2024 Mustang GT Driving Reviews! - Articles/Videos Compilation

[BlackFerret69]

Overall, pretty good reviews. My only critique is the constant comparison of the rear quarters of the S650 to the Camaro. Enough already. The Camara borrowed that look from the Mustang. They seem to forget that the Mustangs had those broad haunches on their Mustang 54 years ago. Jim Owen's and a few other Ford people have noted several times that it is the inspiration for the S650's design.

A montage I put together.
Top: 1969 Mach 1, Middle: 2024 DH, Bottom: 1970 Mach 1.

And if you want to talk about steering, drive one of those two Mach 1's for a while, then jump into a S550 or S650 (when we get one).

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[Richthebish12]

I’m still excited. I will drive it spirited a lot if the time, but I know 75% of the time it’s still going to bring a smile to my face driving stop light to stoplight, to the gym, store, and long road trips. I don’t think I’m “experienced” or “brave” enough to actually take corners so fast I lose grip or question it to begin with.
Maybe I’m just old

 

[BlackFerret69]

I’m still excited. I will drive it spirited a lot if the time, but I know 75% of the time it’s still going to bring a smile to my face driving stop light to stoplight, to the gym, store, and long road trips. I don’t think I’m “experienced” or “brave” enough to actually take corners so fast I lose grip or question it to begin with.
Maybe I’m just old

Agreed. But, even at 60, not too old!

I skipped the entire 15-23 S550's, and going from a S197 to the S650. I've pushed my '06 GT past the limit a few times, luckily without major incident. It does bring a bit of wisdom from the experience.

I am going to enjoy the miles of smiles in my Dark Horse. And everything about it will be a dramatic difference (Though not necessarily an improvement) in comparison to my '06, no matter how much I have improved it over stock.

Even after all these years, I still think my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 was the best and definitely the most fun car I've ever owned.

 

[Richthebish12]

Agreed. But, even at 60, not too old!

I skipped the entire 15-23 S550's, and going from a S197 to the S650. I've pushed my '06 GT past the limit a few times, luckily without major incident. It does bring a bit of wisdom from the experience.

I am going to enjoy the miles of smiles in my Dark Horse. And everything about it will be a dramatic difference (Though not necessarily an improvement) in comparison to my '06, no matter how much I have improved it over stock.

Even after all these years, I still think my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 was the best and definitely the most fun car I've ever owned.

It will be a huge difference for you! Hopefully one you’ll enjoy. I had a 2018 10 speed that was a blast. Looking forward to having one again

 

[roket]

anyone else notice that the speedometer in those review cars is skipping? i really dont like that, they do the live update for the RPM so why not speed too? i hope that's just some weird quirk with those specific ones and not something that will plague the other production models.

 

[Ace]

Overall, pretty good reviews. My only critique is the constant comparison of the rear quarters of the S650 to the Camaro. Enough already. The Camara borrowed that look from the Mustang. They seem to forget that the Mustangs had those broad haunches on their Mustang 54 years ago. Jim Owen's and a few other Ford people have noted several times that it is the inspiration for the S650's design.

A montage I put together.
Top: 1969 Mach 1, Middle: 2024 DH, Bottom: 1970 Mach 1.

And if you want to talk about steering, drive one of those two Mach 1's for a while, then jump into a S550 or S650 (when we get one).

The shoulder obviously isn't anything Camaro specific, that's pretty much what all pony cars do. But the combination of all rearend styling element remind people of the Camaro and that's a very fair point since the Camaro surely was the more angular looking pony car and now the Mustang is doing a similiar approach to styling (which I really love and prefer over Gen 6 styling).

Look as this picture here. Even the trunk shape is pretty much identicial to the design line on the Camaro rear. The line continuing the diffusor horizontally is also on both cars. Even the doors now have the same design with the little wing shape on the bottom. I know some diehard Mustang fans just have to hate Camaro styling for any reason, but I think there's nothing wrong with copy some ideas from competitors that worked. Heck Gen 6 was a heavily inspired by the Aston Martin DB9 (the designers were actually related)

 

[Mazman]

You that mention that Bill, Justin, Vaughn does not complain about the steering you need to consider they make leaving selling Ford-parts and in Vaughns case even sponsored.

