Digital dash question, gear indicator.

[jake_zx2]

You really sound upset, I hope it's not just my comments that put you in such a bad mood. As I said, I like my Mustang, but still, that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement or that there aren't a few things that Ford doesn't do best. Still, as much as I know better than to waste my time responding to a fan boi, I'm sure I can come up with a list of things that I wish Ford did as well as my last couple VWs.

Let's be clear here; just because I'm calling out your idiocy does not mean that I am at all upset. There's plenty of room for improvement, but using a 10 year old Jetta as the golden standard is simply moronic. You can call me a fanboi all you want, but as I said, I've owned both, as well as BMWs, Mazdas, and Nissans, and that's just as far as cars go. Lets go through this list here real quick...

1) Switchgear, specifically things like turn signal and wiper stalks and the power window switches. The Ford versions have a cheap plastic-y feel. The VW versions are still plastic but feel a bit sturdier.
2) Cruise Control operation. Night and day difference, the stalk mounted controls used by VW can be operated by your index finger without moving the rest of your hand. The Mustang, not so much.
3) Scrolling through through those menus, I know you said you don't they're that bad, but if you can't admit that VW lays my out much more intuitively I'm going to need to see proof that you ever owned a Jetta. In fact, that goes for all 3 of these so far.
4)Seat Heaters. Just like the gear indicator, this is something I had no use for until I got used to having it. Based on your location I get that might not mean much to you, but it was 21 degrees here this morning and that will seem warm by next month. Both cars have them, both cars cycle through 3, 2, 1 and off by pushing a button and those buttons are even in the same location. The similarities end there, the seats in my Passat got warm, I rarely used the highest setting. I'm not sure the lowest setting is working in my Mustang, it doesn't seem to do anything. 2 and 3 seem like 1 and 2.
5) Speaking of seats, what's with the manual backrest adjustment? If you're doing power seats, do it right.
6) Voice Recognition. Anyone who thinks Sync 3 does a decent job, has clearly never used a decent voice recognition setup. "Call xxx xxx at home" usually involves picking a name from a list, if the name is even on the list, and if you're really lucky your contacts will include both EJ and DJ.
7) Clutch feel. I've owned a few cars in the last 40 years, a couple trucks too, almost all with 4, 5 or 6 speed manuals. I've driven even more that weren't mine. The Mustang clutch is near the bottom of the list. It's not that it's heavy, VW used cable actuated clutches in the 70s that were heavy too, but the Ford clutch doesn't provide much feedback. The Steeda spring helps, but it's still sub-par. I don't recall owning another car for which one could purchase an aftermarket clutch pedal spring.
8, 9 and 10) 1 through 7 are my big ones but there a dozen minor things to choose from. Take your pick, the cheap lump of plastic above the mirror with the map light and the even cheaper push buttons to turn them on. The sunglass drawer, in lieu of the normal sunglass holder in the cheap lump of plastic on the ceiling. The clunky glove box latch button. The tilt, but not telescopic steering column. The windows that go down with the remote but not up. The seat height that says family car, not sports car.
I could go on, but you've already forgotten that I said I like the car. I do like it, it's a lot of fun and it does what I need it to do. I could also make a list of things that Ford does better than other brands, but we'll leave that for another day. Mustangs and family sedans are of course, apples and oranges, but I've tried to fulfill your request foe a list fairly. Yes, the Mustang offers performance that my last couple cars can't come close to, but try fitting 3 adults in the back of a Mustang and getting 50 mpg. If you find a car with no room for improvement let me know.

