S550 Mustang GT as a Daily Driver

[archangl]

Hello everybody this my first time posting on the forum. I currently have a 10th Gen Civic SI, which I guess you can consider it "full bolt on," at this point. Don't get me wrong I love my car, but the itch to try something different namely an S550 Mustang GT (due to the 5.0 and IRS), hasn't gone away. I try to forget about it, but it keeps bugging me what it would be living with a GT, and want to feel the power of a V8 and not have to do much to it to make power (maybe it will be the one car I keep till the wheels fall off, which I have never really done before). My predicament is that I drive 100 miles one way to work (200 miles per day), and yeah the Civic SI is a great and fun car especially gas mileage (24 mpg with me romping on it very frequently), and reliable. My question is with that type of driving how does the Mustang GT fair in terms of gas mileage and reliablity. I should also mention that I bought my 2019 Civic Si brand new and it has 41k miles on it now, and not one problem. I get at best 33+ mpg, if I drive it softly on the highway. Looking for advice from you guys, especially since a lot of you DD your car and a lot of them are more than likely modified, which is what I would plan on doing down the road.

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[ice445]

I bought my car brand new with the intention of daily driving it. I opted for a BASE car with no packages, but if I could redo I'd try to at least find a 301A car since it's not that expensive for the upgrades you get. Your mileage may vary though, I wanted manual and a specific color so I settled since it was nearby. Base cars come with a 3.55 limited slip rear end and the fuel mileage is honestly...pretty good. I get 250-300 miles a tank. My average commute MPG is 18-19, and that's not grandma driving either. On the highway I was able to get 27MPG sustained cruising at the 70mph speed limit. PP1/PP2 cars have a 3.73 rear end and will average slightly less MPG.

My two cents is that you'll really enjoy the car with the kind of commute you have. The 5.0 absolutely eats up highway miles and feels like it's putting in literally zero effort to cruise at 80. Plus you actually have decent "passing" power even when you start from 80 unlike a lot of four cylinder cars. I came from a GTI and in general it just feels way more relaxed at speed. The ride quality with the base suspension is very nice and compliant, but it's not as tight as what you're coming from. Good for daily driving in my opinion. Build quality on these cars is somewhat random, you may find rattles or panel gaps, but they are extremely reliable. No forced induction to worry about, and the Coyote is a tank. A lot of 18+ cars have the "bbq tick", but it doesn't actually do anything negative, it's just there.

 

[Billy1]

Have you test driven a GT yet? You need to decide if you want a manual or the 10 speed auto. You need to drive the 10 speed auto in Sport to really see what it can do. After you get one you can think about modifying it. But with 460 hp(closer to 490) you probably won't need to do anything to it, other than exhaust and intake. The GT is mostly reliable.

Coming from a Civic you will need to have a great deal of respect for the car when driving it-especially in the rain. The gas mileage won't be anywhere near your Civic highway mileage, as it looks like you do a lot of annual miles. I don't know your age-but you may want to check with your insurance agent on rates as insurance is a bitch in S. Florida.

Last but not least, expect a lot of Civic guys wanting to race-or at least give you the evil eye at lights(lol).

 

[Mazman]

For daily use a 18+ with the A10, Magneride and adaptive exhaust is golden.
If you do highway miles the milage is really good considering what type of car it is and the engine it has.


I used my 18 as a daily and it worked like a charm even during winter(not the best car if there is a good amount of snow though). I was averaging 23mpg, mainly driving shorter commute distance (25km single way with sometimes a lot of start stop). Steady at 100km/h (96mph) it was not uncommon to see around 31-35 mpg.

Best I ever got on my way home from work was 40mpg according to the trip meter (25km trip)


But for that type of commuthing wouldn't another type of car be more suitable?

 

[Biggins]

Buy an auto 5 litre beast. I did, and you’ll love it. I had a freelander, getting 22per gallon, so this stang is not much worse. BUY ONE!!

 

[givemeadollar]

I made the same switch. I went from a 2018 civic si with a bigger turbo and flex fuel to a supercharged mustang gt. The mpg is pretty big hit going from a 1.5L 4 banger to a 5L V8. For me it ended up being roughly twice the cost of gas from civic to mustang, going from about 30mpg to about 15mpg. Join the dark side as the mustang is just an insane amount of fun compared to the civic.

 

[DonnieO]

I made the same switch. I went from a 2018 civic si with a bigger turbo and flex fuel to a supercharged mustang gt. The mpg is pretty big hit going from a 1.5L 4 banger to a 5L V8. For me it ended up being roughly twice the cost of gas from civic to mustang, going from about 30mpg to about 15mpg. Join the dark side as the mustang is just an insane amount of fun compared to the civic.

You must beat the shit out of your mustang to only get 15mpg. City driving I get 22mpg. Highway with ac on 28mpg

 

[ice445]

You must beat the shit out of your mustang to only get 15mpg. City driving I get 22mpg. Highway with ac on 28mpg

Supercharging isn't kind to your MPG

 

[DonnieO]

Supercharging isn't kind to your MPG

You got that right! I didn't see it said supercharged until you said that. . I wouldn't supercharge a car that's gonna drive 200 miles a day for work commute.

