Test Drove a Mustang GT - drive review

[Stonehauler]

So last night, I went an test drove a 2024 GT (and an EB) My impressions, based on the GT
1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement. It's not quite as surefooted as I would have liked
2 - lack of torque - t the torque seemed to be lacking in this vehicle, especially at the low end. This EB seemed to have this issue as well. I know that I am spoiled coming from a line of cars that had more torque than HP and most had good bottom end torque, especially my last one that had 450 from 2500 on up and my F350 which has 800 Ft Lbs even lower. I am aware that this engine needs to be wound up to produce power and torque, but even then...it just seemed lacking.
3 - Numb steering - this might be the new system or maybe there was a mode I should have activated, but it did not communicate the road back to me like most of my other cars have. The last car I had that had steering this numb was a Lexus GS. Again, this could be a setting issue

The purely subjective - The two below are just from my preferences. Others (especially here) will probably disagree and that's fine.

just too small for so big a car. Don't get me wrong, the front seat is the perfect size, great seats, good headroom, plenty of room for my feat, but for car that big, it felt smaller on the inside than it should be...like a reverse TARDIS. The trunk opening could be a bit better and that would help out quite a bit

Too loud - it will attract the attention of every police officer in the area, or at least dirty looks from every neighbor, even if you are just using a light foot. For reference, I had a 5.7L boat that did not have mufflers and exhausted above the waterline that I feel was quieter. Combined with the fact that you need to be in the upper part of the rev range to start moving and I start seeing "displays of power" citations. As my wife said, it seems like this vehicle is the Huskey of the car world..."I must sing the song of my people" - FYI, I was on "quiet mode" of the active exhaust. Again, this is a preference I have, but I can see why some people woudl love it.

Now, it did have a number of very good things

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing. The sway bars kept it flat in the turns when it wasn't understeering. I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting like some other "sport" automatics. It also downshifted to get into the proper rev range extremely fast without a lot of "gear hunting"
• As I noted above, the driver and front passenger had lots of room up front. Hips, feet, head room were all great
• Cockpit like interior. Driver controls are oriented towards you and makes it easy to check while still driving and paying attention to the road. It does lack a heads up display when I find extremely useful though.
• Touch screen layout - While it's different the mechanical switches and buttons I am used to, I feel like it was designed by someone who knew about cars instead of a computer engineer just designing another interface. Of all the "touch screen layouts", this one ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive (leather), and felt good to sit in. While I miss a power recline and some other adjustments, I feel the inclusion of a mechanical recline to keep weight down a bit was the right call.
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise and did not feel floaty. I felt the wheels turned when I turned the wheel, it was just missing that feedback of a mechanical connection.
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one I have used in my test drives, and I've driven about 15 vehicles over the past 2 weeks.

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[RLE55]

understeer.
lack of torque -
Numb steering -
just too small
Too loud - Huskey of the car world...

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing.
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting
• driver and front passenger had lots of room up front.
• Cockpit like interior.
• Touch screen layout - ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one

Maybe a Mustang is not the right car for you?

 

[Stonehauler]

understeer.
lack of torque -
Numb steering -
just too small
Too loud - Huskey of the car world...

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing.
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting
• driver and front passenger had lots of room up front.
• Cockpit like interior.
• Touch screen layout - ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one

Maybe a Mustang is not the right car for you?

Gave an honest critique
Understeer - this a bad thing for a sporty car, doesn't matter what manufacturer. Also this is not an AWD vs RWD thing. Every car I have owned has been RWD and the '25 mustang has more understeer than most since my 72 T-Bird (I would say 81 Buick LeSabre, but that that thing had the Olds diesel and could not go fast enough to have understeer)
Lack of low end torque - again, same, but this part goes hand in hard with the exhaust choices they made. If ford offered a quieter exhaust mode, you could run it up a lot easier and not wake/shake the neighbors.
Numb steering is again, a bad things for a sporty car. Good road feedback is critical to better driving.

Too small, again, subjective, but as I noted, even a larger trunk opening would help out here. It doesn't have to be a longer decklid or a bigger trunk, but even just a wider and deeper opening in the rear. Just make the existing trunk more accessible and this goes away

All that said, the Mustang is actually one of the better cars I have test driven in the past two weeks. Of the ICE vehicles, it probably ranks number 1 or 2. Of the overall, it probably ranks in the top 3, it's just that Ford has made some design choices that raise issues.

Loud is the most subjective and as I admit, some will like it or love it. But when you drive away from the light in an easy manner and still sound louder most cars do when trying to speed away, it can draw unwanted attention.

 

[Alan Applegate]

Lack of torque? You've got to be kidding! Either the GT or EB will blow away just about any tire you can mount under them! And it doesn't take much more than 1,800 RPM to do so!