The steering itself

#1: Seems there is very little communication or none. Meaning you cannot feel the tires/suspension loading up hence the comments on why the grip levels cannot be felt. Adding artificial steering weight with modes will no help that part.

#2 also the steering itself seems to be overly boosted making it to light in general. This could be sorted with modes.

These two things kills a lot of the driving dynamic feel. Which spoils it if you drive the car hard on twisty roads or track.

Let's hope the DH takes care some of it. I wrote this comment on the TH vid

"It is truly a shame the front end still is lacking. I think with larger swaybars, springs and larger tires (255 on the front is way way undertired) it should take care some of that.

Really looking forward to the DH which should take care some of the aspects. But will most likely no take care all of it. However it will have different EPAS and magneride tuning which should help on top of the wider tires, sways, springs etc"

 

[93-Oct Mayne]

You that mention that Bill, Justin, Vaughn does not complain about the steering you need to consider they make leaving selling Ford-parts and in Vaughns case even sponsored.

The steering itself

#1: Seems there is very little communication or none. Meaning you cannot feel the tires/suspension loading up hence the comments on why the grip levels cannot be felt. Adding artificial steering weight with modes will no help that part.

#2 also the steering itself seems to be overly boosted making it to light in general. This could be sorted with modes.

These two things kills a lot of the driving dynamic feel. Which spoils it if you drive the car hard on twisty roads or track.

Let's hope the DH takes care some of it. I wrote this comment on the TH vid

"It is truly a shame the front end still is lacking. I think with larger swaybars, springs and larger tires (255 on the front is way way undertired) it should take care some of that.

Really looking forward to the DH which should take care some of the aspects. But will most likely no take care all of it. However it will have different EPAS and magneride tuning which should help on top of the wider tires, sways, springs etc"

Looks like steeda springs and wider tires are first on the mod list

The non-HP DH has the same tire widths/suspension as the GT PP

 

[Dub347sbf]

Looks like media drives for Dark Horse at a track

 

[Face]

Hey Guys,

Justin from AM here- long time 6g lurker and kind of new over here but anyways I wanted to chime in on some of the steering talk and offer my $.02. Thanks for the kind words from some of you and thanks for taking the time to watch our little video especially when there are juggernauts like Throttle House out there.

From the moment I arrived and started asking around about what, if any were the biggest changes from the S550, from some of the Ford folk (save for the obvious) the overwhelming answer was steering. The changes to ratio, steering shaft and EPAS were constantly on the tongues of everyone from Jim Owens to a very kind vehicle dynamics engineer named 'Adam'. Now just because they said it, didn't automatically manifest it into my first drive impressions.

As others noted, Ive had a few Mustangs including my current s550 and to me the steering 'experience' in the S650 has improved overall. I enjoyed the new ratio and the responsiveness of the wheel, coupled with the actual wheel itself (as silly as it may sound). To me 'heavy' doesn't automatically equal better and I know I might be in the minority there but that's just my preference.

I did have some moments in the ecoboost where I encountered some heavy understeer at the limit during the auto-x portion and if anything I think the added front end weight of the GT and more section width greatly improved this in PP car- I feel like it would be even better with the DH and its wider/stickier fronts.

I do feel that some of the 'numbness' that others described may have been Fords attempt to refine the car a bit from a drivers perspective and unfortunately or fortunately that may have translated to a smoother steering feel with less effort. Is that bad? Well I can't speak for others but I didn't think so- quite the contrary. I enjoyed the 'point and go' feel of the 650 as opposed to constantly sawing the wheel like a vintage racer on bias plys.

Finally- I will never pull punches in fear of what Ford may think or worry about getting my invite pulled for future events. I'm not a journalist, I'm an enthusiast that hawks parts on YT so ultimately there is no fear of backlash as content honestly doesn't drive sales (unfortunately for me because I love doing it).

Any other questions fire away!

Disclaimer- I am not, nor do I pretend to be Billy Johnson. My experience is gained from years in the industry, driving and messing with these cars daily and some very occasional track time, so please take my opinions with a grain of salt. Are there more informed/reputible sources on the subject? Abso-freaking-lutely and i'm not afraid to admit that.