1000 miles a week. 4000 a month. 48000 a year.

 

[givemeadollar]

You got that right! I didn't see it said supercharged until you said that. . I wouldn't supercharge a car that's gonna drive 200 miles a day for work commute.

1000 miles a week. 4000 a month. 48000 a year.

Unfortunately I got my car supercharged very early on in its life so I don't really know the gas mileage I would have gotten without it. But since op was talking about heavily modded I was trying to give him an idea of heavily modded civic vs heavily modded mustang.

I totally agree with the not daily driving a supercharged mustang 50k miles a year, which is why I recommend the 1st purchase after the mustang to be a 1k to 2k honda/toyota appliance for the bad weather days.

 

[MRGTX]

DO IT.

I traded in my 2017 WRX for a 2020 GT daily driver. My commute isn't as long as yours but my situation is pretty similar.

Keep a few things in mind. The Civic is way more practical in almost every situation. Better MPG, more back seat room, much easier access to the cargo area, easier to park, etc. It will also be much better in snow/ice conditions than a Mustang GT. Seriously weigh those considerations.

My math came out like this:
I really appreciate Japanese sporty cars for all of their merits. They are generally a ton of fun and easy to live with. I've had two Miatas that were an absolute joy, and the WRX was a fine machine too. I put 50k on it and liked it more with each mile. When it comes down to it, as much as I appreciate the benefits of a car like a Civic Si or the WRX, driving pleasure is more important to me than any of those things, especially since a good chunk of my life is spent behind the wheel. I want a powerful, high revving V8 with a stick shift to be a fact of my daily life. That formula makes me so much happier than the comfort of AWD or saving a few bucks on gas. You have to do your own math on that.

The V8 Pony class of car seems to be the absolute best for longer distance travels. IMO the base seats are super comfortable with lots of adjustability. The Coyote engine is the perfect mix of big friendly V8 power with a high strung sports car engine side to its personality if the mood strikes you.

All of us here obviously picked the Mustang as our cars and they're the best of the class but I have to admit that Camaro SS and Challenger Scat Pack are damn near as good...just different flavors. Try them all if you can.

 

[DonnieO]

Unfortunately I got my car supercharged very early on in its life so I don't really know the gas mileage I would have gotten without it. But since op was talking about heavily modded I was trying to give him an idea of heavily modded civic vs heavily modded mustang.


Supercharged
I totally agree with the not daily driving a supercharged mustang 50k miles a year, which is why I recommend the 1st purchase after the mustang to be a 1k to 2k honda/toyota appliance for the bad weather days.

gotta love it being supercharged for sure!

 

[Ebm]

For daily use a 18+ with the A10, Magneride and adaptive exhaust is golden.
If you do highway miles the milage is really good considering what type of car it is and the engine it has.


I used my 18 as a daily and it worked like a charm even during winter(not the best car if there is a good amount of snow though). I was averaging 23mpg, mainly driving shorter commute distance (25km single way with sometimes a lot of start stop). Steady at 100km/h (96mph) it was not uncommon to see around 31-35 mpg.

Best I ever got on my way home from work was 40mpg according to the trip meter (25km trip)


But for that type of commuthing wouldn't another type of car be more suitable?

I had to check which country you are in lol. No way anyone's GT is getting 31-35 US mpg. I see you are on imperial mpg. 31 imperial mpg is around 26 US mpg. 26 US mpg is still good for these cars. I'm getting between 19-20 US mpg. A lot of that is the right foot and 4.10s. Whoops.

 

[Mazman]

I was according to my trip meter getting 8-9L/100KM on the highway easily, I realized I converted to the wrong MPG. In US MPG it is 26-30ish as you mentioned.

The lowest qouted number on my commute was 7L/100KM which would be 33 US MPG

The overall averge was 19-ish US MPG, still pretty good as I am averaging 29 US MPG in my MX-5 ND2 that weighs 800kg less and has 3L less engine volume and I have not been driving it in stop and go traffic....


In my 2020 BWM 330e I am getting almost 120 MPG at the moment. Driving in the same commute as I did with the stang . Considering that back when I had the mustang 1L costed around 17 SEK which is around 1.7USD with todays exhange rate it is a big drop in fuel cost for me for daily commutes. The reason why have a "low" MPG on the beemer is that I have been joyriding with the combustion engine on ( a lot of 0-60/100) runs . At 3000 KM the average was at 156 US MPG ......

I had to check which country you are in lol. No way anyone's GT is getting 31-35 US mpg. I see you are on imperial mpg. 31 imperial mpg is around 26 US mpg. 26 US mpg is still good for these cars. I'm getting between 19-20 US mpg. A lot of that is the right foot and 4.10s. Whoops.

 

[Balr14]

I bought a GT Premium with the 401A package and A10. It is an excellent highway car and gets decent gas mileage (mid - upper 20s). A number of years ago, I had a commute similar to yours. Since I was spending so much time driving, I figured I might as well drive something I enjoy. At that time it was a Firebird TA. I think I put 98k miles on it in 3 years. It beat the hell out of driving a Corolla.

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