How much do I need Magnaride on UK roads?

[JamesLafayette]

Hi All, wife test drove a GT vert last weekend, we both liked it a lot :-) The car hasn't got Magnaride, which sounds like a great option to have. I can't decide if I should go for the non-MR car or order a new one / see if a car with MR comes up secondhand. If I went for the non-MR car it has interest free credit, which would be nice, but I don't think I'd get 0% if ordered a new one. The car won't be tracked. I had an M3 vert for a few years which did not have the adaptive suspension option, and I never missed it. I'm be more interested in MR to improve the ride quality, rather than making it really firm.

Any advice would be much appreciated, and also any general advice on what kind of deal I should be looking at for a GT vert.

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[shogun32]

some here have complained bitterly of ride-quality on a GT vert. Did you get an honest test drive over A/B roads that were representative? MR does a better job than non- on sharp impacts (square edge bumps like hitting recessed man-hole covers). But it's rebound is a bit lacking IMO. I would look far and wide and get a ride in a MR car.

 

[JamesLafayette]

Thanks, the test drive definitely had some bumps, but I was the passenger as it's going to be my wife's car and so I wanted to make sure she liked driving it. It didn't seem harsh to me. I might be able to try a MR car, but probably not a vert, as they are pretty rare in the UK.

 

[GR11M]

Test drive one with Magnaride, dealers swap cars around so they should be able to get you a test drive in one.

 

[wenklaw]

I had a fastback loaner GT for a week with magnaride whilst mine doesn’t, personally I don’t think it’s particularly worth it but that’s just me, others rate it. If you test drive a non MR car and it was perfectly fine I think you have the answer.
If 0% is only available on in stock cars and none have MR if you factory order one with MR at the normal 7% rate on a PCP over 38 months it in essence is going to cost you about £10k!!!!
I had a similar issue when I purchased mine at 0%, I wanted the spoiler and a manual didn’t particularly want recaro seats or magnaride or a bright colour or stripes etc. Ended up with a manual, non MR, normal seats, silver, black roof and really chuffed with it.

Deal wise looks like £3750-4K (£6.5k if you’re a ford privilege customer) is easily achieved off sticker prices although I would always go in on a GT maybe £5k-6k under list as you never know.

 

[JamesLafayette]

Thanks wenklaw, I think I agree, I'll be fine without it. I've read a ton of 2017 (pre magnaride) reviews, and I'm not reading anything alarming about the non-MR handling. For a vert which will be used as a cruiser, I think non-MR will be fine.

If the sale of my wifes car goes OK tomorrow, I might be joining the Mustang club at the weekend :-)

 

[Entai]

Thanks wenklaw, I think I agree, I'll be fine without it. I've read a ton of 2017 (pre magnaride) reviews, and I'm not reading anything alarming about the non-MR handling. For a vert which will be used as a cruiser, I think non-MR will be fine.

If the sale of my wifes car goes OK tomorrow, I might be joining the Mustang club at the weekend :-)

The only thing to mention here is that, in the majority of pre facelift cars, people do spend a heck of a lot of money upgrading their suspension, going to coilovers, upgrading roll bars etc, because it is fairly well agreed the basic stock handling and ride quality is not great.

And that is on coupe's, not as many vert's out there as you say, but two of my mates with them have both upgraded their suspension.

It's also pretty well known across all manufacturers, chop the roof out and you will loose rigidity, and that will negatively affect handling and ride quality.

Put the two together and it does not sound good for long term use of a pre-facelift vert, when talking about ride quality and handling.


On the other hand if it will only ever be a cruiser, you might be ok, but as a friend found when he bought his wife a Mustang, it was not long before she asked about upgrades and modifying, and wanting to go to Santa Pod.

Maybe just steer clear of other mustangs and meets, once you start looking at others cars, the "want to do list" just keeps growing and growing

 

[wenklaw]

I personally don’t believe that MR by any stretch of the imagination transforms the Mustang but then generally I am not a fan of adaptive suspension. If some find its money well spent fair enough.
I think money would be better spent on after market suspension mods If your after a sharper handling mustang and if you have MR doesn’t that prevent you from doing them?

 

[WD Pro]

There are kits for MR available including options from FP matched with new sway bars and an ecu program.

I’m not suggest they are cheap options, but they are out there

WD

 

[slowhand99]

Handling and ride in a non-MR vert is fine especially if you are using it as a cruiser. You can always go the Pedders route later if you want to set the ride up for stiffness, comfort etc. Be reassured the vert wasn’t created by chopping the roof off a coupe but was designed as a vert from the start as well as having additional chassis bracing underneath.

 

[Entai]

Handling and ride in a non-MR vert is fine especially if you are using it as a cruiser. You can always go the Pedders route later if you want to set the ride up for stiffness, comfort etc. Be reassured the vert wasn’t created by chopping the roof off a coupe but was designed as a vert from the start as well as having additional chassis bracing underneath.

When I said
" It's also pretty well known across all manufacturers, chop the roof out and you will loose rigidity, and that will negatively affect handling and ride quality. "

I didn't mean they literately just cut the roof off. I know it is ( as are all convertibles from all manufacturers) specifically designed from the outset to be a convertible.

But even with extra under body bracing, and even with being specifically designed, every vert out there from every manufacturer, even the extreme top end, loose rigidity compared to a coupe or saloon.

Cut the top off any solid box and it is impossible to be as structurally sound as when it was whole.

 

[Nevyn]

I have Magneride on my '19 GT
and at first I would say its not noticeable. However, once I added the BMR cradle lockout and under body brace (Steeda G-Trac). this bolts the car to the road and the Magneride starts to pay dividends

it is definitely subtle but it gives confidence on the twisty bits.
ITs also noticeable when using the different modes. The ride is noticeably firmer in sport mode and lovely and comfortable in normal mode for those long cruises

for me its worth every penny for the option

 

[JamesLafayette]

By the time we had decided to go for it, the non MR car sold :-(. Not sure what to do now, nearly new Mustang Verts are pretty rare at the moment.

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