2.3 or 5??

[Monty]

What a shame we get ripped off with fuel duty (I know the tree huggers will disagree) but there are a fair amount of people who would like the V8, but can't justify the running costs. If you're unlucky enough to have that V8 craving, it must be quite frustrating. I feel your pain, but take comfort in the fact you won't feel sick every time you're sat in traffic and watching the needle fuel gauge visibly moving before your eyes.

The MPG doesn't really bother me. I accept that if you have a big/fast/inefficient vehicle, it's going to use more fuel. For some reason, the car tax really annoyed me though. Not so muich the actual amount, but I think it was the feeling of 'unfairness'. Seems a lot of the V8s won't actually be doing many miles, so pounding the roads far less than a sales rep's 3 series at £30 per year.

For me the abilities of the EB are way above my driving skills and 'driving miss daisy' style of driving. As a DD It's going to be thousands of miles at 80mph (can't go any fast these days with the cameras) on the motorways. I wouldn't really benefit from the power of the V8, so the pros were the engine sound and the bragging rights. I decided that this probably wasn't worth getting my blood boiling every time the car tax had to be renewed. Plus, insurance on the V8 was (and is?) an unknown. This is another expense that it's difficult to feel the benefit from.

If I'd gone V8, I hate to have to admit it, but I'd forget any justification for the EB and I'd suddenly be one of those "V8 or nothing" guys. If only to justify/rationalise to myself the extra spend. The last thing I'd want to cross my mind is "could have had an EB and a new kitchen!". Having made such a large purchase (EB or V8), we all need to believe we've made the right choice, rather than suffer any 'buyers remorse' so it's only natural to think your car is 'best'. Kudos to anyone whos gone for the V8 and surely we can allow a little "snobbery" for want of a better word. The V8 is a more expensive, more powerful car so its only human to want feel the money has been well spent.

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[Centurion07]

I've gone for a V8 myself.

Not knocking the 2.3 but I've wanted a V8 for as long as I can remember and the fact I can now buy one from Ford is fantastic, so the whole economy/tax thing is a moot point for me; I was having the V8 whatever the cost!

That said, real world figures indicate the ecoboost should do an extra 100ish miles from a tank over the V8. For me, had I been choosing between the pair, that difference is nowhere near big enough to choose the 2.3. Even as a daily driver I'm not sure it would've been enough of a difference to sway me.

[ame] vs [ame]

no contest. Sorry eco-buyers. ;)

 

[Ian whu]

I had to make the choice,
I never always wanted a mustang, I admit I always liked them.
I've had fast fords. Eg Rs , St focus etc.
My daily drive is 30 min each way, 20 minutes of that is in traffic or 40 mph average cameras, so thought what is the point of a V8.
I just wanted a car that's different to the norm,
I did have my name down for the New RS focus, but changed my mind because I think they will be too common.

 

[Jimtasteek]

The MPG doesn't really bother me. I accept that if you have a big/fast/inefficient vehicle, it's going to use more fuel. For some reason, the car tax really annoyed me though. Not so muich the actual amount, but I think it was the feeling of 'unfairness'. Seems a lot of the V8s won't actually be doing many miles, so pounding the roads far less than a sales rep's 3 series at £30 per year.

For me the abilities of the EB are way above my driving skills and 'driving miss daisy' style of driving. As a DD It's going to be thousands of miles at 80mph (can't go any fast these days with the cameras) on the motorways. I wouldn't really benefit from the power of the V8, so the pros were the engine sound and the bragging rights. I decided that this probably wasn't worth getting my blood boiling every time the car tax had to be renewed. Plus, insurance on the V8 was (and is?) an unknown. This is another expense that it's difficult to feel the benefit from.

If I'd gone V8, I hate to have to admit it, but I'd forget any justification for the EB and I'd suddenly be one of those "V8 or nothing" guys. If only to justify/rationalise to myself the extra spend. The last thing I'd want to cross my mind is "could have had an EB and a new kitchen!". Having made such a large purchase (EB or V8), we all need to believe we've made the right choice, rather than suffer any 'buyers remorse' so it's only natural to think your car is 'best'. Kudos to anyone whos gone for the V8 and surely we can allow a little "snobbery" for want of a better word. The V8 is a more expensive, more powerful car so its only human to want feel the money has been well spent.