With identical suspension, the EB has a distinct advantage in tight turns due to the weight difference over the front wheels. Apparently, you didn't push the EB as hard as you did the GT? Or perhaps they weren't optioned the same?

The glass in the S650 Mustang does have its likes and dislikes, and their differences are due to the owner's opinions. But a 1 or 2? I doubt anyone here has that low of an opinion? At least I do not!

RLE55 is correct. Maybe you need an F350 with a 7.3L with a dealer-installed Whipple which has enough torque to understeer even its gigantic weight!

 

[Stonehauler]

Lack of torque? You've got to be kidding! Either the GT or EB will blow away just about any tire you can mount under them! And it doesn't take much more than 1,800 RPM to do so!

With identical suspension, the EB has a distinct advantage in tight turns due to the weight difference over the front wheels. Apparently, you didn't push the EB as hard as you did the GT? Or perhaps they weren't optioned the same?

The glass in the S650 Mustang does have its likes and dislikes, and their differences are due to the owner's opinions. But a 1 or 2? I doubt anyone here has that low of an opinion? At least I do not!

RLE55 is correct. Maybe you need an F350 with a 7.3L with a dealer-installed Whipple which has enough torque to understeer even its gigantic weight!

By 1 or 2 I meant it’s one of the best I have seen. Top 1 or 2 out of all the others in my quest for the next new car I am on

and I have an F350 already. Diesel

 

[RLE55]

Loud is the most subjective and as I admit, some will like it or love it. But when you drive away from the light in an easy manner and still sound louder most cars do when trying to speed away, it can draw unwanted attention.

The 24 mustang is not that loud. Louder than a Tesla, yes, but still not that loud. Wife's 06 GT Vert with stock exhaust was about as loud. Maybe my hearing is off.........being around loud equipment most of my life.

 

[downtheroad]

I have a 24 F250 Tremor KR HO. The petal too requires a push. The steering in it wanders a bit. The suspension can be harsh. The brakes aren’t great.

I don’t compare my Mustang to it. Doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to.

 

[Bikeman315]

So last night, I went an test drove a 2024 GT (and an EB) My impressions, based on the GT
1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement. It's not quite as surefooted as I would have liked
2 - lack of torque - t the torque seemed to be lacking in this vehicle, especially at the low end. This EB seemed to have this issue as well. I know that I am spoiled coming from a line of cars that had more torque than HP and most had good bottom end torque, especially my last one that had 450 from 2500 on up and my F350 which has 800 Ft Lbs even lower. I am aware that this engine needs to be wound up to produce power and torque, but even then...it just seemed lacking.
3 - Numb steering - this might be the new system or maybe there was a mode I should have activated, but it did not communicate the road back to me like most of my other cars have. The last car I had that had steering this numb was a Lexus GS. Again, this could be a setting issue

The purely subjective - The two below are just from my preferences. Others (especially here) will probably disagree and that's fine.

just too small for so big a car. Don't get me wrong, the front seat is the perfect size, great seats, good headroom, plenty of room for my feat, but for car that big, it felt smaller on the inside than it should be...like a reverse TARDIS. The trunk opening could be a bit better and that would help out quite a bit

Too loud - it will attract the attention of every police officer in the area, or at least dirty looks from every neighbor, even if you are just using a light foot. For reference, I had a 5.7L boat that did not have mufflers and exhausted above the waterline that I feel was quieter. Combined with the fact that you need to be in the upper part of the rev range to start moving and I start seeing "displays of power" citations. As my wife said, it seems like this vehicle is the Huskey of the car world..."I must sing the song of my people" - FYI, I was on "quiet mode" of the active exhaust. Again, this is a preference I have, but I can see why some people woudl love it.

Now, it did have a number of very good things

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing. The sway bars kept it flat in the turns when it wasn't understeering. I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting like some other "sport" automatics. It also downshifted to get into the proper rev range extremely fast without a lot of "gear hunting"
• As I noted above, the driver and front passenger had lots of room up front. Hips, feet, head room were all great
• Cockpit like interior. Driver controls are oriented towards you and makes it easy to check while still driving and paying attention to the road. It does lack a heads up display when I find extremely useful though.
• Touch screen layout - While it's different the mechanical switches and buttons I am used to, I feel like it was designed by someone who knew about cars instead of a computer engineer just designing another interface. Of all the "touch screen layouts", this one ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive (leather), and felt good to sit in. While I miss a power recline and some other adjustments, I feel the inclusion of a mechanical recline to keep weight down a bit was the right call.
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise and did not feel floaty. I felt the wheels turned when I turned the wheel, it was just missing that feedback of a mechanical connection.
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one I have used in my test drives, and I've driven about 15 vehicles over the past 2 weeks.

Every car has its pluses and minuses. All you did was point out those that impacted you. No issue with that.

