S650 1K mile/ 1-month owner review from an S197

[Macfarland]

Well, your opinion is your own, but to me, the 4.6 wins in the engine sound department. It’s a unique sound that’s just awesome.

I’m with you on this one. I had a 2010 GT premium with track pack and then a 2017 GT premium with performance package. To me, the best looking non Shelby front end is the 2015-17 GT, but the sound of that 2010 4.6L it’s unmatched by all subsequent GTs including S650. It’s my absolute favorite stock exhaust sound. My second favorite is the S550’s GT350.

I parted ways with my Stangs 4 years ago as I got married and I was driving 20k miles a year for work, so I needed low maintenance car and I got the Prius which I love by the way haha

I do really miss my Mustang and since I currently can’t afford a S650 and the 2016-2017 GTs with low mileage are still in the mid $30k, I am currently searching for a 2010 GT Torch Red premium again.

Once I’m financially ready again, I’ll jump into a S650 or my dream a 2020 GT350

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[Kraus143]

yeah, thats strange. Only thing i can think of is that you accidentally turned quiet start off in the settings, or you accidentally swapped the times around. Definitely have the dealer look at it, thats gotta be a bug if its not either of those two

I figured it out. I deleted my personal profile set to my key. It now starts in quiet mode when I remote start. It's weird that must be a software glitch

 

[wilkinda65]

I’ve never seen a Tesla dealership

There is one in Tampa, FL

 

[wilkinda65]

I had issues with the paint on mine, chips and scratches from transport. They sent it to a body shop for repairs which took two weeks. Got the car back and it still wasn’t satisfactory. My dealer did the right thing, they ordered me another car and I get to drive this one until the replacement car gets here. They understood that you shouldn’t have to have a special order, brand new car repainted. Hopefully they get you a new one and give you a loaner to use while you wait. Dealers don’t want bad reviews out there. It may take some bickering back and forth but at the end of the day they want a happy customer.

Unfortunately I can't drive this any longer even though.....it drives fine, just smokes on startup. Whatever they saw when they boro-scoped it it was deemed not to drive.

 

[R3AL3ST8]

***beware this is an opinion on the internet, as such everything i say is 100% factual, if you disagree you can find me at the Waffle House at 3am***

So ive had the car for about a month now and figured not enough opinions exist on the internet so i figured id throw mine onto the pile as well.

ill start with the cons:
1. its 62 thousand fucking dollars... inflation really do be a mean mistress (yes, its in line with inflation vs a similar spec 2023)
2. No car is perfect, as such, my car has this nice little whine that im trying to nail down, started in the last week my current guess is a pump but ill have to talk to my dealer and get them to look at it.
3. its 62 thousand fucking dollars (as spec'd)
4. the tires are severely under spec for this car, took a right turn onto a 40mph road the other day and managed to break traction just trying to get up to speed
5. its 62 thousand fucking dollars (thank god for X-plan making it only 58k)

okay major whining over now for the actual stuff:
ill start with the exterior of the car, to put simply, i love it. i honestly feel like Ford made the right call moving away from the S550s more euro sportscar style front end. I remember when i first saw an S550 in 2015 thinking "the fuck is this Aston Martin knockoff". i definitely dont feel that here

To me, this is more a successor to the S197 while the S550 was trying to be a successor to the SN95. Both have their places, but this is the one i prefer. Especially in grabber blue, which just looks amazing in both the light and the shade.

My spec has the Bronze pack which, for $1000, i feel is a little lacking, but all around decent, it contrasts well with the Grabber blue.

The Bronze wheels honestly look amazing, i almost dont want to swap them for wider wheels, but...see the above complaints

The Brembos are well suited to their jobs, they stop way better than the 6 piston Baer brakes i had on my S197.

in case the wheels didnt give it away the car also has the Performance Pack with the optional Active Valve Exhaust and the Magneride suspension. i honestly wouldnt have minded if Ford added a bronze painted wing for the bronze pack but 3M has plenty of answers if i really want it. overall i feel the wing adds to the overall aggressiveness of this new body style and im glad i optioned it.

