay, there is NO comparison to the "getting hit in the back of the head" thrust of the boosted Trinity on DR's. I mean come on really. However, what is said about the VooDoo is very true. Once you get to the happy place of 4k and your are foot in it, that thing pulls and pulls nicely. I got it to 7k and it just keeps wanting to go higher! It is absolutely nuts! The difference is just the boosted torque down low. Also with all that "on demand" power of the s/c becomes the "getting it to the ground" and at times a bit on the edge as even the DR's are struggling to hold the pavement. Bottom line, I do miss the straightline a bit. But I really like this different power band. Much more applicable to track.
Exhaust: Again, what they say about the exhaust of the R (and even my friends non-R) is that it is intoxicatingly fun to drive. I had my windows down and NO Radio on for over an hour and I could have done that for another 5 hours because the sound is just unbelievable. It is so different than anything you have heard. My '13 had a O/R H per VAN and I Loooooved that sound (so did my mom and my aunt who lived in the muscle car era with my dad) But the sound of the R (without the resonators compared to the non-R) is absolutely phenomenal. I don't have any desire to change it.
Final view: I truly loved my '13 and thought I would never part with it and it was hard. But I can honestly say that this R is that much better and that much MORE fun to drive. And because of the low gearing and the exhaust, you don't even need to go over the speed limit to have a blast. I know that I am very fortunate to get my hands on an R, so this may not apply to many. However, we all know the non-R is just about the same in either case, they are just flat out awesome cars and moreover, just a blast to drive and drive a lot!
Enjoy! And stay safe!
Driving comparisons:
Overall Refinement: '16 R is light years above the '13, and the '13 was good.
Fit and finish: '16 as expected because it is newer. But the general sounds of closing the doors are tighter and the finishes are really finished inside. Maybe I would have done some more with the doors but in the interest of weight, it is good.
Visibility: '16 can sit you at any place you want within the car (recaros of course) and the way the hoodline is set, you can spot your marks into corners. Big improvement over the big s/c bulging hood. (although I liked that feeling of knowing there was a blender on steroids whining away in there.)
Driving: The overall drive is much more compliant in the '16, even in Sport damping. (Thank you IRS & Magneride) When those reviewers say the car stays planted it is true. You never feel like the car will get away from you. We drove on real roads, with weather cracks, pebbles, grooves, bumps of all kind. The R just goes smoothly over them. My 13 was good and it felt tight, but as many of you know, it was twitchy and liked to cha-cha a bit on real roads in corners that made you feel just a hair uneasy at times, even when not even pushing it. While following my friend and watching the rear of his car, by looking at the plane of his Track Pack wing it was truly amazing. It just stayed level while the wheels soaked it all up. By comparison I was behind a couple of regular cars watching them bumping all over the place.
Cornering: R just keeps carving and wanting you to push it harder. I did not really push it as we were staying close to the legal limits, but the fun factor as you go into corners and how flat is remains is unbelievable. As I said the '13 was fun in corners but you just felt you were getting near the limit. The R... Im not sure I will find the limit unless on the track. And even then. Makes you feel really comfortable while having fun.
Acceleration: Okay, there is NO comparison to the "getting hit in the back of the head" thrust of the boosted Trinity on DR's. I mean come on really. However, what is said about the VooDoo is very true. Once you get to the happy place of 4k and your are foot in it, that thing pulls and pulls nicely. I got it to 7k and it just keeps wanting to go higher! It is absolutely nuts! The difference is just the boosted torque down low. Also with all that "on demand" power of the s/c becomes the "getting it to the ground" and at times a bit on the edge as even the DR's are struggling to hold the pavement. Bottom line, I do miss the straightline a bit. But I really like this different power band. Much more applicable to track.
Exhaust: Again, what they say about the exhaust of the R (and even my friends non-R) is that it is intoxicatingly fun to drive. I had my windows down and NO Radio on for over an hour and I could have done that for another 5 hours because the sound is just unbelievable. It is so different than anything you have heard. My '13 had a O/R H per VAN and I Loooooved that sound (so did my mom and my aunt who lived in the muscle car era with my dad) But the sound of the R (without the resonators compared to the non-R) is absolutely phenomenal. I don't have any desire to change it.
Final view: I truly loved my '13 and thought I would never part with it and it was hard. But I can honestly say that this R is that much better and that much MORE fun to drive. And because of the low gearing and the exhaust, you don't even need to go over the speed limit to have a blast. I know that I am very fortunate to get my hands on an R, so this may not apply to many. However, we all know the non-R is just about the same in either case, they are just flat out awesome cars and moreover, just a blast to drive and drive a lot!
Enjoy! And stay safe!
