Nathan Hammermaster 6/29/11
2011 Mustang GT 5.0
Mustang is as common as peanut butter, vacuums, or the phrase “clean your room!”. The legend of this car started in 1964 when Ford launched its new two-door, 4 seat coupe: the Mustang. The Mustang is named after the WWII plane, not the horse. Well over a million cars were sold, a whole new culture was created, and (not a surprise there) the Mustang was modified. Most notable of the tuners was Carrol Shelby. But this evaluation is not about Ford’s top ‘stang, but it’s standard GT model, standard being relative.
The 5.0 Liter V8 is retro to a 5 liter V8 in the late ‘60s, and this new one is brilliant. It liberates 412 HP and 390 lb. ft. of torque. 0-60 (here come the specs again) is a fast 4.6 seconds, top speed is a respectable 146mph (limited), 70-0 braking distance: 153 ft., grip: .94 g, and the ¼ mile comes in 13.2 seconds @ 109 mph. All these brilliant, Camaro and Challenger beating specs are availble with 17 city/ 26 highway mpg. Incredible, right?, but that is just icing on the cake, it is the fastest muscle car (as noted), it has the most trunk space, and it is pretty comfortable. It looks really good to. A cool feature in the design of the car is the rear lights. They are divided into three sections, when the indicators are turned on, the lights start on the inside one, and blink towards the outside light. The 5.0’s rear two seats aren’t as big as a Challenger’s, but they are better than the Camaro.
The interior is done far more tastefully than the Camaro’s. The seats are decent, and the controls are nicely laid out. Plus, the car has a lot more visibility than the Camaro. The 5.0 comes with a host of standard options and a lot more available. The GT starts at about $29,500, but it gets even more as options add on.
As for the track times The 5.0 laps Streets of Willow in 1:28.2. Fast? for sure, but still slower than the GT500. Not that that matters, this is a review about a much more practical car.The 2011 Mustang GT 5.0 is without a doubt a step up from the 2010 model, and a step up from the Challenger and the Camaro (never thought I personally would say that). In fact, it almost competes with the M3 (but cheaper, mind you). This muscle car offers a lot of bang for its buck.
Nathan Hammermaster © Superchargedreviews.com Information comes from: CarandDriver.com, Insideline.com, Ford.com, and other little sites for specs.