 

[Face]

You that mention that Bill, Justin, Vaughn does not complain about the steering you need to consider they make leaving selling Ford-parts and in Vaughns case even sponsored.

You're thinking about that backwards...

We sell aftermarket parts to replace OE stuff so if anything, I should be saying how much the stock experience sucked in the 650 and you should "spend all of your money on our site to change everything!". But that would be a scumbag move and ultimately that wasn't my experience.

I do think a spring and more tire up front would GREATLY improve the situation but I don't think the sky is falling like some of these thread comments would imply.

 

[NS90]

Hey Guys,

Justin from AM here- long time 6g lurker and kind of new over here but anyways I wanted to chime in on some of the steering talk and offer my $.02. Thanks for the kind words from some of you and thanks for taking the time to watch our little video especially when there are juggernauts like Throttle House out there.

From the moment I arrived and started asking around about what if any were the biggest changes from the S550, from some of the Ford folk (save for the obvious) the overwhelming answer was steering. The changes to ratio, steering shaft and EPAS were constantly on the tongues of everyone from Jim Owens to a very kind vehicle dynamics engineer named 'Adam'. Now I agree, just because they said it didn't automatically manifest it into my first drive impression.

As others noted, Ive had a few Mustangs including my current s550 and to me the steering 'experience' in the S650 has improved overall. I enjoyed the new ratio and the responsiveness of the wheel, coupled with the actual wheel itself (as silly as it may sound). To me 'heavy' doesn't automatically equal better and I know I might be in the minority there but that's just my preference.

I did have some moments in the ecoboost where I encountered some heavy understeer at the limit during the auto-x portion and if anything I think the added front end weight of the GT and more section width greatly improved this in PP car- I feel like it would be even better with the DH and its wider/stickier fronts.

I do feel that some of the 'numbness' that others described may have been Fords attempt to refine the car a bit from a drivers perspective and unfortunately or fortunately may have translated to a smoother steering feel with less effort. Is that bad? Well I can't speak for others but I didn't think so- quite the contrary. I enjoyed the 'point and go' feel of the 650 as opposed to constantly sawing the wheel like a vintage racer on bias plys.

Finally- I will never pull punches in fear of what Ford may think or worry about getting my invite pulled for future events. I'm not a journalist, I'm an enthusiast that hawks parts on YT so ultimately there is no fear of backlash as content honestly drive sales (unfortunately for me because I love doing it).

Any other questions fire away!

Disclaimer- I am not, nor do I pretend to be Billy Johnson. My experience is gained from years in the industry, driving and messing with these cars daily and some very occasional track time, so please take my opinions with a grain of salt. Are there more informed/reputible sources on the subject? Abso-freaking-lutely and i'm not afraid to admit that.

Thank you, Justin! Long time lurker of AM and all of your videos. I understand I may have started the argument early in this thread but it was always going to be a hot button topic imho and prefaced it as well in another thread. Your credibility is and has always been 100%. Now on to the steering- This is mostly going to boil down to subjective opinions but as someone who has owned an S550 since it’s launch and has viewed and read all reviews thus far I took it as an improvement ESPECIALLY once we start modding with things like springs, sway bars and wider tires. I can’t divulge too much but as someone who lives in Michigan and gets “special opportunities” from time to time it felt better to me, personally. No I wasn’t doing “twisty bends” and hard driving but as you mention I liked the point and go nature with less effort in comparison to my S550. I’m excited as an enthusiast

 

[Face]

Thank you, Justin! Long time lurker of AM and all of your videos. I understand I may have started the argument early in this thread but it was always going to be a hot button topic imho and prefaced it as well in another thread. Your credibility is and has always been 100%. Now on to the steering- This is mostly going to boil down to subjective opinions but as someone who has owned an S550 since it’s launch and has viewed and read all reviews thus far I took it as an improvement ESPECIALLY once we start modding with things like springs, sway bars and wider tires. I can’t divulge too much but as someone who lives in Michigan and gets “special opportunities” from time to time it felt better to me, personally. No I wasn’t doing “twisty bends” and hard driving but as you mention I liked the point and go nature with less effort in comparison to my S550. I’m excited as an enthusiast

Thanks man, I appreciate that. And I agree with the new steering feel being 100% subjective. My advice- get out there and drive 'em! And if you dig it, leave it alone!

