MotorTrend Review (GT)

[Josh Painter]

As far as glossy car rags go, Motor Trend is a bad joke. Always has been, always will be. I'm can't wait to read what the mad Aussies who edit the UK's Car magazine say when they test the S550.

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[5.0GT]

Fords 50 year party was all about going global. Not about giving the enthusiast and the loyal following what they wanted. I'm some what disappointed.

Sales will always trump loyalism. Look at the 90's. Camaros dominated Mustangs all over the road but Mustangs oustold camaros therefore didnt need to be faster.

 

[Taneras]

On which planet is a Camaro 6k less than any Mustang? Did you mean the other way around?

I was referring to the 1LE and the Boss 302. It out performs it and costs less. How much less I can't remember but it was a significant figure for cars in this price range (around 6k).

 

[Taneras]

Sorry I was going off of reality at the drag strip and my customer base that drove 90 % Mustangs. Camaros were a joke. We used to call them an over grown Geo.

So you're talking about "reality" and "drag strip times" and not 1/4 mile (what I referenced) runs?

Ok, I gotcha... :lol:

 

[Dub347sbf]

So from what I'm seeing the gtpp won't beat a 1le? Disappointing.

 

[Todd15Fastback]

So from what I'm seeing the gtpp won't beat a 1le? Disappointing.

Here are stats for the Motorweek test of the 2014 1LE.

Our car’s LS3 6.2-liter V8 generates 426-horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque. Yes, that is unchanged as no updates were needed here. So, we settled for the same times of our last 1LE, 4.5-seconds to 60 and 12.9 for the ¼ at 110 miles-per-hour.


One of the tests that was released today for the 2015GT PP got:
0-60 4.4
12.8 112.7mph.

 

[Dub347sbf]

Here are stats for the Motorweek test of the 2014 1LE.

Our car’s LS3 6.2-liter V8 generates 426-horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque. Yes, that is unchanged as no updates were needed here. So, we settled for the same times of our last 1LE, 4.5-seconds to 60 and 12.9 for the ¼ at 110 miles-per-hour.


One of the tests that was released today for the 2015GT PP got:
0-60 4.4
12.8 112.7mph.

I was thinking more of around a track, the handling reviews seem uninspiring?

 

[Todd15Fastback]

I was thinking more of around a track, the handling reviews seem uninspiring?

Here is a snippet from one of the drivers of the review. I think that speaks volumes.

"Mind you, I drove the GT in a group that also included the Porsche 911 GT3, the Lexus RC F, and the Italian-superhero Ferrari 458 Speciale. It confidently, casually held its own in that heady company."

 

[jaja6009]

Sorry I was going off of reality at the drag strip and my customer base that drove 90 % Mustangs. Camaros were a joke. We used to call them an over grown Geo.

Not flaming you but I drove my 94 GT at the drag strip through out the late 90s.
The LT1 came in 1993. Ran 14s
The LS1 came in 1998 ran deep into the 13s and Evan SMith the MMFF drag guru got one into the 12s.
The 94 gt ran high 14s.
the 96 gt ran high 14s.
the 99 gt ran high 13s.
Stock for stock the Camaros roasted Mustangs including me.
The older 5.0s (pre SN95) ran better than the SN95s but year for year once the LT1 came out the Mustang was crushed every year. But somehow the 94 GT won Motor Trend car of the year being almost 1 second slower in the 1/4 mile than the LT1 F body twins.
At least the 305hp 96 Cobra ran close with the F Body twins but made alot less power and still never to manage the ridiculous 12 second timeslip of an LS1 powered car (That was made by at least 2 different people in 2 different cars even though they were not really able to be duplicated by others- hero runs)

The LS1 made 290 to the tires while my 94 GT made 180-190.

I needed heads intake and cam to finally beat the F body bullies.



Dont be too caught up with the 1/4 mile times. Back in 2005 when the then new Mustang came out Motor Trend had a .4 second difference between testing two different cars. One article had a 13.9 1/4 mile while another had a 13.5. In the second article they couldnt hide thier shock at how much quicker the second car was. The time they got is just a reference point. Some will go quicker some will equal and some will be slower. But I really was expecting them to get a mid 12. At least the trap speed was encouraging at 112 mph.

 

[Gen_Nick3.8]

Look the 1LE is about 5K more than the mustang, The 1LE tires are extreme summer tires different from the mustangs, The fronts are bigger, Its got a Short throw tremec shifter. C'mon guys the Mustang did very well.

 

[fionic]

all of these 'problems' can be fixed with a few aftermarket upgrades.

do you guys CONSTANTLY track your cars?

All reviewers said in daily-driving situations, it destroys everything.

 

[ilkhan]

So from what I'm seeing the gtpp won't beat a 1le? Disappointing.

IIRC the 1LE comes with significantly more (in both absolute and costly) tire than the GTPP. Equalize those and see how they stack up.

I think its funny that people are complaining that the GTPP doesn't beat last years special edition. It stomps all over last year's GT in handling, and matches it in quarter mile and 0-60 (as we should expect, basically the same engine). The GTPP is plenty for 95% of buyers, and the GT350 will be out soon enough for the other 5%.

 

[jonb347]

i rode in and drove them monday. they are leagues beyond current car handling wise.

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Motor Trend can blow me. Or does that sound too harsh?

 

[BaylorCorvette]

Yea. I was 90% sure it was going to outperform the 1LE. It just doesn't make any sense why Ford would not build something that would out do the current Chevy.

I would be willing to bet that once the 6th gen. Camaro comes out, Ford will up the power on the Mustang. This will be another ZL1 / GT500 event, however not as drastic. I suspect come MY 2016 or 2017 the Mustang GT will be around 450 hp, but tq will likely be less than the LT1's. The weight between the two should be similar with the edge to the Camaro going to Alpha platform. I also wouldn't be surprised if we see some suspension tweaks to the Mustang in the next couple of years, kind of what GM did with the 5th gen and switching from the FE3 suspension to the FE4 suspension.

The 2010 SS (and 2011) were widley criticized for poor handling and feeling spongy. GM addressed this by switching to the FE4 suspension. The biggest change being the rear sway bar pickup point on the rear lower control arm. By moving the pickup point outboard of the shock GM picked up more roll stiffness due to better leverage for the sway bar, without increasing overall diameter too much. Increases in roll stiffness really do make for a better handling Camaro, as the very small rear sway bar on the FE3 package was the biggest single contributor to the understeer with the factory suspension package.

I would be VERY surprised if Ford didn't respond to the new 6th gen Camaro once it has been out for a year or two.

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