Re-thinking my desire to buy a 2019 Bullitt

[GreenS550]

**Disclaimer** This is just my opinion, and no criticism of anyone on this forum.

I was totally sold on ordering a Bullitt, until today.

I called a local dealership that I like and trust. They had a 2018 PP premium with active exhaust. The dealership, Skalnek Ford, in Lake Orion, MI treated me incredibly good. Real, decent, very willing to let me test drive. No commitment. Gave me an out the door price (about 4K+ off the 47K sticker). I told the salesman, Ryan, that I was not going to buy the car before I test drove it. He understood that I was testing it to determine if I wanted to order a Bullitt.

He said I could go alone if I wanted (that's a first on a new car for me). He said "drive it as you would the Bullitt, don't worry about it). The car had 2 miles on it and I drove it about 12 more.

The 6 speed manual shifted unbelieveably good. Fairly quiet ride. Better handling than my stock '15 auto with 20 inch tires. He wanted me to really drive it, so I did!

After 10 minutes of driving on the highway I pulled over. Waited for the traffic to clear, pulled out and nailed in 1st, fast shifted in to 2nd, then 3rd. Did near redline in 1st and 2nd. Let off at about 80 mph. The shifter and trans were the best I have ever used on any car including the MGW I had on my '09 Bullitt. Clutch engagement was just excellent.

But, with my LMS tune on my 2015 auto, I am sure my auto car is faster. Especially as mph increased, it seemed that 3rd needed more and 4th, I don't know about. I think Ford made a mistake making the gear ratios as far apart as they did on this '18. 4th is 1:1. That is a serious mistake, in my opinion. Why 2 gears of overdrive? Makes absolutely no sense to me. Now, if you SC the car, OK because the torque is there, but coming from my old '11 6 speed with 600rwhp I liked the ability to have torque on 4th or 5th. Not enough torque in my opinion. Since there is no torque converter, engine torque is necessary for quick acceleration. I just don't get it. I found myself preferring to drive it in 4th under 50 MPH.

Also, don't know if I'd want the active exhaust as the "normal" mode is much louder than my '15 and sounds great.
Summary:
First is OK acceleration and the shifting is wonderful. really smooth shifting near redline. Downshifting really good syncros. Wonderful transmission.
Fairly quiet interior even with the Michelin summer tires. Brakes very good.
handling good. Gear ratios are just incorrect, in my opinion. I don't think the track guys are going to like the gear spacing.

I think the car is worth the money, but the auto transmission is probably the trans to get. Not available on the Bullitt. That's a mistake.

With my '15 auto and the LMS tune, I found myself wanting to get back in mine and drive it again. My car does not handle good enough for me stock, but every thing else, the paddle shifters with the tune are just great. I can keep the car floored and just power shift through the gears. Bang, bang, bang.


Needless to say I am a bit let down. Maybe I'll change my mind, but at this point, I don't think I'm doing the Bullitt. Auto trans, yes. For sure. Stick, not sure. :shrug:

Sponsored

 

[sbrenskell]

I was shocked that my dealer let me drive my 18 alone with my mom. The salesman didn't even hang around he gave me the keys asked me if I wanted to take it on a test drive. He went in and got my dealer tag. And off my mom and I went. We even got lost on the way back. But I loved my car the first time I drove it.

And now he is mine. He's getting ceramic coated. I will get him back early next week. I have missed my car though :(. My mom is thinking about ordering a Bullitt and I'm honestly excited for it (if she does end up getting it) cause we will have 3 mustangs

 

[Ninjak]

@ GreenS500:

I read your comments, but the first thing I would say that stood out is that your car is TUNED A tuned car, even a older one is not going to drive like a stock one. Case in point:

My 17 GT350 was a great drive stock. But if I was to compared to how it drives now TUNED, its no contest. More down low tq, more power throughout to redline, it is a totally different driving experience.

I would say that you need to keep that in mind testing the 18 against what you currently have. Though it is very nice they let you drive it like you stole it

 

[ctandc72]

Since there is no torque converter, engine torque is necessary for quick acceleration. I just don't get it. I found myself preferring to drive it in 4th under 50 MPH.

I am NOT trying to be an ass...but that statement tells me two things.

1. You don't understand what a torque converter does...hint...it doesn't multiply or add engine torque. At LOW RPM it can act as a sort of a reduction gear (easy way to think of it without going into a long explanation), but it does NOT add power.

2. I hate to tell you that if you're experiencing a "lack of torque" when driving a GT with a 6 speed manual, you're shifting WAY too soon. That's what the manual transmission is for...to have the DRIVER pick the gear that puts the engine in it's power band depending on the situation.


