Cardude99
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- Joined
- Feb 14, 2016
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- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
- First Name
- Sam
- Vehicle(s)
- 2018 Ecoboost
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- #1
Okay so I thought I would post this to help out people on the fence on what to get. My car is at the dealer for some warranty work. They were nice enough to give me a loaner and a mustang too boot. The loaner is a base model A-10, no other options, 2018 ecoboost in oxford white. My current ride is a 2018 ecoboost w/ 101a, PP, Magneride and the A-10. I am hoping that this will help shed some light on the differences and the benefits to each set up.
Full disclosure I have only had the rental for a few hours, maybe 50 miles on it so far so these, I have about 15 city miles on it and about 35 highway so take this input how you will. These are obviously rough numbers and would likely change somewhat given about a week to do a proper test.
Fuel Economy: On the way from the dealer I took the same route home with both cars, its about 35 highway miles and then 2 miles of city. For the base car I reset the trip counter when I got off the highway to try to get a rough comparison of both cars. Speed for both was about 80 mph average using cruise control.
In the base car I was averaging about 36.5 mpg and it was holding steady. I was very impressed by this. In my car for the same trip I averaged about 27.5 but it was still going up slowly, I could see it getting to about 28-29 but that would be about it. Mind you this is at 80 mph with a mostly flat freeway. In the city the results are not as drastic but in the base it is around 24-25 mpg (not enough miles to give a completely accurate estimate yet) and in my car is about 20 to 22. This is with being conservative, not driving like a maniac but some spirited driving thrown in. The base car is the car to get if you drive a lot of highway and don't want the extra performance.
Handling: The differences are immediately noticeable as soon as you turn a corner. The base car has terrible grip. The all seasons do not want to hold the road at all. Granted my Hellcat will kick out no problem but has grace, this base Ecoboost has a sort of skip and does not like it at all. The suspension also show significant body roll that is just not present in my car. I can easily kick the tires out in the base model whereas my car will grip like its life depends on it. I have tried, within reason mind you still on public roads, to drift my car slightly/ kick the rear end out some and it just sticks. I am sure when in an open area with no risk of tickets or hitting objects i can turn the traction control off and I can hoon it around but for this comparison I am talking about a little fun here and there while driving with full nannies on. In my car there is just that confidence that your not gonna die or go into a curb when you want to be a little aggressive compared to the base. I do not have that same level of confidence when driving the base and feel as I must be extra careful to not do something stupid. My car is more forgiving and gives you plenty of room to be brave.
Straight line: This is where there is not a significant difference. When you take the drive modes out of the equation and just use drive or sport, the acceleration is not vastly different. I do feel the extra get up and go of the 3.55 gearing, but its not completely noticeable when traveling in a straight line from a dig. It is more noticeable on the highway when wanting to go from cruising to passing. Overall both cars still put a smile on my face when gunning it from a stop. (Yes the Hellcat still wins lol)
Exterior: The exterior is obviously not crazy different other than the wheels and the rear spoiler. To me those things make my car look so much better. It just has that aggressive look that says, ya I came to play. The base model says, I just commute to work and back but don't want a civic.
Interior: While again mostly the same, there are differences. The 101a is leaps and bounds better than the base 100a package. The materials used on the consul and dash are so much nicer in both looks and feel. The 8" touchscreen is much nicer to have, I don't this I could take the 4" screen all the time. The layout of the buttons are just odd and while you can get used to them I am not a fan. The stereo is not much different, but has a much more pronounce tinny sound at higher volume and is not as clean as the 9 speaker system.
Overall: Both cars have the pros and cons. If you want great fuel economy with some zip get the base model. If you want to have a great mixture get the performance options. To me no matter what 101a is a must have option and everyone should get it. If you are not intending to take the car to the track ever dont get the PP, you likly wont find much use out of the added performance, simply get a nicer set of wheels and maybe throw on a rear spoiler and you can nail a better look with a great 35+ mpg daily commuter. If you want to do some autox/ hpde or even drag racing then opt for the pp with magneride. You make a mpg sacrifice but the performance trade off more than makes up for it. I have not driven a pp car without mag ride so I can not comment on that.
At the end of the day I am even more happy with my purchase decision than before after driving the base. I would not change a thing and love my car. I love the performance it offers and it is so nice to have a baseline for it now. Granted these are all my subjective views I hope it helps people when they are considering their options and if packages are worth it. I must admit it is really nice to see the mpg being in the mid to high 30 range so there is that.
