Engine Debate

[OppoLock]

Odd that the original post discusses all of the subjective matters pertaining to the subject, but it largely skips the objective ones. A huge draw for the pony and muscle car segment is the idea of offering V8 power in a performance-oriented vehicle. Talk of stigma, poseur status, and all of that superficial crap should be ignored. There's no point in even getting involved with someone who throws around that kind of shallow drivel.

There are logical benefits to getting a GT: you're not going to find many cars with its qualities that offer a V8 lump. A naturally-aspirated V8 has some obvious benefits like a sharp, bellowing soundtrack and gobs of linear power. By nature of the Mustang's past, a V8 and the ponycar image go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Does that make the V6 and EB pointless or even inferior? The answer is 1) no, and 2) it depends on what you're looking for in a car. If someone's looking for a Mustang ticket at a more affordable price, wants better fuel economy, prefers a more balanced chassis with less overall weight (and a lot of it lifted from the nose), or just has a natural preference to sixes and the F/I segment, there are clear choices. The EB and V6 could even be superior depending on the weight of those preferences.

I can't help but feel like this OP made a post with the intention of stirring things up. There's a slight to the way things are worded.

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[Malikona]

Ehh... It is POSSIBLE. But that requires you getting lucky on the engine build, every part placed into the engine at near perfect specifications, and no issues while driving (no rocks thrown up and hitting a tube, etc). All 3 of the engines will easily hit 150,000 miles, today's manufacturing specifications are much better nowadays. Even so, not buying a vehicle because you don't think it can hit 500,000+ miles is ridiculous.

Seeing as the 2.3L block is in the same family and is based on architecture that has been around for over a decade (a Mazda design when Ford+Mazda was a thing), I don't see any problem there either.

The EcoBoost is going to be a workhorse, I don't see reliability being a major issue with them at all, Ford has proven these engines (as has every other maker out there pretty much). Take into consideration as well that they've undoubtedly included a factor of safety knowing that people will turn up the boost with tunes (myself included), bigger turbos, etc., and the engine is probably overbuilt for stock specifications. It's running pretty high boost stock, but that's the norm for these turbo DI motors nowadays. Will it be as bulletproof as the V8? No, but it's not going to be dramatically worse either IMO.

 

[Malikona]

In my 2011 V6 I rarely get above 2,000 rpm -- rarely as in, maybe for ten seconds total every 100 miles, merging into quick-moving traffic -- and it's been at least a year since I got over 3,000 rpm. I like to keep it easy on engines.

When I drove a V6 Mustang rental for the past week, I don't think I got BELOW 3000 RPM for more than a few minutes total, lol. I don't see how that engine could be any fun at all driven that way. Why even get a performance car period?! Just get a hatchback or something.

 

[OppoLock]

When I drove a V6 Mustang rental for the past week, I don't think I got BELOW 3000 RPM for more than a few minutes total, lol. I don't see how that engine could be any fun at all driven that way. Why even get a performance car period?! Just get a hatchback or something.

I think that's what hell must be like; a 3,000 RPM ceiling.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

When I drove a V6 Mustang rental for the past week, I don't think I got BELOW 3000 RPM for more than a few minutes total, lol. I don't see how that engine could be any fun at all driven that way. Why even get a performance car period?! Just get a hatchback or something.

Because I'm a car enthusiast. And I always have been. But I still work on cars with tools I inherited from my grandfather that date from the 1930's, and I've always been a firm believer that any quality durable good you buy should outlive you. Things are built to last, and as long as you take care of them, they will.

Go find yourself a well-running Duesenberg -- it's not in that condition because people have been beating on it and ringing the engine out every day for the last 80 years.

 

[K-Roll302]

Odd that the original post discusses all of the subjective matters pertaining to the subject, but it largely skips the objective ones. A huge draw for the pony and muscle car segment is the idea of offering V8 power in a performance-oriented vehicle. Talk of stigma, poseur status, and all of that superficial crap should be ignored. There's no point in even getting involved with someone who throws around that kind of shallow drivel.

There are logical benefits to getting a GT: you're not going to find many cars with its qualities that offer a V8 lump. A naturally-aspirated V8 has some obvious benefits like a sharp, bellowing soundtrack and gobs of linear power. By nature of the Mustang's past, a V8 and the ponycar image go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Does that make the V6 and EB pointless or even inferior? The answer is 1) no, and 2) it depends on what you're looking for in a car. If someone's looking for a Mustang ticket at a more affordable price, wants better fuel economy, prefers a more balanced chassis with less overall weight (and a lot of it lifted from the nose), or just has a natural preference to sixes and the F/I segment, there are clear choices. The EB and V6 could even be superior depending on the weight of those preferences.

I can't help but feel like this OP made a post with the intention of stirring things up. There's a slight to the way things are worded.

Excuse me, but I did not start this to stir things up at all. I'm new to Mustangs as a whole, and I'm genuinely curious about all of this and wanted to hear everyone's opinions and get a different perspective of the whole subject; it did lose the objective portion of the debate though.

