Can We Talk About the V6?

I ordered my V6 and am really looking forward to it because I didn't want a base Ecoboost and couldn't afford a Premium. It's a great car and will do well with mods. There is a market for aftermarket parts and upgrades. youll enjoy the power and handling as well as getting full 300hp with 87 fuel. I think it's a great car!

I anticipate the V6 will be the most reliable of the trio - especially later in life. I've never met a turbo car that remains reliable after 7 years or so.

K-Roll302 said:

Where in our state did you find a manual V6 rental?? I want it next!!

Or maybe just swing by and let me have a go?:hail:

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I wish I could take it home with me...I would if possible. It's really, really growing on me the more I drive it. The noise definitely adds some theater to the drive (not as good as the GT but still very nice).

I owned a V6 2011 for a year before I bought my first GT. I think they are fun to drive and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to anyone. They get good mileage, up to 34 on the highway with cruise set around 75 and I would often chirp the tires hard at the shift to 3rd gear at about 50-60 mph. Better performance than the 80s 5.0, for sure.

I'd get a Focus ST over v6 Mustang. It's not only a better daily, but has a better power to weight ratio and frankly most people think it's more fun to drive.

blkandgud said:

Kinda makes me wonder why they are willing to ditch the V6. It's still a relatively new engine and makes great power/mileage. Funny that they won't upgrade the interior.

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Because, unfortunately, under the current circumstances, the V6 is an evolutionary dead end.

My guess is that it'll be around for a couple of more years but it will, no doubt, eventually give way to the EcoBoost family. There are a few reasons for this, and none of them are likely because Ford doesn't like the V6.

With the dawning of the global Mustang, a smaller displacement, more efficient engine was required. We can debate the EB's real-world efficiency but the fact is that it looks better on paper and in testing to the various U.S. and EU regulatory bodies.

Also, and this is something a lot of people in the U.S. aren't aware of, Europeans in particular pay much higher taxes on larger displacement engines and cars with higher emissions. Their insurance is also much higher for larger-displacement engines. Then add much higher fuel prices.

Even though the Mustang will still be a niche/halo product for Ford globally, to sell any volume at all means that it has to offer a version of the Mustang that offers good performance and that more people can afford to buy and own.

The kicker is that our own CAFE standards are increasing every year, meaning the trend of smaller displacement, forced-induction engines will only gain momentum.

From an engineering standpoint, the EB also has much more headroom for performance. The V6 is very likely near its ceiling without a major reworking or seriously affecting its fuel efficiency.

The EB is quite a high-tech piece of work, which means it was probably very expensive to develop. They'll want to sell a lot more of these in the future to pay for the platform and heighten the EB's performance reputation. It's telling that the GT and Raptor have EcoBoost-branded engines. The Focus RS, along with the current ST, will certainly have one. That's where the future is.

I think we can expect that Ford will continue offering the V8 for as long as possible, but we can also expect to see more powerful turbo-fours and sixes coming. I guess we'll see soon enough.

I prefer the characteristics of the V6 over the EB4. It sounds better IMO, it feels better (don't like how the turbo-4 dies at the top end), and it has zero lag.

In the long-term, Ford does not want to have two engines competing for basically the same place in the lineup, and the EB4 has better numbers on paper (and is much more tunable, both by Ford and the aftermarket), so I think they only kept the V6 around to have a low cost option and to ease the trasnition to the EB4. I think the V6 will go away in a couple years. It's a shame IMO, because it's a great engine otherwise.

I think if you are OK with the base interior, and if you like the driving characteristics of the V6, then it is a great choice.

-T

Ditching the N/A V6 and V8 are inevitabilities I think. I personally would have bought an Ecoboost V6 over my GT on order. I think phasing out the V6 and leaving the Ecoboost 2.3 and Coyote just lays the groundwork for that happening. I'd imagine the V6 has maybe 2 more years, but will likely be gone in the mid-cycle refresh.

And I know it's going to hurt, but I'm sure a GT will end up no longer being the top dog in the 'normal' Mustang range. Eventually it will end up being turbo-4, V8 and a higher V6TT sitting at the top of the range, and it may even come sooner than that. Look at the previous Ford GT, with his DOHC 32-valve supercharged 5.4 Liter V8 and where that ended up, in the 07 GT500, it eventually evolved in to the 662 horsepower Trinity V8, the "new GT500" if it does get released will probably follow a similar road map, take a Mustang, throw the best engine in it... which is a 3.5 Liter twin-turbo Ecoboost V6 making 600ish horsepower... possibly mated to a 7-speed DCT.

TL;DR I think the current 3.7 V6 will be gone in 2 years, like it is in other markets, and a TTV6 will eventually replace the Coyote.

The only thing about the "base" interior I don't like is the color. A lighter color than black always provides an appealing contrast to the dash.

The V6 must be a lot lighter than a GT, isn't it? Thats a plus. There's the two cylinders and then the brakes.

couldn't get me in a v6 with a 10 foot pole. I'd buy Ecoboost all day long if I were looking for a non-v8 Mustang. Owning a modded Focus ST (w/ the 2.0 Ecoboost) tells me that it'll be 350+ WHP with just a intercooler, exhaust and tune. V6 just doesn't compare.

TheDivaDanielle said:

couldn't get me in a v6 with a 10 foot pole. I'd buy Ecoboost all day long if I were looking for a non-v8 Mustang. Owning a modded Focus ST (w/ the 2.0 Ecoboost) tells me that it'll be 350+ WHP with just a intercooler, exhaust and tune. V6 just doesn't compare.

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It does if you do not want to be forced into premium fuel and maintaining a warranty is important to you.

Jamo said:

The only thing about the "base" interior I don't like is the color. A lighter color than black always provides an appealing contrast to the dash.

The V6 must be a lot lighter than a GT, isn't it? Thats a plus. There's the two cylinders and then the brakes.

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Weighs within a few pounds of a base EB, so yes.

1320' said:

It sounds great for a DD.

You don't HAVE to run premium in the 5.0 or EB, but to get optimal power and FE you do.

Yes you're stuck with the standard interior

No, it sounds like a fun car to drive. It seems from some of our own members testing the revisions to the 3.7 respond well to modifications.

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You won't notice a difference running 87 vs 93 in the GT. It's a 1% HP hit.

The EB on the other hand will take a big hit..something like 13% hp loss.

If it had premium, I'd have bought one.

I have been debating this for about a week, and exactly all the points that have been brought up here. Cost, mod-ability, sound, power @ different points in the band, etc. I call the decision the Harley Davidson purchasing philosophy. You go to buy a Sportster and before you know it you can get a Dyna for just a little more, then a Softail for a little more, then a Road King.....For me it will either be a 3.55 6MT V6 051A or a Base GT with 3.55 and nothing else. Price difference is about 7K or $125 a month. From that perspective the Base GT would be the most fun to buy and I would not have the possible buyers remorse. Time will tell as I have about a year still.