Also please note that there was another post of a person hating on the ecoboost that he had as rental. He had the base model. If you are a performance enthusiast, you should not get a base ecoboost.
Full disclosure I have only had the rental for a few hours, maybe 50 miles on it so far so these, I have about 15 city miles on it and about 35 highway so take this input how you will. These are obviously rough numbers and would likely change somewhat given about a week to do a proper test.
Fuel Economy: On the way from the dealer I took the same route home with both cars, its about 35 highway miles and then 2 miles of city. For the base car I reset the trip counter when I got off the highway to try to get a rough comparison of both cars. Speed for both was about 80 mph average using cruise control.
In the base car I was averaging about 36.5 mpg and it was holding steady. I was very impressed by this. In my car for the same trip I averaged about 27.5 but it was still going up slowly, I could see it getting to about 28-29 but that would be about it. Mind you this is at 80 mph with a mostly flat freeway. In the city the results are not as drastic but in the base it is around 24-25 mpg (not enough miles to give a completely accurate estimate yet) and in my car is about 20 to 22. This is with being conservative, not driving like a maniac but some spirited driving thrown in. The base car is the car to get if you drive a lot of highway and don't want the extra performance.
Handling: The differences are immediately noticeable as soon as you turn a corner. The base car has terrible grip. The all seasons do not want to hold the road at all. Granted my Hellcat will kick out no problem but has grace, this base Ecoboost has a sort of skip and does not like it at all. The suspension also show significant body roll that is just not present in my car. I can easily kick the tires out in the base model whereas my car will grip like its life depends on it. I have tried, within reason mind you still on public roads, to drift my car slightly/ kick the rear end out some and it just sticks. I am sure when in an open area with no risk of tickets or hitting objects i can turn the traction control off and I can hoon it around but for this comparison I am talking about a little fun here and there while driving with full nannies on. In my car there is just that confidence that your not gonna die or go into a curb when you want to be a little aggressive compared to the base. I do not have that same level of confidence when driving the base and feel as I must be extra careful to not do something stupid. My car is more forgiving and gives you plenty of room to be brave.
Straight line: This is where there is not a significant difference. When you take the drive modes out of the equation and just use drive or sport, the acceleration is not vastly different. I do feel the extra get up and go of the 3.55 gearing, but its not completely noticeable when traveling in a straight line from a dig. It is more noticeable on the highway when wanting to go from cruising to passing. Overall both cars still put a smile on my face when gunning it from a stop. (Yes the Hellcat still wins lol)
Exterior: The exterior is obviously not crazy different other than the wheels and the rear spoiler. To me those things make my car look so much better. It just has that aggressive look that says, ya I came to play. The base model says, I just commute to work and back but don't want a civic.
Interior: While again mostly the same, there are differences. The 101a is leaps and bounds better than the base 100a package. The materials used on the consul and dash are so much nicer in both looks and feel. The 8" touchscreen is much nicer to have, I don't this I could take the 4" screen all the time. The layout of the buttons are just odd and while you can get used to them I am not a fan. The stereo is not much different, but has a much more pronounce tinny sound at higher volume and is not as clean as the 9 speaker system.
Overall: Both cars have the pros and cons. If you want great fuel economy with some zip get the base model. If you want to have a great mixture get the performance options. To me no matter what 101a is a must have option and everyone should get it. If you are not intending to take the car to the track ever dont get the PP, you likly wont find much use out of the added performance, simply get a nicer set of wheels and maybe throw on a rear spoiler and you can nail a better look with a great 35+ mpg daily commuter. If you want to do some autox/ hpde or even drag racing then opt for the pp with magneride. You make a mpg sacrifice but the performance trade off more than makes up for it. I have not driven a pp car without mag ride so I can not comment on that.
At the end of the day I am even more happy with my purchase decision than before after driving the base. I would not change a thing and love my car. I love the performance it offers and it is so nice to have a baseline for it now. Granted these are all my subjective views I hope it helps people when they are considering their options and if packages are worth it. I must admit it is really nice to see the mpg being in the mid to high 30 range so there is that.
Also please note that there was another post of a person hating on the ecoboost that he had as rental. He had the base model. If you are a performance enthusiast, you should not get a base ecoboost.
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. The msrp for the base with the A10 not including incentives is $28,175. So you are looking at a price difference of $6095. Every cent of that was worth it imo.