I have no reasons to take time out of my day to troll anyone nor any intentions at all. And if it appeared as though my intentions were to stir things up, I do apologize. Sometimes what I want and mean to say doesn't translate to the internet properly. :(

 

[SynisterGT]

Personally it is the sound. The V6 with an exhaust reminds me of the 350/370Z. The turbo 4 while a good motor just doesn't have the sound of a V8.

 

[SynisterGT]

Also with the weight of these cars I personally don't feel as though an I4 or V6 can handle the strain.

A 4 cyc Accord and a 6 cyc Challenger come to mind. Also Some cars need at least a V6. I get why companies use 4 cyc but if I am gonna buy a car like an Acura or Infiniti it at least needs a V6.

 

[Malikona]

Excuse me, but I did not start this to stir things up at all. I'm new to Mustangs as a whole, and I'm genuinely curious about all of this and wanted to hear everyone's opinions and get a different perspective of the whole subject; it did lose the objective portion of the debate though.

I have no reasons to take time out of my day to troll anyone nor any intentions at all. And if it appeared as though my intentions were to stir things up, I do apologize. Sometimes what I want and mean to say doesn't translate to the internet properly. :(

You seemed genuine to me K. I used to have the exact same perception of V6 Mustangs when I was in high school (late 90s). My best friend's dad had a Fox body 5.0, and we all worshipped it. He would pack us in the back and do donuts in the parking lot at night. Another friend's mom had a V6 convertible, the next generation, and we made fun of it all the time. But we were stupid high school kids. Anyone who does the same thing in their adulthood is still, in truth, a stupid high school kid (or high school dropout).

Although I have to admit, whenever I see a Mustang drive by and I notice that it's not a GT, I am kind of let down. It's just a learned reaction from how I grew up. I'm not even likely to get the GT myself (though I might), but it just has that special something. That's how Ford can charge a $7000 premium for it even more than on its performance merits IMO. In 99% of driving it probably feels exactly the same as the EcoBoost. Doesn't sound the same though.

A car like the Mustang is not about practicality at heart, it's about the image, the noise, the badass factor. That's what makes the V8 so desirable, not because it's 'better' in the rational sense of the word. It just has more of what makes the Mustang special. If people didn't feel somewhat more badass driving the V8 than they would otherwise, it wouldn't be special, so to some extent the "V8 or nothing" crowd is just an inevitability. Matt Farah of The Smoking Tire said in his track review of the EcoBoost that it was a great car, but if what you really want is a 4-cylinder turbo, you'd be better off with a GTI, WRX, or 228i. Practically speaking, that is true. But we aren't buying the Mustang because we are practical, we're buying it because it's badass. And the EcoBoost and V6 Mustangs are always going to be more badass than those other cars, so just remember that whichever one you choose. ;)

 

[Wblv17]

Personally it is the sound. The V6 with an exhaust reminds me of the 350/370Z. The turbo 4 while a good motor just doesn't have the sound of a V8.

i swear my 14 v6 with pype axle backs sounds just like my old 2003 gt with magenflow catbacks . Honestly I have to tell people its just a v6 and watch their jaw drop.

 

[SynisterGT]

i swear my 14 v6 with pype axle backs sounds just like my old 2003 gt with magenflow catbacks . Honestly I have to tell people its just a v6 and watch their jaw drop.

I haven't heard many V6s with aftermarket exhaust but the few I have just didn't seem right to me. I test drove a V6 back in 2011 and was impressed but I just personally love that V8 sound for a mustang.

 

[rj67]

Enjoy which ever platform you choose. My first Mustang was a 2011 V6/PP. A friend who owns a 2009 GT gave me crap for not buying a "real Mustang." Never bothered me. We had a chance to go head to head one day and his might GT could't pull away. I am lucky enough to afford a GT now and still have love for the 3.7.

 

[Charles147]

Why? What's the big deal with this?

Now, with the EB, I bet it's a great motor and I hope it does well, even if it's taking the Mustang into a future I simply cannot embrace; that and having been through three 4-cylinder cars(I'm on my second and third right now), I'd want something different.

Let me refresh you...you answered your own question to the motor debate. End of story!

 

[Wblv17]

I haven't heard many V6s with aftermarket exhaust but the few I have just didn't seem right to me. I test drove a V6 back in 2011 and was impressed but I just personally love that V8 sound for a mustang.

the v6 sounded like a VW rabbit the first 1000 miles then settled down very nicely, and the long 20inch by 4 inch tips remind me of theold fox body exhaust look. Had roush axlebacks on my 14 V6 and took back off because of sound.

 

[Patrick S]

i swear my 14 v6 with pype axle backs sounds just like my old 2003 gt with magenflow catbacks . Honestly I have to tell people its just a v6 and watch their jaw drop.

i never used the phrase 'its "Just" a 6', since my V6 was the car i wanted, not the car i settled for.

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