The Active Valve is 100% worth it for the quiet start alone, i have to wake up at 5am to go to work and use remote start to let the car warm up 50ft from where i live, with quiet start, youll hear the ignition and then silence, the car makes very little noise and will never actually bother the neighbors. Another benefit is it makes it WAY more noticeable when you go from quite to track once you hit the highway.

the Magneride is amazing suspension for both city and country road use, granted im comparing it to my old S197, a wet fart has better handling than that. Seriously though, the modes are extremely noticeable in difference, i routinely go over rumble strips to get to my work, in track mode its like the car is shaking apart, meanwhile normal mode i barely feel the rumble strip. the car also feels very planted in every mode, ive spun the tires a few times but never really felt like i was out of control.

Now to the interior. I opted to not get the Recaro seats because, since this is my daily driver i wanted heated and cooled seats. My S197 only had heated seats so its not like this is a world of difference here, but its good to see the seats are just as comfortable as my old ones, and not less.

my only real complaint about the seats here is the belt holder strap does not stay connected due to where i grab the seatbelt from when buckling up.

now for the controversial part: the screen.

i optioned the car with the 10R80 due to mainly having a lot of stop/go traffic on my commute and honestly, i was kind of over having a manual the whole time and, just as i though, i get just as much enjoyment out of the paddles as i did the stick in my S197.

oh also the screens...yeah i honestly dont give a shit about them, theyre good in that they let me play my music and open google maps on Android Auto, otherwise i dont really notice them at all on my drive. not to imply that a button center would be any better/worse because i honestly dont give a shit.

now the creature comforts lighting round style:
AC/Heat: great, car lets you set your temp, and auto selects AC/Heat based on that choice when it starts
Heated wheel/seats: works great, cooled seats dont really notice it now because im usually driving with the windows down, but 100% worth it in 100 degree range also, see above
Ambient lighting: lighting do be ambient, a shame theres no light in the cupholders, but ill never forgive them for removing the cup holder cover for that clean center look
Door sills: they sill the doors, also for anyone wondering if they change with the ambient light, yes, they do.

Trunk: here there be Dragons storage space

B&O Audio: yep, its sound alright, im not an audiophile so you all duke it out

Lastly theres the engine: My 2010 Mustang GT Premium had a 4.6L V8 putting out 315 horsepower to a Tremec 5 speed transmission. This is a 5.0L Coyote V8 putting out 486HP to a 10R80 automatic. it sounds way different to my old modular. Not better, but not worse. the difference to 60 however is very noticeable and i love launching this thing in drag mode (in a safe place, obviously). Everyone knows the only perfect car is a Yugo, but if you were to ask me if i have any regrets about paying 58k for this car...

...the answer is a resounding "fuck no"

Great review! Hilarious! Thanks!

 

[Hack]

I bought my 2018 Fiesta ST for more than $4,000 under MSRP. It had less than 500 miles on it and it was "used", but it had only been owned by dealerships.

Good car, but most people in the US don't like small, sporty cars. That's an example of what can happen. If people don't buy a car at MSRP, eventually it will sell for a lower price.

 

[Stangerous]

Unfortunately I can't drive this any longer even though.....it drives fine, just smokes on startup. Whatever they saw when they boro-scoped it it was deemed not to drive.

Bummer. While mine was in the body shop they gave me a brand new F-150 Lariat off their lot. Talk to your sales manager, they should be able to help you out. I did have a little help getting to the right people to escalate my situation. Sales manager, general manager, owner or owner partner. I didn’t have to go any farther than the general manager. Like I said before, they don’t want bad reviews or complaints to the owner or to Ford. Take it as far as needed for them to make it right for you. If you leave a bad review through carfax or GOOGLE, you will get a phone call in less than an hour from your dealers rep. The “ buy out” line is a quick way to end the situation and get rid of you, do not settle for that. That’s all I heard from my salesman and sales manager, after I made the appointment to speak with the general manager things started going the right way. They ordered my car that day and I got confirmation email from Ford within 45 minutes. Three days later I got the scheduled for production date. When I ordered my first back on March 28 I didn’t receive confirmation until April 4, didn’t receive production date until May 22. Things are moving much faster with this order. Good luck!

