Anyone replace their euro sports car with a GT350?

[Dmk08]

No - it's a tossup at best. The car irritates me every time I look at it and excites me every time I drive it.

On the first one, I had no reason to expect that more than half the car would need to be repainted. Ford's quality control on the GT 350 is a problem. Every 2016 Mustang that's come into the dealer has had better paint and fit and finish than any of the GT 350s he's received. That's just odd. I really thought that over the course of the three months between the cars that the quality would have improved much more than it did - especially since Ford was involved in prioritizing the replacement.

My expectation is that the GT 350 should have at least equal-to-Kia-quality paint. This is not a $10K Kia Rio, and runs, drips, dirt, bare spots, scratches, burst paint bubbles, misaligned panels that rub on each other and window weather stripping that's twisted 180 degrees before a window was installed are totally unacceptable at any price point. You just don't see these things from other makes - a few problems, sure - but not all on one car.

Pardon me - I have to go make an open-exhaust run through the country now. :love:

Damn this disheartening. This is my main concern about going from a "luxury" sports car to a mustang. (no offense meant). Ill make sure to look at the quality of the showroom 16 they have as I go to put my order in tomorrow. My M has been solid inside and out no dealer trips in 2 years.

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[Spectre]

At this point, if you get the GT350, and it doesn't do it for you, there's nothing under $100k new that will satisfy you. You've compromised 3 times so far, twice on the same car. I think what you want and what you're willing to spend is not matching up.

You nailed it. baege also posts on planet-9.com, seems like a nice guy. But his car-switching tendencies borders on pathological (he had a thread there not too long ago asking about used Gallardos).

B, GT350 should be an awesome car by all accounts, but I'm willing to bet that even if passes your initial impressions (unlike the C7), you'll get bored of it as you have your other cars.

I think you need to invest in one of those track or road drives with an exotic car club that lets you take different cars out whenever you want. Not cheap, but likely a lot less expensive than what you'd otherwise do.

 

[Spectre]

My friend has a GT4 and he said it's very boring on the street because it'll do about 90mph in 2nd gear..

Isn't the GT350 also geared relatively long like that?

 

[Nazaar33]

My Gtr is a 14 also...but I like to keep.
This is my second Gtr had a 2010 also.
They are great cars...for sure.

Same here...except mine is a 2009 GTR. I will be keeping it… As I thoroughly enjoyed the car and taking it to the track. However I know the GT 350 will provide a much more visceral feeling and I'm looking forward to it. Car should be delivered by the end of this week according to the dealer!

 

[Dmk08]

Isn't the GT350 also geared relatively long like that?

Not sure I have not had a chance to drive one yet. Hopefully tomorrow. The E92 M3 was like that and I hated driving it around town. In the Jay Lenos garage episode about the GT350 the engineer from Ford boasts about having more torque down low.

 

[Spectre]

Not sure I have not had a chance to drive one yet. Hopefully tomorrow. The E92 M3 was like that and I hated driving it around town. In the Jay Lenos garage episode about the GT350 the engineer from Ford boasts about having more torque down low.

I just remember how Jason Cammisa (in the Motor Trend videos) remarked that second gear in the GT350 was long enough to cause supra legal speeds.

 

[TZL]

Best of both worlds

I won't refute that! Although I'd take a GT4 along with the GT350.

 

[Trackaholic]

I just remember how Jason Cammisa (in the Motor Trend videos) remarked that second gear in the GT350 was long enough to cause supra legal speeds.

The GT350 gets to the mid 50's in 1st, about 80 in 2nd, 110 in 3rd, 145 in 4th and 180 in 5th. 6th is very tall compared to 5th and is good for the highway.

I drove a Cayman GTS and was not thrilled with it. I also drove the 911 GT3 and that car was very impressive. Both were at Exotics Racing in Vegas. Drove a 458 Italia and Lambo Huracan as well, and loved those also. Drove the C7 @ Ron Fellows school which was awesome.

The Cayman GTS was fast and agile, but it just didn't feel special enough. Plus it was a PDK which took away some of the fun.

The GT3, 458, and Huracan were all amazing, but in different ways. GT3 was the best on the track for me, but a bit boring inside. Huracan was crazy on the inside (in a good way), but not quite as good on the track. Ferrari was in the middle on each. I'd love to have an of those, but might take a Viper over all of them.

The C7 felt very sporty in terms of seating position, sound, had a great interior, cool gadgets, etc. Engine was a bit lazy up top though. Still think it is a great car though.

The GT350's engine doesn't have tons of torque down low, but it does pretty well in any gear (except 6th) from 1500 RPM on. You really feel it pickup steam above 3500, and from there til redline it really pulls. Of course you can't take it to redline on the street in anything but 1st and 2nd. But even @ 5000 it is a great engine. The gearing is similar to the GT/PP, on an MPH/RPM basis, it's just that the car has lots of RPM which stretches out the speeds. On the track it can be an advantage, but on the street you might want a shorter rear end.

The interior of the GT350 is functional, but not exceptional in terms of materials or style, at least not in the 2015/16 Track Pack which comes with the base interior. The versions with the touch screen head unit look much more elegant, but it may be that the base version is easier to use since it has actual buttons. The Recaro seats are really special, and IMO a necessity as long as one is able to get comfortable in them. The shifter is somewhat stiff, very precise, and seems to prefer hard, fast shifts (at least mine does). It has also loosened up quite a bit of the first 6000 miles. It's quite a nice shifter but does require some effort.

The seating position is somewhat high, so you don't feel as sporty as you might in a C7 or Cayman, but the suspension setup is fantastic IMO. The magneride shocks do a great job of hiding the weight, making the car feel very responsive even though it is a heavy beast.

And the sounds of the engine are fantastic, such that it is fun to put the car in sport mode even when stuck in traffic, just to hear the thing growl.

In some ways the GT350 is a very "normal" car (great for cruising, relatively non-sporty seating position, compliant suspension), but in other ways it is pretty crazy (engine capability, handling, exhaust note). Not sure if it will be what the OP is looking for, but I am having a very hard time driving my other cars.

-T

 

[Trackaholic]

Best of both worlds

How do they compare?

-T

 

[USMC0341]

How would you compare the 2 in terms of level of refinement and precision?

I found my c7 just a bit "sloppy" in a lot of areas like steering, throttle response, shift action. It just didn't go together as well as my 981 did and that made it less fun for me.:shrug:

would you say the gt350 is similarly not as refined as a the rs5 but its visceral driving experience makes up for its relative "sloppy" nature? and actually makes it a better driving experience overall?

The RS5 was a tight driving car, build quality was great. it did everything effortlessly. And that what turned me off was it was boring, it had no soul. also the 4.2 V8 had no torque. you had to rev the piss out of it. The gt350 has that visceral experience that doesn't show up on paper.

 

[ncrisis]

I traded in a 2013 Audi RS5 for my GT350. No regrets here!

I sold on craigslist my 2011 Prius II waiting delivery on my new GT 350 Track Pack. Have no idea what to expect.

 

[Bossing]

I sold on craigslist my 2011 Prius II waiting delivery on my new GT 350 Track Pack. Have no idea what to expect.

Expect warp speed with power & ultrasonic sound. That's like going from a paraglider to an F-16 Hornet.

 

[stanglife]

[ame]

 

[Rogue]

I sold on craigslist my 2011 Prius II waiting delivery on my new GT 350 Track Pack. Have no idea what to expect.

 

[ohtobbad]

2011 Prius to a gt350 track pack,
Bit of a jump eh ? LOL
Your going notice two things.
800 times faster and little less fuel economy

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