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| 2005 Ford Mustang (Photo: Ford of Canada) |
The new coupe though is far more thought out and of higher quality inside. Better plastics and fitment of the interior panels mean you will enjoy squeak and rattle free driving for years instead of months. Even the 99 model left me feeling a lot more like I was on the edge of my seat, whereas the 2005 gives a more relaxed, effortless driving atmosphere. The 4 speaker stereo is adequate, and a premium version is available for those of you who like to share your tunes with others in slow-moving traffic. The real retro looking bits inside the car are the steering wheel and cluster, lifted from a model some 30 years back. Despite all this nostalgic originality, I must note that this was the third time I have seen the exact same dashboard air vents in three weeks. The Mustang, Mazda 3 and Pontiac G6 all use the same part. Interesting, if nothing else.
Staying true to Mustang styling means small rear quarter windows, and wincing as you change lanes because of the large blind-spot. Ford compensates for this with really big rearview mirrors. Styling affects the rear seat room as well. Achieving the shapely rear roofline leaves little headroom in back. The legroom is also poor. It doesn't matter though, this is a coupe, and evaluating a Mustang on its rear seat is about as clever as evaluating it on its off-road ability. In case you want to know, rear passengers sit low, and the seats are comfy, but 2 grown adults sitting in a row is out of the question. Getting in isn't easy either- some coupes, like the Tiburon for instance, have a spring loaded mechanism whereby pulling one lever tilts the seatback and slides it ahead with ease. Access to the Mustangs hindquarters is a bit more demanding. Pull one lever to tilt the back ahead. Then, reach around the front and pull another lever while using both arms to slide the entire assembly forward. The Mustang functions wonderfully as a two seater, and anyone old enough to be a Mustang fan isn't going to fit in the back anyhow.
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| 2005 Ford Mustang (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123.com) |
The trunk would fit a weekends worth of gear in for two people heading out of town- though it isn't overly large.
The new "little" engine is a 4.0 liter V-6 with 210 horsepower and 240 pounds of torque- output which starts approaching that of the old 5.0. The engine note is similar too-deep and burbly with a bit of belt whine adding anticipation as you explore the higher RPM's. The other familiar part of the engine has to do with its character. The new V6 bellows, bucks, and otherwise makes quite a bit of mechanical clatter as you let up the clutch off the line. Wind it out and it makes a loud crashing sound between gears. It sounds frightening until you get used to it- I think it was meant to resemble the sound the big
V8 engines make as they snort between gears, but it doesn't quite pull it off. The power comes on just off idle and properly sets you into your seat- you won't find it underpowered. The engine gets a touch winded at higher revs, but this "baby Stang" actually really boots! It accelerated in a manner which I thought was very similar to the old "five-point-oh". A little research finds the quarter-mile times between the two are within tenths of a second of each other. A healthy 5.0 would have eaten an older V6 model for lunch, but would have a bit of a challenge in shaking this new one.
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| 2005 Ford Mustang (Photo: Ford of Canada) |
Mustangs didn't have the smoothest shifters. Call me a wimp, but even this strong young man had a tired right arm after a few minutes of shifting in the older cars. This new one is smoother, but still holds on to the tight, overly solid feel. The clutch is also heavy and took some getting used to. Thing is though, without this roughness and sort of set-in-stone feel to the gear lever as well as the extra noise and protesting from the engine, this car would hardly feel its part. Certainly, Ford could have specified a smoother clutch and shifter, some more sound deadening and a quieter muffler, but then it wouldn't feel like a Mustang.