1) This is actually understandable, but such a minor discrepancy that it can easily be offset by just how many things the Mustang does better
2) the stalk mounted cruise control is absolutely DREADFUL. I'd rather just have an on-off button on my steering wheel where my thumb already is than to reach back, hope I hit the stalk correctly, find that I actually activated the highbeams, turn them back off, take my eyes off the road and one hand off the steering wheel to ensure that I don't move the stalk in the wrong direction, and by the time I finally get cruise control set, I'm coming up on my exit.
3) The Jetta may have SEEMED better laid out for the simple reason that it doesn't offer as much. In the mustang, it's quite simple... you have your "pony" button for more sporting-related preferences, and you have your "settings" button for daily use and configuration settings. Beyond that, if you can't figure out that "display MPG/useage info" means that it displays MPG/useage info, then that's on you
4) I've spent time living in Germany, and grew up in Pennsylvania, so I fully understand the want for seat heaters. Personally, I don't need them, because my Mustang is my warm weather car. However, I've felt Mustang seatwarmers back home in Pennsylvania, and I don't know what you're feeling, but 3 is ass-burning hot. I have no issue with them whatsoever.
5) A bit different when you're comparing a 2 door coupe to a 4 seater. I don't see many 4 seat coupes that offer electronic backrest adjustment simply because its a pain in the ass to try and get anyone in the back seat when you have to wait 30 seconds for the seat to move forward enough. BMW does it right in that respect, where the whole seat moves forward. However, BMWs also have more interior space that allows for a moving seat like that. I'd wager that even with the mustang offering that, the space allowed would be tight
6) I don't know where in the hell you're getting this. Sync3 is regarded as some of the best infotainment in the industry, and NOWHERE near as bad as the Jetta's. I'd rather a menu pop up to verify who I was asking for than to say "call Brad" and hear "Calling Dad"
7) That's the funny thing... I find clutch feel in MOST german cars to be absolutely unbearable. They tend to be way too stiff at the beginning, then just fall to the ground about halfway down. I'd rather have a nice, linear feel to my clutch pedal
8-10) A dome light? Really? The sunglasses drawer is a blessing, I'd much rather have that discreet, plush-lined drawer to put my $200 ray-bans so that the valet has to really know the car to even try to steal my nice-and-un-sunbaked sunglasses. How is the glovebox latch button "clunky"? I don't know what's wrong with your car, but mine is firm and direct. As addressed above, I'm sorry that you're so blind by your "German superiority" that you don't even know that your steering wheel is telescoping. Also, as mentioned above, Every BMW ever made only has a window-down option. I'll admit that the window-up feature would be great to have, but not having it is FAR from sub-par. The seat height is perfect for me, as it's tall enough that I don't have to strain my neck to see over the dash, but short enough that my head isn't hitting the ceiling.

You're really grasping at straws here, man. Pretty much EVERYTHING you posted is not necessarily something VW does better, but simply something that you prefer while MANY other people don't. If you're worried about fitting adults in your car and getting good gas mileage, then I'm sorry, but a sports car was not your smartest option.

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[brucelinc]

I have found my Mustang to be seriously lacking compared to my 2001 Ranger 4x4 pickup.

The Ranger is better in snow and can go over taller obstacles without rubbing the undercarriage. It will haul more cargo and has a good hitch for towing my boat. The Mustang doesn't even have a hitch! It also has simpler instrumentation so I don't have to make decisions about what info I want to see or the color of the display. If I forget to turn down the heated seats or heated steering wheel on my Mustang, it could cause heat rash on my supple buttocks or the palms of my hands. I don't have to worry about that with the Ranger. I think there is more risk of speeding tickets with the Mustang. The Ranger will go about 95 mph in top gear if I can remember what gear I put it in. The Mustang will go over 120 in 6th and there are 4 more gears above that!

I like my Mustang but there are many areas in which my Ranger is superior. Just sayin'....

 

[Firsttexan]

It's for that moment of doubt when cruising down the highway and think "did I put it in 6th or am I still in 5th?" Sure you can reach down and feel where the shifter is, but why not glance at the readout instead? I'd like to think that if Volkswagon can put an indicator in a base model 2007 Jetta that snickered at less than $17k, there should be one in a 2019 Mustang with a sticker price more than double that much.
Apparently, I'd be wrong. We can add this to the list of things that are not up to the standard to which I have become accustomed. Don't get me wrong, I like my Mustang but there are quite a few areas where my last couple VWs were simply superior.
Thanks, Jason, for pointing me in the right direction. As you mentioned, the menus are poorly set up and sometimes difficult to navigate (my 14 Passat had twice as much info and it was all easy to find with half as many buttons). Unfortunately, I have advanced settings>display options>digital tachometer and a check box to turn it off or on. That leaves me wondering which cars got the option of a gear indicator and which didn't? Could it be equipment related? Software version? Can it be activated with forscan?

I agree. I love all the gadgets. These cars have things I never dreamed of back in the 70s.

 

[Firsttexan]

I have found my Mustang to be seriously lacking compared to my 2001 Ranger 4x4 pickup.

The Ranger is better in snow and can go over taller obstacles without rubbing the undercarriage. It will haul more cargo and has a good hitch for towing my boat. The Mustang doesn't even have a hitch! It also has simpler instrumentation so I don't have to make decisions about what info I want to see or the color of the display. If I forget to turn down the heated seats or heated steering wheel on my Mustang, it could cause heat rash on my supple buttocks or the palms of my hands. I don't have to worry about that with the Ranger. I think there is more risk of speeding tickets with the Mustang. The Ranger will go about 95 mph in top gear if I can remember what gear I put it in. The Mustang will go over 120 in 6th and there are 4 more gears above that!

I like my Mustang but there are many areas in which my Ranger is superior. Just sayin'....

I used to tow a 18ft bowrider boat with my 1992 LX 5.0

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