A Mediocre Car Ruined By a Lazy Engine

So, I finally got to ride in the new generation, 2011 Ford Mustang. There has been a lot of hype about Ford's new-found solidity and build quality, especially in their new Mustang. Now this being their flagship model, I was quite excited when I first sat my tuchus into the deeply bolstered seat. It was not terribly comfortable at first, but once I got all of the settings adjusted just right, the seat was surprisingly comfortable and supportive.



The interior looked splendid; however, it also looked old-fashioned. The materials used for the dash were soft to the touch and the seats were made of a comfortable, seemingly durable fabric.

But unfortunately, that's where the good points sort of end. The seats felt cheap. And it wasn't only the actual seat, but the mechanism under the seat as well. Even in my example with less than 1000 miles on the odometer, the mechanical aspects of the seat were sticky, non-greased, and all-around difficult to move. On top of that, after feeling the dash's relatively soft-touch materials, I enthusiastically knocked my knuckle against the dash. Oh dear...hollow - not solid in the slightest. On top of this, the door handles felt cheap and breakable.


And I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet. The all new, "high-tech" 3.7L V6 in the sampled Mustang, which produces 305 HP, is supposed to be one of the smoothest, most responsive engines ever fitted to a Ford Mustang. So, needless to say, I was very excited to try it out. Well, all I can say is LAZY. They might as well have fitted the old 4.6L V8 under the hood. It felt exactly the same: lazy, tired, slow. Now I don't mean to say the car felt slow. There is plenty of "get up and go." But the engine lacks the responsiveness that makes a good car into a driver's car. Any venturing past 4000 RPM is punished with the seeming sound of breaking engine parts and the unrefined exhaust note of a muscle car. Even a modern Honda Accord V6 has a more responsive engine than the Mustang.

Tip to Ford: If the Mustang is intended as a sports car, give it a sports car engine.