Well said, Monty. Fact is, we're all going to LOVE our purchases! When the finally arrive, that is...

 

[Stark]

The MPG doesn't really bother me. I accept that if you have a big/fast/inefficient vehicle, it's going to use more fuel. For some reason, the car tax really annoyed me though. Not so muich the actual amount, but I think it was the feeling of 'unfairness'. Seems a lot of the V8s won't actually be doing many miles, so pounding the roads far less than a sales rep's 3 series at £30 per year.

For me the abilities of the EB are way above my driving skills and 'driving miss daisy' style of driving. As a DD It's going to be thousands of miles at 80mph (can't go any fast these days with the cameras) on the motorways. I wouldn't really benefit from the power of the V8, so the pros were the engine sound and the bragging rights. I decided that this probably wasn't worth getting my blood boiling every time the car tax had to be renewed. Plus, insurance on the V8 was (and is?) an unknown. This is another expense that it's difficult to feel the benefit from.

If I'd gone V8, I hate to have to admit it, but I'd forget any justification for the EB and I'd suddenly be one of those "V8 or nothing" guys. If only to justify/rationalise to myself the extra spend. The last thing I'd want to cross my mind is "could have had an EB and a new kitchen!". Having made such a large purchase (EB or V8), we all need to believe we've made the right choice, rather than suffer any 'buyers remorse' so it's only natural to think your car is 'best'. Kudos to anyone whos gone for the V8 and surely we can allow a little "snobbery" for want of a better word. The V8 is a more expensive, more powerful car so its only human to want feel the money has been well spent.

Well said. Like you it annoys me we get stung by high road tax when I won't be on the road as much compared with other lower costing cars that will pump out more CO2 over the year!!
For me I have gone for the V8 because this is going to be a fun weekend car and if it were to be a DD then I would have gone for the EB. I have budgeted fuel costs to run the V8 and not go stupid just pouring money in to the tank.
At the end of the day if people have gone for an EB instead of a V8 then they still have my respect because it's what makes sense to them to afford and they can still say they own a Mustang and if I see an EB on the road they will get the same flash and thumbs up from me :cheers:

 

[Big_G]

I've gone for a V8 myself.

Not knocking the 2.3 but I've wanted a V8 for as long as I can remember and the fact I can now buy one from Ford is fantastic, so the whole economy/tax thing is a moot point for me; I was having the V8 whatever the cost!

That said, real world figures indicate the ecoboost should do an extra 100ish miles from a tank over the V8. For me, had I been choosing between the pair, that difference is nowhere near big enough to choose the 2.3. Even as a daily driver I'm not sure it would've been enough of a difference to sway me.

vs

no contest. Sorry eco-buyers. ;)

I did a rough calculation yesterday and worked out that over a period of 5 years the V8 would cost me £9000 more in fuel. People stating fuel & sound as the only factors aren't seeing the full picture. Insurance will likely be massively more expensive.
Servicing for the EB will likely be every 10,000 miles, i'd expect the V8 to be probably every 6,000 miles. Then there's costs, if you take servicing costs for a Focus RS as a rough guide to the EB servicing then that's around £300, i'd estimate a lift to around £450 for the V8 servicing.
VED rates at current prices over 5 years would be £3120 for the V8, £1250 for the EB . Then of course there's the £4000 price premium for the V8 & lets not forget you'll need several sets of rear tyres :lol:
Everybody has their own personal reasons, nobody is right or wrong for their engine choice. Even just taking projected fuel costs + engine cost premium + VED saving i'm around £14000 in pocket (5 year term). I've owned a late 70s Corvette & Pontiac Trans Am, i've had my V8s ... and the wife said if i want another classic as a toy then feel free

 

[benanderson89]

Servicing for the EB will likely be every 10,000 miles, i'd expect the V8 to be probably every 6,000 miles.

Actually, both are 10,000 miles, and Ford will offer a servicing pack anyway like they do with every single one of their other vehicles.