 

[wilkinda65]

Bummer. While mine was in the body shop they gave me a brand new F-150 Lariat off their lot. Talk to your sales manager, they should be able to help you out. I did have a little help getting to the right people to escalate my situation. Sales manager, general manager, owner or owner partner. I didn’t have to go any farther than the general manager. Like I said before, they don’t want bad reviews or complaints to the owner or to Ford. Take it as far as needed for them to make it right for you. If you leave a bad review through carfax or GOOGLE, you will get a phone call in less than an hour from your dealers rep. The “ buy out” line is a quick way to end the situation and get rid of you, do not settle for that. That’s all I heard from my salesman and sales manager, after I made the appointment to speak with the general manager things started going the right way. They ordered my car that day and I got confirmation email from Ford within 45 minutes. Three days later I got the scheduled for production date. When I ordered my first back on March 28 I didn’t receive confirmation until April 4, didn’t receive production date until May 22. Things are moving much faster with this order. Good luck!

I'm driving g a new F-150 Lariat as well. I'm just not a truck person. I pushed for a Bronco to drive since thats on my future purchase list

 

[wilkinda65]

I sat in one this afternoon at another dealer with the space

i like them, makes the interior feel more bright and the seats get nowhere near as hot as my old black leather seats. time will tell how they hold up to staining, but for now im glad i went with it

gray seats, I like them with the 401a package but not the 400 package

 

[agreywolfe]

i havent seen a 400 package so dont really know what the insides are like vs 401 but i understand the difference in preference, anything other than black on black needs to rely heavily on balance overall, i probably wouldnt have gotten space gray without the color accents from the 401, just gray seats would stick out like a sore thumb vs gray seats with gray door trims, and gray accent stitching. really makes it flow well with the black and silver dash

 

[Bikeman315]

i havent seen a 400 package so dont really know what the insides are like vs 401 but i understand the difference in preference, anything other than black on black needs to rely heavily on balance overall, i probably wouldnt have gotten space gray without the color accents from the 401, just gray seats would stick out like a sore thumb vs gray seats with gray door trims, and gray accent stitching. really makes it flow well with the black and silver dash

Post 29.

https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/let’s-post-interior-photos-here.158040/page-2

 

[wilkinda65]

Post 29.

https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/let’s-post-interior-photos-here.158040/page-2

I like the seats better on the 401a for sure. Plus memory seating for position is nice to have. Sonya is much shorter than I am and it makes it easy to switch back after she drives.

 

[wilkinda65]

My favorite interior from my 2015 LE, this was white and it was a labor of constant love to keep it right

 

[Dena]

Unfortunately I can't drive this any longer even though.....it drives fine, just smokes on startup. Whatever they saw when they boro-scoped it it was deemed not to drive.

I really would have liked to know what they found. If there were marks on the cylinder wall which I doubt, that would have been freeze things as they are and swap the engine. If it was just oil leaking through the head, They could have packed a head and fly a Ford engineer out with it then completed what they wanted in a few days. For that matter, it doesn't take a month to ship something like an engine if you really want to get it somewhere. You might pay a little more but in the early days, Fed X shipped a crane by air to a nuclear plant. My roommate once shipped refrigeration pipe by air for a meat packing plant. I wrote a lot of shippers and it always came down to how fast the customer needed it. Often maintenance equipment was small and overnight but when I could save the company a few dollars, it went second day.
For that matter, I watched a u tube video where somebody in the UK rebuilt a crash damaged car in Florida. Some of the frame parts couldn't be purchased in the United States so he bought them in the UK, packed them as baggage then flew with them to the United State were he used them.
Maybe Ford has a policy against field trips. I know they aren't fun as I have been on a few but sometimes you have to do them to get the job done.

 

[Stangerous]

I'm driving g a new F-150 Lariat as well. I'm just not a truck person. I pushed for a Bronco to drive since thats on my future purchase list

Those are very nice as far as trucks go. The one I was driving had the B&O Unleashed system in it and man that was a nice sounding system, if my Mustang’s B&O sounded half as good there would be no need to upgrade. Although it did have 18 speakers tucked in it where we only get 10 with two of them counting as two to make it a 12 speaker system, lol. So I hope they are ordering you a new Mustang.

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