Handling/understeer is easily fixable if you desire. Torque is going to require a supercharger. The Coyote has never been known to be a low end torque monster. But it revs forever. Nothing we can do about the steering. Some folks like it other do not. It is what it is. But the exhaust is really simple. Active exhaust with quiet mode.

So the question for you is do the positives outweigh the negatives? If they do a Mustang may be for you. If any of the negatives are insurmountable, then it's time to move on.

 

[Upacurb]

The "lack of torque" is due to the Coyote being on overhead cam design vs pushrod

Compared to the pushrod motor the Coyote doesnt make as much torque at low RPMs - that being said it makes more then enough and I prefer the higher revving nature of the Coyote to push rod motors ....

In fact my car amplifies these characteristics even more as I have even less power down low but more up top in the upper RPM band

The first time I drove a C8 I thought it was short shifting lol

Personally I love the Coyote motor....

That being said- they do need to do something about the steering....... Im still a little surprised that they set the car up this way as it feels like they were trying to make it more video game like?

I mean dont get me wrong its great for cruising around town - but yeah Ill leave it at that.... or maybe the better way to put it is the steering is more muscle car then sports car ...
(that being said a percentage of people would probably get annoyed at the steering in my car as it definitely requires your full attention lol)

To me the Dark Horse/ S650 are a little too quiet inside the vehicle- they sound great from outside though ...but too much insultation - needs more exhaust noise inside the car but sure a resonator delete would help with that....

 

[Crew4991]

The engine in the mustang GT actually has more torque higher up in the RPM band, so if you want more low end torque you will probably have to do some mods to the engine to get that.

 

[John G]

So last night, I went an test drove a 2024 GT (and an EB) My impressions, based on the GT
1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement. It's not quite as surefooted as I would have liked
2 - lack of torque - t the torque seemed to be lacking in this vehicle, especially at the low end. This EB seemed to have this issue as well. I know that I am spoiled coming from a line of cars that had more torque than HP and most had good bottom end torque, especially my last one that had 450 from 2500 on up and my F350 which has 800 Ft Lbs even lower. I am aware that this engine needs to be wound up to produce power and torque, but even then...it just seemed lacking.
3 - Numb steering - this might be the new system or maybe there was a mode I should have activated, but it did not communicate the road back to me like most of my other cars have. The last car I had that had steering this numb was a Lexus GS. Again, this could be a setting issue

The purely subjective - The two below are just from my preferences. Others (especially here) will probably disagree and that's fine.

just too small for so big a car. Don't get me wrong, the front seat is the perfect size, great seats, good headroom, plenty of room for my feat, but for car that big, it felt smaller on the inside than it should be...like a reverse TARDIS. The trunk opening could be a bit better and that would help out quite a bit

Too loud - it will attract the attention of every police officer in the area, or at least dirty looks from every neighbor, even if you are just using a light foot. For reference, I had a 5.7L boat that did not have mufflers and exhausted above the waterline that I feel was quieter. Combined with the fact that you need to be in the upper part of the rev range to start moving and I start seeing "displays of power" citations. As my wife said, it seems like this vehicle is the Huskey of the car world..."I must sing the song of my people" - FYI, I was on "quiet mode" of the active exhaust. Again, this is a preference I have, but I can see why some people woudl love it.

Now, it did have a number of very good things

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing. The sway bars kept it flat in the turns when it wasn't understeering. I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting like some other "sport" automatics. It also downshifted to get into the proper rev range extremely fast without a lot of "gear hunting"
• As I noted above, the driver and front passenger had lots of room up front. Hips, feet, head room were all great
• Cockpit like interior. Driver controls are oriented towards you and makes it easy to check while still driving and paying attention to the road. It does lack a heads up display when I find extremely useful though.
• Touch screen layout - While it's different the mechanical switches and buttons I am used to, I feel like it was designed by someone who knew about cars instead of a computer engineer just designing another interface. Of all the "touch screen layouts", this one ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive (leather), and felt good to sit in. While I miss a power recline and some other adjustments, I feel the inclusion of a mechanical recline to keep weight down a bit was the right call.
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise and did not feel floaty. I felt the wheels turned when I turned the wheel, it was just missing that feedback of a mechanical connection.
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one I have used in my test drives, and I've driven about 15 vehicles over the past 2 weeks.

Regarding: I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible.

Last Sunday I took a 5 hour and 40 minute road trip in my 2024 Mustang and I was very comfortable the whole time. Granted, I made stops to fill with gas, eat, etc. but it was both a comfortable and enjoyable trip.

Each year we travel at least 650 miles to a favorite vacation area, and twice last year we took our Mustang, which does involve traveling thru the mountains in Wyoming and in Montana. Comfort has never been an issue on these trips.

Bottum line, it comes down to what is comfortable for you. In our case, when factoring in long distance travel, to include occasional stops, comfort has never been an issue with our Mustang.

