I used to have a love affair with American muscle cars of the 1960's. I have always been interested in small, cheap and overpowered cars for the emotions they can provide. Around the time I was getting my driver's license, I actually bought an old Chilton's manual thinking I was going to teach myself how to maintain such a car. I was scouring the want ads and going to car shows, looking for my 30 year old cream puff. After driving a 95 maxima for years, I kind of fell out of love with the old Detroit iron. Sure, I could have a somewhat faster, more invigorating car, but I just didn't feel like doing the maintenance. I was also turned off back then by the lousy build quality of the GM F-body cars. The 90's Camaro was fast, but boy was it a klunker! I also tried a 1996 GT mustang, but found it less invigorating to drive than my old Maxima. I tried a 1996 Cobra, and that was one hell of a ride, but it was out of my price range especially as insurance was concerned. Getting involved with many trips to Italy, I pretty much forgot about this type of car and learned about the european versions of the "pocket rocket" or muscle cars and went on with the rest of my life attracted to those rally rockets instead.
When I finally gave in my tired old Maxima for my turbo forester, I became very curious as to how the Mustang had grown and finally went to a test drive around the time that the 2005 redesign arrived in showrooms. I was curious how the 90's mustang I used to love so much had grown and now that I had driven lots of different cars in different continents if the V-8 was as lusty as I remembered it. The salesman was happy to give me a 2004 5-speed Mustang GT with 8,000 miles on the tach for a test drive no questions and without chaperone. I was able to take it from city to suburb, from country road to highway and experienced some bumpy terrain to test the mettle of the suspension as well.
To be completely honest, I wasn't serious about purchasing one. The most important factor for me is reliability given the demanding nature of my job and how important it is that I get there. "My rustang broke again" would be a poor excuse for not getting to work, as would "My sports car got stuck in the snow". To be fair to the ol' rustang, given its dated design the reliability has crept up over the years. It made it from Consumer Reports' top 10 unreliable cars of the 1990's along with the Camaro, Corvette, S-10, Jeeps and other jaloppies America seems to be so good at turning out to an overall average car. For Ford, this is quite an achievement. The V-8 mustangs have always been a bit less reliable, but I wonder if that has to do with how hard they may be driven. Still, I am skeptical of detroit. I know every once in a while they make a car that's not a piece of junk, and I am not prejudiced against them. Unfortunately, I have been reading a string of articles in reputable papers such as The Wall Street Journal and The Investor's Business Daily that GM and Ford are having increasing difficulty with quality due to sagging profits which is becoming a self fulfilling prophecy tantamount to circling down the drain. Skepticism aside, I wasn't going to let anything ruin my enjoyment of some serious V-8 action.
On starting the car, the motor comes to life with a pleasing but pleasantly muted rumble. It's fun to rev the motor just a tad while maneuvering out of a the parking spot. Even though the Camaro in its best state of tune could probably blow away all except the 390hp Cobra R, I always thought that GM's 350 never sounded as good as any of the Ford V-8's either the 4.6 or the old 5.0. This is one of the most striking features of the car and for many is a main reason for buying the car. Unfortunately, it was also one of the only things I liked about the car.
Despite having 260hp and 306ft pounds of torque, this V-8 didn't seem to have a lot of low down urge. Granted you could climb steep hills at 1500RPM and not need to give it much gas, but giving it more gas didn't neccessarily give you a torquey shove in the back you would expect from a motor of this displacement. Strangely enough, you have to rev this motor a lot, almost like a V-tec, in order to get the most out of the powerband which is terribly out of character with the car. I think that this has been exacerbated by excessively tall gears, but it really ruins the overall driving feel. Although this car has been clocked at 0-60 well into the 5's and a 1/4 mile well into the 14's, it feels about a second slower than that which is very unfortunate because power is this car's only truly strong card. When I first came to America in the 80's I used to think Fox body Mustangs were for rednecks and I was very enthusiastic of this more cosmopolitan appearing body style. I couldn't believe what I was hearing when people were lamenting the death of the 5.0, and I was wrong. Now I know what I mean by "disappointing low end torque"! Although I never tried a 5.0 mustang, I have driven the F-150 as well as the Crown Victoria's from both the 4.6 and 5.0 eras and I must say that criticism holds across the board. For 1999 when this model came out with this level of HP I might have been impressed. For 2004 when this car was made, all sorts of cars in its price range are nipping at its heels and yet offer so much more. 20 years ago the Mustang 5.0s weren't much slower than this car. Granted, I should probably consider the 305hp Cobra as the standard-bearer, but when turbocharged 4-cylinders give you more shove in the back than a Mustang V-8, it seems as though the world is upside down, or at least that this car is completely out of date. Perhaps the Mach 1 version with shorter gears gives more thrills and chills, but this one fails to snap necks and for me it is a mortal flaw!
The transmission is another sore spot, plain and simple. The secure, solid gear engagements are borderline fun, and the strangely shaped shifter even adds a touch of character. It's the same shifter that's been there since 1979, but its departure from the norm reminds one of the muscle car era of the 1960's when shifters assumed all different shapes and sizes which is in character with the car. Unfortunately, its throws are too long for a car that might have been designed to be run on a drag strip where quick shifts are a must. Furthermore, the clutch is INSANELY heavy, which is completely unacceptable. I have driven 300ft lb cars like the Impreza STI or the Mitsubishi 3000GT where the clutch is nowhere near as heavy, and there is no excuse for this comparatively sedate V-8 to require such effort. As a matter of fact, I don't remember the Dodge Viper's clutch, which has to bear almost another 200 ft pounds of torque being this heavy!
