On a whim I hired a 6-month old Ford Mustang this week-end. A full-fat GT with the V8. I have to say it was better than I expected in nearly all departments.
Performance. Way quicker than I thought, given it's size and apparent weight. Indeed, genuinely scary at times. Backed up by superb Brembo brakes that could really stop the car well.
Comfort. Easy to get a comfortable driving position, and the suspension too was more forgiving than I thought it would be.
Economy. Over 300 miles which included testing the performance, the computer said I averaged 22 mpg, which I thought was very good for the performance it gave.
Road-holding. Again, better than I was expecting given stereotypical stories one reads about American cars only being good in a straight line. High speed motorway slip roads were dispatched with great confidence.
Interior/ergonomics. This is the one area that needs a lot of work. I was expecting sub-grade plastics (and indeed would accept them given the price of the car), but the impressive touch-screen Synch head unit was a jumble of touch-screen buttons with no coherence and the mechanism for folding the seat backs to enable access to the rear required the seats to be re-set every time, which was a pain.
But overall I was impressed. The car had real character not seen in the more expensive German competition and it's effortless performance and comfort make it a fine GT car, rather than a nimble sports car. I liked it!
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Tasty-looking motor. Available in right-hand drive too:
"Comes with Line Lock which fully applies the front brakes while allowing the rear tyres to spin up under power, letting you achieve smoky burnouts" :)
"There’s currently a 12-month waiting list from the factory and speculators are offering lightly used cars with a £10k premium over list price to take advantage of the model’s popularity".
www.autoexpress.co.uk/Ford/Mustang
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Where did you hire it from please? My nephew, based at Brize who bought my 330 a few months ago, is getting married in January and my brother has mentioned hiring one as the wedding limo.
Was it hard or soft you?
Previous Stangs I have rented in the States were underwhelming, but they were the older models with the 4.0 V6 so mitigating circumstances. Got a spanking new black one a few years ago from Avis in Boston when I took the ex on a leaf peeping tour up to Bar Harbour & back. And prior to that a red one from SF when we cruised the Pacific Highway south then returned inland to stay with friends near Tahoe.
Couldn't see myself owning one in the UK though, but a lovely self indulgent pressie for a few days
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A colleague and I hired a Mustang for a few days while working across the pond in the 60s. It was a most enjoyable experience.
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I tuned and road tested more-than a few Yankee motors in the previous century including Mustangs/Firebirds/Camaros/Impalas/Stingrays etc. etc. etc.
Few of them floated my boat tbh - nice to look at though.
5 series BMW is more my cup o' tea really, yeah.
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Yes please. M5 Touring for me, just as long as somebody else is fueling it, paying the insurance. And buying it!
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>> Where did you hire it from please?
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hireacamaro.co.uk
As the name suggests, they have left hand drive Camaros for hire too. A fairly small operation based in Rawreth, just south of Chelmsford in Essex. I think they just have the one right hand drive UK-spec. Mustang at the moment, but it looks the part in red with black stripes and black wheels :-)
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Many thanks for the info Boxsterboy. Too far from W Yorks to be viable but good to know
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Ford Mustang - Mustang 2016 - Dog