 

[ThisBlueGrabsYou]

My friend, I mean this in the nicest way possible: I don't think you have even the slightest clue about what understeer is.

 

[John G]

My friend, I mean this in the nicest way possible: I don't think you have even the slightest clue about what understeer is.

I was not referring to understeer. That (understeer) was one of several topics in the OP thread, which also included the car being too small, too loud, and a number of other things. I was just commenting on overall comfort. We can agree to disagree, and that is OK.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

So last night, I went an test drove a 2024 GT (and an EB) My impressions, based on the GT
1 - BIG issue - understeer. When entering a turn, it had a lot of understeer. Turned the wheel, front wheels turned, and then half a second later, I got grip and movement. It's not quite as surefooted as I would have liked
2 - lack of torque - t the torque seemed to be lacking in this vehicle, especially at the low end. This EB seemed to have this issue as well. I know that I am spoiled coming from a line of cars that had more torque than HP and most had good bottom end torque, especially my last one that had 450 from 2500 on up and my F350 which has 800 Ft Lbs even lower. I am aware that this engine needs to be wound up to produce power and torque, but even then...it just seemed lacking.
3 - Numb steering - this might be the new system or maybe there was a mode I should have activated, but it did not communicate the road back to me like most of my other cars have. The last car I had that had steering this numb was a Lexus GS. Again, this could be a setting issue

The purely subjective - The two below are just from my preferences. Others (especially here) will probably disagree and that's fine.

just too small for so big a car. Don't get me wrong, the front seat is the perfect size, great seats, good headroom, plenty of room for my feat, but for car that big, it felt smaller on the inside than it should be...like a reverse TARDIS. The trunk opening could be a bit better and that would help out quite a bit

Too loud - it will attract the attention of every police officer in the area, or at least dirty looks from every neighbor, even if you are just using a light foot. For reference, I had a 5.7L boat that did not have mufflers and exhausted above the waterline that I feel was quieter. Combined with the fact that you need to be in the upper part of the rev range to start moving and I start seeing "displays of power" citations. As my wife said, it seems like this vehicle is the Huskey of the car world..."I must sing the song of my people" - FYI, I was on "quiet mode" of the active exhaust. Again, this is a preference I have, but I can see why some people woudl love it.

Now, it did have a number of very good things

• The suspension was firm, but not punishing. The sway bars kept it flat in the turns when it wasn't understeering. I could probably travel 3-4 hours in this car without having issues, but I am not sure a 12 hour drive would be feasible
• The accelerator had good travel and communicated where I was
• Transmission shifted quickly, but without jolting like some other "sport" automatics. It also downshifted to get into the proper rev range extremely fast without a lot of "gear hunting"
• As I noted above, the driver and front passenger had lots of room up front. Hips, feet, head room were all great
• Cockpit like interior. Driver controls are oriented towards you and makes it easy to check while still driving and paying attention to the road. It does lack a heads up display when I find extremely useful though.
• Touch screen layout - While it's different the mechanical switches and buttons I am used to, I feel like it was designed by someone who knew about cars instead of a computer engineer just designing another interface. Of all the "touch screen layouts", this one ranks number 1 or 2 IMO.
• Seats were good and supportive (leather), and felt good to sit in. While I miss a power recline and some other adjustments, I feel the inclusion of a mechanical recline to keep weight down a bit was the right call.
• for all the lack of communication back to the driver, the steering was still very precise and did not feel floaty. I felt the wheels turned when I turned the wheel, it was just missing that feedback of a mechanical connection.
• The steering wheel itself is probably the best one I have used in my test drives, and I've driven about 15 vehicles over the past 2 weeks.

Congrats on test driving a GT! I've test driven several and hopefully I can provide some useful feedback.

Steering feel: S650 GT definitely has less feedback/weight than the S550 GT, even in Sport steering mode. However I felt more confident taking turns "spiritedly" in the S650.

Torque: Less torque at lower RPMs equates to a smoother driving experience in the city. I honestly prefer it to how the Eco accelerates from a standstill.

Size: I'm 5'5" and I find the Mustang to be very accommodating without feeling like I'm in a tank or bathtub. Shockingly I didn't mind sitting in the rear seat at all the fees I tried it out.

Noise: Interesting you found Quiet mode loud. I still remember test driving an '18 GT without active exhaust thinking that was too loud (this was my introduction to V8 muscle). My how times have changed.

I think I agree with the rest of your assessments. The improved 10A shifting and better damped suspension compared to the S550 definitely have me considering the S650 GT if the Mach-4 doesn't deliver what I'm looking for.

 

[Upacurb]

My friend, I mean this in the nicest way possible: I don't think you have even the slightest clue about what understeer is.

I do and the GT understeers.....sorry to break it to you....

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