If not? Well I know of a few sites that can help improve things.

 

[Twin Turbo]

Hey Guys,

Justin from AM here- long time 6g lurker and kind of new over here but anyways I wanted to chime in on some of the steering talk and offer my $.02. Thanks for the kind words from some of you and thanks for taking the time to watch our little video especially when there are juggernauts like Throttle House out there.

From the moment I arrived and started asking around about what if any were the biggest changes from the S550, from some of the Ford folk (save for the obvious) the overwhelming answer was steering. The changes to ratio, steering shaft and EPAS were constantly on the tongues of everyone from Jim Owens to a very kind vehicle dynamics engineer named 'Adam'. Now I agree, just because they said it didn't automatically manifest it into my first drive impression.

As others noted, Ive had a few Mustangs including my current s550 and to me the steering 'experience' in the S650 has improved overall. I enjoyed the new ratio and the responsiveness of the wheel, coupled with the actual wheel itself (as silly as it may sound). To me 'heavy' doesn't automatically equal better and I know I might be in the minority there but that's just my preference.

I did have some moments in the ecoboost where I encountered some heavy understeer at the limit during the auto-x portion and if anything I think the added front end weight of the GT and more section width greatly improved this in PP car- I feel like it would be even better with the DH and its wider/stickier fronts.

I do feel that some of the 'numbness' that others described may have been Fords attempt to refine the car a bit from a drivers perspective and unfortunately or fortunately may have translated to a smoother steering feel with less effort. Is that bad? Well I can't speak for others but I didn't think so- quite the contrary. I enjoyed the 'point and go' feel of the 650 as opposed to constantly sawing the wheel like a vintage racer on bias plys.

Finally- I will never pull punches in fear of what Ford may think or worry about getting my invite pulled for future events. I'm not a journalist, I'm an enthusiast that hawks parts on YT so ultimately there is no fear of backlash as content honestly drive sales (unfortunately for me because I love doing it).

Any other questions fire away!

Disclaimer- I am not, nor do I pretend to be Billy Johnson. My experience is gained from years in the industry, driving and messing with these cars daily and some very occasional track time, so please take my opinions with a grain of salt. Are there more informed/reputible sources on the subject? Abso-freaking-lutely and i'm not afraid to admit that.

Good to have you here, Justin, and thank you for your thoughts and feedback. I took an interesting point from "REVan" Evan Smith's latest video. On the road, he commended the smoothness of the steering over rough LA highways, with none of the kickback you might expect. Perhaps this is the trade-off. Let's face it, 95% of our driving (well, most of it) is going to be on straight(ish) roads with poor surfaces, not carving corners in the canyons.

But, if slightly sub-par steering is the only dynamic failing of the S650, I'd still take that as a win.......and I'm sure it's still "better" than the S550. That's why I appreciate feedback from the likes of yourself, Evan Smith and David Patterson (ThatDudeInBlue) as you're comparing the S650 to the likes of the S550/S197, as opposed to comparing it to other marques, as Tom from Throttle House did.

 

[Mazman]

You're thinking about that backwards...

We sell aftermarket parts to replace OE stuff so if anything, I should be saying how much the stock experience sucked in the 650 and you should "spend all of your money on our site to change everything!". But that would be a scumbag move and ultimately that wasn't my experience.

I do think a spring and more tire up front would GREATLY improve the situation but I don't think the sky is falling like some of these thread comments would imply.

I get what you are saying but at the same time I think you get what I am trying to say. I am assuming you have some tighter bond with Ford than what e.g. TH has, I'll leave it at that.

However with that said it's great if there is improvement on that front but listening to other reviewers that does not seem to be case in all aspects of the steering feel.

Let's see what the DH HP brings and also one topic that is easy to forget is the impact of alignment (to the extent possible with a stock GT)

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