So I was back in Columbus without my 8 for the last two days and i rented a mustang from Hertz. It was only the V6 version but I figured what the heck. Well, here's the breakdown; the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The good; pretty good amount of torque down low (~240), but then again, any car seems to have good torque down low compared the 8. Interior fit and finish were acceptable. Ford did a great job with the exhaust. It sounds pretty mean under WOT even in this measly V6 version.
The bad; The car drives like a boat. It feels heavy and steering response is poor. The hood is high and it makes it hard to see when you approach another car. The automatic transmission is pretty bad too. It seems to be sleeping most of the time and it takes about two seconds to downshift when you floor it. It also seems to have a hard time downshifting into the right gear consistently.
The ugly: the OEM tires on this car are probably the worst that I've ever seen. They emphasize the poor handling and braking characteristics already present. Lastly, I'm 6' tall and have long arms but I had a hard time reaching for the seatbelt. I had to contort myself just to grab hold. It was pretty uncomfortable and frustrating.
Overall, a decent car for the price but not a car that I can live with on a daily basis, especially after getting used to my RX8.

 

Speaking as a Mustang owner I think that is a fair review. I would say that the V6 car showcases all the shortcuts that were taken on the Mustang because you're not intoxicated by the V8. The GT makes up for some of those short comings with it's raw power which is distracting and addictive. Also, tuning the PCM greatly improves the shift characteristics on these cars......it's really night and day.

 

I rented one a little less than a year ago and think your assessment is fair, though I thought the fit and finish was too retro which came off as cheap. And the blind spot over the right shoulder. I thought the RX-8 has a bit of one, but it's nothing compared to the Mustang's. But it did feel sort of like driving a tank--closing the door itself made me think it has to weigh a good 2.5 times more than the 8's.

 

I was seriously looking at the Mustang before I decided on the 8. Glad I went with the Mazda. I never felt really connected to the road in the Mustang, always felt like I had to keep on top of things, didn't feel like I could trust the car when maneuvering at speed. I had to drive it every second, if that makes sense. In contrast, the 8 felt intuitive almost right from the start. Driving was more natural and enjoyable. The 8 feels well-engineered, the Mustang felt "brute forced".

I think you wrote a good review overall; I would have to agree with you on your technical assessment. My impressions were more on the 'gut feel' level.

 

Interesting, I didn't know Hertz rented Mustangs.

 

Hertz is owned by Ford. Why wouldn't they rent Ford cars?

 

Hertz is not owned by Ford anymore. They sold them last year. Plus, haven't any of you heard of a sweet lil' stang called a Shelby GT-H? The H stands for Hertz. Not only can you rent a stang through Hertz but you can drive a particular stang that you can ONLY rent at Hertz.

 

Linky too specific's of the GT-H

Pretty much new intake, exhaust, new final drive, and new suspension...

Woo!! 25 more horses and 10 more torque... Still a boat..

 

hertz rents out a special GT-350 mustang, aka to hertz the "Shelby Mustang GT-H".



EDIT: Damn, Keef beat me to it!

 

Ditto when I rented a mustang as well. What really disappointed me about the interior was the lack of continuity in the design. The shifter and gauge pod had a great retro feel and cool instrumentation font. Then the a/c and radio are parts bin ford that is completely inconsistent with the design of the rest of the interior.

It really throws off the entire interior. The RX8 interior is awesome and completely designed as an entire piece while the Ford was clearly designed by committee inside, 1/2 by designer and 1/2 by accountant...

 

It's that mentality that sets me off. America is filled with money-saving f***ers, and I don't want any money saved on my car. I want what I payed for, a car built for itself, not built by other pieces from other cars.

 

Couldn't agree with you more on the dashboard. The Mustang is pretty much a showcase car for Ford, don't understand why they would skimp on parts like that. See them all over the road too, but not too many 2007s or 2008s... no one wants to keep buying them new for the exact reasons you posted. My little brother actually looked at one and didn't want it for the exact same reasons (he doesn't care about performance).

 

The car is named after the guy Shelby, but they couldn't get enough of him?

Why the hell is his signature on the passenger dashboard, then on the center of the dashboard again???

It doesn't make any sense too me why the car is filled with sooooo much pride but the same pieces as other Ford vehicles... Are they that proud of mass production?

It just drives me crazy (obviously) that when an American needs a faster car the only idea they have is too give it a bigger engine. No lightening, no turning corners fast, no weight reduction.

 

uhhh...C6?

 

They just know that they can half-*** the design and every kid and his grandma will still buy them.

 

What do you know... they did get sold off... anyway from the Hertz site:

 

I say bfd to the Ford Mustang GT-H. Avis rents an Elise. Talk about wheels on rails.

 

I'm not america bashing...Just Mustang bashing. Chrysler does a nice job with their styling on cars like the 300C.

 

x2 on the chrysler 300c...amazing interior....I've been trying to get my mom to get one for a year now.

I've never been impressed with the Mustang. If I wanted raw v8 power I'd get it in something with a little better handling and interior, like the GTO.

 

Whenever I have to rent I take a Mazda 3 if possible or a hyundai. Although if its going to be sunny a convertible mustang or sebring is good.

Makes you wonder why manufacturers don't put some of their better base models in rental fleets.

A coworker of mine had three rentals recently, Chevy Cobalt, Chevy HHR and a Mazda 3. She is older and not much about cars but couldn't believe how much better the Mazda 3 was than the Chevy's "Complete Crap" where her words for the Chevy's. When I showed her she just drove a 14k car from Mazda she was astounded, thought it was worth much more.

Alot of peoples first experience with base model cars comes fromrentals. Why not take the opportunity to show how good a base model can be. Do you think my coworker will think of mazda the next time she or her family goes looking for a car? You betcha.

 

yeah my mom bought her new Lexus when her old one was in the shop, they rented her the car and she loved it. hehe...good news for me and my right foot, it was an IS 300. thats a fun car too, sounds like im going to blow it up when i floor it but still, a fun car.

 

doubtful...it is supposed to be the same basic engine design used for the forced induction Supra. So, take that IS300, slap on some very expensive forced induction, do some brake and suspension work and you have one hell of a car. Of course you would have probably spent nearly 10k to get it there...

forced induction on Lexus IS cars = $$$$$

 

haha agreed. and i seriously doubt my mom will even come close to letting me touch that car modding wise. but im telling you i've been in a lot of different cars while there being floored and i tell you, its the only car i feel like im actually pushing the cars limit when i punch it. its an AT so its really just shifting back into
1st and getting some high revs. sounds almighty, not bad sounding for a 260 HP car or whatever it has.

 

215 hp, 218 lbft

 

Ok, I test drove a rental V6 Mustang today.

Very nice. The power was pleasently surprising. It drove like a boat. It's more wishy washy than my 94Buick Skylark. The steering is tighter but the car still yaws greatly.

So we went down to the dealership to test drive the GT. Did not seem like ir was worth the extra 7 grand. did not feel any faster than my 8.

My 8 flys with the Cobb unit.

What was really disapointing was the suspension. It was only slightly tighter than the V6.

These cars suck. It's nothing like the 2003 Rausch Mustang I test drove.

Next I will have to test drive the Shelby.