Handling wise its nothing special but as tired as this steed is, there are a few tricks up its sleeve. I have read reviews that bemoan the numb steering or high level of understeer, but that's the point with this type of car. Although the V-8 is a tad lazy for what you expect, when cornering hard you need to get on the power early and often. This car is too heavy, numb and clumsy to give a good feeling in the twisties, but impresses with a very neutral "on power" sensation in mid speed sweepers. Trying to take the most optimistic route possible, this car might have been made for a more relaxed and american driving style. Unlike some more fun to drive pocket rockets from Europe or Japan, this car will not hypnotise you into some psychotic trance where you have to pass everything in sight and powerslide every corner. This car might like to be driven down the main drag in some midwestern town with your girl in the car to grab a milkshake. If you take it down a few notches and yet give it lots of throttle early on, both your ears and butt will be impressed at the netural cornering symphony this old steed can perform. I guess I am damning the car with faint praise, but it's rare to find a car where you can have fun driving at 6/10's by pivoting the rear end with just enough power oversteer to keep it neutral but not risking power-pirhouettes at speed. People do complain about the live rear axle bouncing around, but I found it relatively tame to some pickups with very light rear ends. It does bounce more than a 2004 car should but if you compare it to a Chevy S-10 or a Tacoma, the Mustang feels like a tamer steed indeed. The ride is also slightly jarring, but I would better hope it is. One wouln't want their sports car to be floaty and airy like a boat, no?
Aside from a few performance attributes, the rest of the vehicle isn't that good at all. People have commented on how bad the driving position is, and believe me, I am very tall and feel it's horrible. As bad is it is though, the 2004's sit much better and more comfortably than the 94-98's, trust me on this one. Overall seat comfort is also lacking which takes away from its ability to boulevard cruise. In Ford corporate style, the interior is that from Ford F-150's of 10 years ago, but in its defense remains ergonomic, relatively easy to use and not fragile like that of its GM Camaro competition. The gauges are also not that difficult to read either, at least for an American car. From a practical standpoint, there is little to recommend this vehicle. There is very little room in the back seat, and the trunk would be none too useful which for me is of great disappointment. Although this is an overpowered small car, it has more negative small car attributes than most small cars and yet drives like a big one without ever feeling overpowered. If this is the original Fox body from 1978, how did the 1979 5.0 V-8 mustang grow from about 2600 pounds to this bloated nag?
Speaking of feeling overweight, it is this attribute that also takes away from its road manners and driving pleasure, especially at speed. Driving this car along the straight infinity of the American midwest is one thing, but trying to drive this car hard in a more urban area becomes a chore. When I say I want a performance car, it means I want to be able to derive certain emotions from pushing it hard around varying conditions. The numerous blind spots, numb steering and feeling of mass take away greatly from my confidence to push it hard or even pass cars in traffic for that matter. I don't street race or do anything too crazy, but I do have a more "european" driving style and would like to be able to make short work of the lazy american traffic as easily as possible. Unfortunately, this car's road manners don't give me that kind of confidence to drive it how I would like to, and since I live in a more congested area without diner lined boulevards, farmland or milk shakes it is an issue I am not willing to forgive.
This car is badly in need of a redesign. It is sports car that is below average in many categories and none too striking in performance either. If you are really into speed, the Neon SRT-4 undercuts it in price, can run rings around it, and it gives you a useable back seat and a trunk. Subaru now makes a host of turbo cars which are far more reliable, rugged and streetable. The WRX of the day with its 2.0 also suffered from poor low-end power, tall gears and lag but gives a far more practical, comfortable and better handling package that responds better to hard driving. Even my unstylish forester XT is a mommy-mobile that is more practical, handles all seasons, is far cheaper to insure and can also out-accelerate the Mustang through the entire 1/4 mile. There are also a host of ~250 HP family sedans such as the Accord or Altima V-6 which aren't quite as fun to drive, but make losing by a couple car lengths in the quarter mile very palatable given their excellent reliability and better road manners.
I really wanted to like this car, honest! Granted, I think this car is still more fun to drive than say a 4-cylinder automatic Camry, but for the money no longer represents a good performance value. I would have given it maybe 3 1/2 stars if I had tried it in 1999, but I think that the GT needed to have 260hp starting in 1996. Now, it can't even compete for the performance thoroughbred in its price range. It's a decidedly below average vehicle whose main performance attribute is being eclipsed and overshadowed by more and more competitors. At least its still faster than anything Korean!
***********************************************************
As a footnote, I just want to put out there that I am on this website to improove my formerly languishing writing skills and above all, to have fun. I know that negative reviews of the Mustang attract a lot of negative comments, but I wanted to practice writing about something controversial while trying to be as balanced as possible. If you disagree, by all means, please tell me where I made my mistake. I am here to have fun and to learn and would like to hear your comments if you have something to teach me. If after reading my review and thus my request to be civil you still are unable to conjure the brain power, maturity and self control to write somthing productive, I don't want to hear about it.
Thanks in advance
B
Amount Paid (US$): 18000
Condition: Used
Model Year: 2004
Model and Options: GT 5 speed manual