A co worker has a '15 GT Premium 6 speed he just picked up a few weeks ago. He made the comment "it wasn't as fast as he thought it would be". He literally thought something was wrong with it. I rode with him. I couldn't believe how early he shifted. I drove it and he couldn't believe the difference. I had to convince him we wasn't going to hurt the car revving it a bit when shifting / daily driving. That's what it's made for.

Rev limiters exist for a reason. If you bought a GT, you didn't buy it for the fuel economy-----REV IT.

These aren't big cube engines making gobs of torque down low...they are made to spin.....spin 'em.

 

[Zelek]

So just tune the Bullitt and call it a day? It's no surprise that a stock tune sucks. There's always room on the table to take you from safe level to neutral level.

Once I added ARH catted headers and threw on a tune, my car throws me back in my seat a lot harder now. I don't need a dyno to tell me that.

 

[Austinj427]

Did the car you drove have 3.73s?

 

[UAmach1]

So just tune the Bullitt and call it a day? It's no surprise that a stock tune sucks. There's always room on the table to take you from safe level to neutral level.

Once I added ARH catted headers and threw on a tune, my car throws me back in my seat a lot harder now. I don't need a dyno to tell me that.

So much this. I am already looking at adding the PP2 handling bits, a tune, midpipe, and then looking into a driveshaft, accessory pulleys, and rear seat delete.

None of those will be HUGE changes, but they all add up to a nicer over all experience.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Why 2 gears of overdrive? Makes absolutely no sense to me.

The previous gearset left you with a huge gap between 5th (1.00:1) and 6th (0.6-something). I'm sure you'd find driving situations where 6th is too tall and 4th too short.

That 5th is your new 4th. Drive accordingly and don't worry about how many gears you've already used, how many you still have left, or about how many of them are overdrives (output shaft rpm > input shaft rpm is all that 'overdrive' means so don't ascribe anything else to the term, whether good or bad).


Norm

 

[moto111]

Drive the 10 speed lol

 

[Spork3245]

Drive the 10 speed lol

The Bullitt is manual-only.

 

[moto111]

The Bullitt is manual-only.

And ? The guy expressed interest in a auto . He should drive the 10 speed so he has more information

 

[GreenS550]

I am NOT trying to be an ass...but that statement tells me two things.

1. You don't understand what a torque converter does...hint...it doesn't multiply or add engine torque. At LOW RPM it can act as a sort of a reduction gear (easy way to think of it without going into a long explanation), but it does NOT add power.

2. I hate to tell you that if you're experiencing a "lack of torque" when driving a GT with a 6 speed manual, you're shifting WAY too soon. That's what the manual transmission is for...to have the DRIVER pick the gear that puts the engine in it's power band depending on the situation.


A co worker has a '15 GT Premium 6 speed he just picked up a few weeks ago. He made the comment "it wasn't as fast as he thought it would be". He literally thought something was wrong with it. I rode with him. I couldn't believe how early he shifted. I drove it and he couldn't believe the difference. I had to convince him we wasn't going to hurt the car revving it a bit when shifting / daily driving. That's what it's made for.

Rev limiters exist for a reason. If you bought a GT, you didn't buy it for the fuel economy-----REV IT.

These aren't big cube engines making gobs of torque down low...they are made to spin.....spin 'em.

I shifted it near redline. Over 7K rpm. The '11 I owned was a Brembo car with the 373s. The gear spacing was better, stock, without the blower. And, yes, the auto has a torque converter, I get that, but gear spacing means a lot to keep the car in the power band. This is one of the reasons the A10 does better times. I get that. Just my opinion and I've owned over 10 stick muscle cars going back over 40 years. Just my opinion. That's all. Being honest.

 

[GreenS550]

Did the car you drove have 3.73s?

Yes. I believe all PP manual trans cars have 373.

 

[GreenS550]

BTW, when I was at the dragstrip with the '11 and the Roush blower, I had to shift into 5th before the end of the track which hurt my times. So, with that thinking, an '18 with FI will be perfect with FI. Maybe.

 

[whalesalad]

I've been on 4 or 5 test drives here in Michigan where the sales folks didn't care. My current GT (guy ended up coming to show me some good roads, but was going to let me go solo), a Focus RS (put about 15 miles on this) and a Golf R (put about 20 miles on it), my wife's STI, etc...

I was surprised too but seems to be the norm around here. In LA where I grew up ... they won't even let you drive it out of or into the parking lot.

Sponsored