 

[jord79]

I'm surprised Ford didn't offer the option of stop-start technology. It's in all the Mondeos at work. I don't know how effective it is, or if it is taken into account when calculating emissions, but it'd have to have some impact on those of us who spend a lot of time in traffic. There's also active cylinder technology which would give the best of both worlds. I remember Chrysler having this in it's Hemi V8 C300. It shut down 4 cylinders when in traffic. The Seat adverts say something about it too (not that they do a V8!)

 

[Monty]

I did a rough calculation yesterday and worked out that over a period of 5 years the V8 would cost me £9000 more in fuel. People stating fuel & sound as the only factors aren't seeing the full picture. Insurance will likely be massively more expensive.
Servicing for the EB will likely be every 10,000 miles, i'd expect the V8 to be probably every 6,000 miles. Then there's costs, if you take servicing costs for a Focus RS as a rough guide to the EB servicing then that's around £300, i'd estimate a lift to around £450 for the V8 servicing.
VED rates at current prices over 5 years would be £3120 for the V8, £1250 for the EB . Then of course there's the £4000 price premium for the V8 & lets not forget you'll need several sets of rear tyres :lol:
Everybody has their own personal reasons, nobody is right or wrong for their engine choice. Even just taking projected fuel costs + engine cost premium + VED saving i'm around £14000 in pocket (5 year term). I've owned a late 70s Corvette & Pontiac Trans Am, i've had my V8s ... and the wife said if i want another classic as a toy then feel free

Depreciation is probably the biggest cost the average new buyer faces. Not sure what this will be with the Mustang, as (currently) it looks like there won't be too many around. Usually, big expensive cars from mainstream brands depreciate more quickly, so you might expect the V8 in particular to plumet. However, I'm not so sure I'd bet on this. It may be that the V8 is seen as more desirable on the second hand market? who knows?

I plan to keep the car for a fair while, but who knows and its kind of nice to know that your car is holding its value to some degree.

 

[jord79]

I plan to keep mine forever!

 

[Ian whu]

I used to change my cars every 9 months. But now about every 18 months.

 

[Kristian87]

I plan to keep mine forever!

Me too! The only reason I would give mine back would be to upgrade to a nice Race Red v8 I reckon I just know as soon as I experience one, I will want one!

 

[Big_G]

I'm surprised Ford didn't offer the option of stop-start technology. It's in all the Mondeos at work. I don't know how effective it is, or if it is taken into account when calculating emissions, but it'd have to have some impact on those of us who spend a lot of time in traffic. There's also active cylinder technology which would give the best of both worlds. I remember Chrysler having this in it's Hemi V8 C300. It shut down 4 cylinders when in traffic. The Seat adverts say something about it too (not that they do a V8!)

Start/Stop systems were invented pretty much for the sole purpose of allowing the manufacturers to quote lower co2 emissions.

In the main they're rubbish, i heard something on the news the other day saying that cars with Start/Stop only achieve 65% of the claimed manufacturers MPG, whereas cars without the system achieve 75%. They're rough figures, i cant remember the exact ones but remember with was mid 60s, without mid 70s.
My Volvo is D2 (Start/Stop) with claimed MPG of 65.7, i've never ever had over 50mpg. Hit 50 once, most of the time its low 40s ... which is why i'm not too bothered about switching to a EB petrol engine.

 

[Avdb]

There is a huge difference between the "urban" and "extra-urban" consumption - for the fastback it is:
PowerTorqueCO2UrbanExtraCombined
2.3 Man 314 (231) 434 179 28.0 41.5 35.3
2.3 Auto 314 (231) 434 228 19.5 38.7 28.5
5.0 V8 Man418 (308) 524 299 14.1 29.4 20.9
5.0 V8 Auto418 (308) 524 281 15.2 34.5 23.5

The Auto has worse MPG than the Manual for the EB but the Auto does better than the Manual for the V8.

Any idea why?

 

[Monty]

The Auto has worse MPG than the Manual for the EB but the Auto does better than the Manual for the V8.

Any idea why?

I recalled they 'fiddled' the figures a bit to get the manual to 179g CO2? I think the drive ratio (whatever that is), was also changed (from the US spec)?

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