ALRIGHT! Shawn the Intern FINALLY gets a press car to review! Originally, it was supposed to be a Ford Fiesta, which is either just a coincidence since this is the car that allowed me to meet the Burnout Radio crew after auditioning for the Fiesta Movement 2, or this could just be a practical joke from Charlie and Nick by sending me the smallest car available to prove myself in an initiation style. Either way, a car was needed this weekend for the long excursion (no pun intended) that I was going to take on.
Due to “technical difficulties”, my one night stand with the Fiesta ended up turning into an upgrade to business class as it was replaced with a 2011 Mustang V6. The Camaro fan in me said no, but I’m in equal opportunity employer, so I couldn’t turn it down.
One of our fraternity brothers is giving up on freedom getting married in two weeks, so instead of a more classy, traditional trip to Vegas, the guys decided to keep things simple for our favorite Halfling and have a camping trip in New Braunfels and to float the river. I had a few extra stops in mind for this weekend to spend some time with college friends that I haven’t seen a few months, as well as a mission to prank one of our prankster friends at her new house.
I knew the trip was going to go well when it seems to be opposite day on the Texas Autobahn Interstate 35 as Sheriff Buford T. Justice a few state troopers decided to set the pace in the left lane for about an hour. It seemed the Mustang and I were going to take a police escort into in Austin area, but as all good things end, they exited too early. Better to have them in the windshield and not the rear mirror view…
The Mustang kept me pretty entertained on the long journey down south. It came with Microsoft Sync, which I never understood the big hype until now. It’s an interface that is uber addicting and is now causing me to have mega withdrawls not that the Mustang has moved on. Before I had a chance to use it I viewed it as just a gimmick for a tech junkie, but the voice commands ACTUALLY work, and call clarity is really superior to other regular Bluetooth interfaces on other manufacturers’ vehicles. I am still mourning over the convenience of it, and still keep pushing the nonexistent voice command button on my Camaro’s steering wheel hoping it will appear magically. Holding a cell phone up to your ear is so 2008.
After nearly 4 hours in the car thanks to heavy traffic and bad timing my part, I finally make it to Round Rock to visit one of my closest friends that has recently moved into her first apartment. It was mandatory (by her request) that we NOT take the Mustang down a long stretch of curvy roads or NOT test the 0-60mph times, but to take it to the local IKEA to see if a bookshelf will fit in the trunk. Please give me a second, as I need to tape my shredded man-card back together.
And Yes, it did fit in the trunk.
The next day, I headed out on an hour and a half drive to meet the guys down in New Braunfels to float the river. This gave me an opportunity to redeem myself and talk about the new 3.7L engine with the guys has they checked every nook and cranny in this vehicle. This is a well welcomed upgrade from the ancient 4.0L that as far as I can tell dates to the Precambrian Era. The engine has a split personality with its ability to sip fuel while cruisng to the shops or eating up boring stretches of interstate, but has the potential to hoon around your favorite back roads and rack up more than a few tickets. The only downside to the drive train is the new transmission, which which can easily be remedied by saving yourself a grand an ordering the 6 speed manual, but since our tester came equipped with the new 6 speed autobox which seems seems to not have been formally introduced to the 3.7L engine. Transmission, meet engine, you’ll be together until death or a rebuilt do you part. It has a hard time finding gears around traffic and low speeds. It seems to be tuned more for fuel economy to strive for that 31mpg, but if the Mustang is going to go in “that” direction, there needs to be two buttons on the center console, eco and sport, so that way the shifting algorithm can keep up with the diver’s mood.
As we floated away from the campsite and started our journey down the Guadalupe River, I couldn’t help but notice the color, Candy Red, and it.makes.this.vehicle. I’m not a fan of red by any means, but it.looks.goooooood. Period. It contrasts really well with Black leather interior and the growing-outdated-but-still-looks-really-nice stainless steel/chrome accents in the dash. My only complaint is if you purchase a premium paint for $395 over the standard selection of colors, Ford; please paint the rocker panels, the plastic trim on the front and rear bumpers, and the side mirrors. For almost $30k on this specific vehicle, this really should be a given.
After 8 hours of induced sun burn, there was a small injury and causality…on the section that we took, there are four drop offs that we needed to navigate. According to our tube rental place, the only thing we needed to know is to stay to the far left on the last drop off. Guess who went right? Apparently, knees don’t do well when running into boulders in the river, and sombreros don’t stay on heads that end up under the water in the current. RIP sombrero, you will definitely be missed.
While the guys decided to stay for another night before heading back to Dallas, I took off to meet a few friends on Sixth Street in Austin to celebrate my now non functional knee. Parallel parking was the only option available, but wasn’t an issue for the Mustang. While the new Camaro has its visibility issues and the Challenger required an anchor for parking, the Mustang was really simple for squeezing between other vehicles. It’s not hard to see out of, but it might be a good idea to spring for rear sensors if you do this regularly because of a higher deck lid in the back.
The last day was specifically designed for mischief. While floating the river, my IKEA loving friend conveniently works at an unnamed pet store, who happened to have been giving away a gerbil that seems to have issues, especially since he’s been designated as the “evil gerbil”. Our mutual friend is “that” person that knows anything about everything, including animals. Caring is for sharing, so we decided to adopt the gerbil and unknowingly place it in her new house in San Antonio. After visiting and shopping at the market downtown, we headed back to Round Rock to drop my friend off, and I head back to Dallas. But not before calling the gerbil’s new owner through the Sync System to let her know it was in a cage in her bedroom. Before hate emails come in, the gerbil really is for her younger sibling that has been in the market for a new pet, so step down PETA fans, this was a humanitarian mission. If you still want to send those hate emails it was all Nick’s idea so please forward all messages for gerbil induced hate to nick@burnoutradio.com.
It was finally time to take the Mustang back to its home in Dallas, and continuing the trend of bad timing, I left San Antonio around 6pm, only to end up in traffic that required me to park the vehicle on the highway. This was a bonding moment between myself and the Shaker 500watt system. The clarity is only a step above mediocre, but the bass department more makes up for it. This is definitely an option that you check off with a permanent pen and never look back. The test vehicle came with Sirius radio, and a single CD player. Having 10 presets over the usual six that you have in the car is great for people with radio station A.D.D.
So the verdict?
Alright Ford… “I drove one”… and after 1300 miles on the odometer and four tanks of gas, I’ll give props where is it due. The Mustang is a great car, and has a lot of potential to be customized at the factory or dealerships to tailor to anyone’s fancy. My issue isn’t about the pricing on the Mustang in general, but how this test vehicle was optioned. It didn’t seem worthy of a near $29k window sticker. I felt it was still missing a few options that should be standard, such as a heated option for the leather seats, automatic headlamps, and a finished paint job. This was the Premium V6 ($25,845) with a 6 speed Automatic ($995) 3:31 Ratio Axle, Security Package and Red Candy Paint (each $395) with an $850 destination fee. MSRP totals to $28,875, which is about 3 or 4k too high in my opinion. For someone that’s in the market for this car, just pay attention to the options list and you can purchase one for a more appropriate price that is better equipped. The Mustang sets the bar high for it’s competition.
I’m still a Camaro fan at heart, but you almost had me at hello, Mustang.
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