I've said it before on here, I'm a massive fan of these cars. Get over your 'it's not a V8' prejudice and they are great cars. I'd rather have an 11-14 V6 than a 05-09 GT based on the improved looks and interior alone, plus the better trans. Yes the 11-14 doesnt' have the torque of the 05-09 V8, but it's got basically the same power. It makes for a fun DD and an excellent cruiser as well.
We had two that served as DD's for a couple of years that did the school run (20-25 mins) each way with three teenage girls with no issue, especially when the top was down. They have loads of room for people. 
You don't need to be a redneck and own a pick-em-up truck for garden canter runs, they do it all. BAck seat and trunk full of mulch
And they can get really good gas mileage. To save you the math that was as near as damn it 30mpg at 77.5mph average speed. 10 mins surface streets at each end with the rest of the closed private road cruising at 85+mph
And they are just simply cool.
Adrian, that's awesome. I love the pic with your girls in the car. Too great.
That said, if you can get the new GT with the Coyote motor into your budget, then do that obviously.
Klayfish wrote:
This one at least has leather, but still just think the center stack has a 1990s look to it.
Stang
Just leaving this one here for your consideration
Accord
So let me get this straight.... the Accord coupe gets worse fuel economy than the 300hp V6 RWD Mustang and it's $4k more? How is that even comparable? RWD fun car or boring FWD economy car for more money.
Wife and I looked at these in '12 when it was time to start looking at replacements. I loved the drive. Plenty of power, drove great. What killed it for us was the passenger seat and the seating position. If you're never there, or don't have a wife that is there and hating it, then you're good.
Bobzilla wrote:
Klayfish wrote:
This one at least has leather, but still just think the center stack has a 1990s look to it.
Stang
Just leaving this one here for your consideration
Accord
So let me get this straight.... the Accord coupe gets worse fuel economy than the 300hp V6 RWD Mustang and it's $4k more? How is that even comparable? RWD fun car or boring FWD economy car for more money.
The tall geared Mustangs have always gotten strangely good highway mileage. The Accord will probably do a little better around town though. Then again, maybe not, as they're not all that far off in weight.
FWIW, I've seen a 5.0 fox body with 2.73s get a consistent 27 mpg at 70 mph. I'd expect any newer Mustang will do that or better, depending on driver and gearing.
rslifkin wrote:
Bobzilla wrote:
Klayfish wrote:
This one at least has leather, but still just think the center stack has a 1990s look to it.
Stang
Just leaving this one here for your consideration
Accord
So let me get this straight.... the Accord coupe gets worse fuel economy than the 300hp V6 RWD Mustang and it's $4k more? How is that even comparable? RWD fun car or boring FWD economy car for more money.
The tall geared Mustangs have always gotten strangely good highway mileage. The Accord will probably do a little better around town though. Then again, maybe not, as they're not all that far off in weight.
FWIW, I've seen a 5.0 fox body with 2.73s get a consistent 27 mpg at 70 mph. I'd expect any newer Mustang will do that or better, depending on driver and gearing.
Only on GRM will someone come in wanting a RWD pony car and get suggested a more expensive, less efficient fwd grocery getter.
I had a 2011 v6 convertible for a couple years. It was a great car as others have said. The only reason I got rid of it was because I needed a truck. However....if I was to buy one again I would step up to the v8.
To be fair, I'd probably be less critical of the V6 convertible.
Apparently those who want to bash the Accord coupe as a comparison to the Mustang V6 have never driven one. I'm not bashing the Mustang at all, I really like it, but let's see... The Accord is within a tenth or two (and in normal driving feels much faster than the Mustang), in real world mpg fare as good or better, has an interior far far superior, far superior build quality, better shifter, bigger back seat, bigger trunk, better ride, good handling, better resale value...what else am I missing? Sure, on a race track, the Mustang would probably be a better choice. But how many people buy either of them for race track duty? The FWD thing isn't a killer to me...my FoST is plenty fun to drive.
David, good luck, you'll like the Mustang.
The Accord v6 is a competitor to the Mustang. Bobzilla, I understand the difference, but you're the same guy that recommended a Forte Koup to someone that was looking for a dad car that was "pimp," so don't go too far in painting others as having dumb car recommendations. ;-)
Well, I drove the 2014 Mustang, and it was pretty awesome. I have some reservations about feature set - with the wife and I trading back and forth four times a week it's been really nice having memory seats and the only Mustangs that offer it to my knowledge are the 2015+ ecoboost premium. I'm not interested in an ecoboost since it's even slower than the v6.
The car is tight, handles very well, feels fast and sounds good. It's satisfying to drive, it definitely doesn't feel slow. I'm sure the v8 is great but it's also 50% more for a comparable car. I didn't mind the button laden interior really. If I was used to driving new cars I'm sure it would bother me more, but I'm coming from a 16 year old Lexus. I think people comparing it to a rental car or requiring the v8 to feel "special" have gotten too used to how awesome cars are now. This car is great.
If I had my choice I would add memory seats/mirrors and climate control. But I don't have my choice - they don't make it - so I think I'm going to buy this car. Also, it's beautiful. Deep Impact Blue is a great color.
Maybe in 15 years she'll curse me for getting the base v6 model.
Outstanding!!! And your daughter is adorable.
Dude, what's with the ever growing beard? You moving to the mountains of West Virginia soon? Planning some epic LeMons theme?? 
I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I don't mind all the buttons in the interior, for me it was just a personal taste on the layout. In fact I wish the FoST had preset buttons to tune the radio. I'm a "flipper", constantly changing back and forth on my Sirius channels. Not having a row of preset buttons to push makes it a bit annoying.
The V6 stang is a hell of a bargain. Sure you can't convince the wife to get the drop top version?
dculberson wrote: I think people comparing it to a rental car or requiring the v8 to feel "special" have gotten too used to how awesome cars are now. This car is great.
Opinions are like noses....
That's great that you like the car! I compare it to a rental car because I rent a lot of cars for work. ;) The V6 didn't have enough of a sense of "theater" to me, which is totally subjective - the 350Z that I have some seat time with is my benchmark there.
dculberson wrote: Deep Impact Blue is a great color.
Yeah, that's the color I wanted too.
The beard has been an experiment. For some reason I didn't feel like trimming it after Naomi was born. I've neatened it up (as much as a bushy as hell beard can be neat) but no length trimming for a year now. It'll probably go on my 40th birthday. We'll see.
I'm biased, but yes, my daughter is incredibly adorable.
I probably could talk her into the convertible, but I do already have the MR2 Spyder so feel like I want the hard top. Should I get the convertible and dump the MR2 as well??
@MCarp22: I gotcha, I just think you're selling it short. A Chrysler 200 SXT feels like a rental car to me. This feels like a competent sport coupe. Yes it's not a balls to the wall muscle car but it's also not priced like one.
I prefer the GT not for the V8 (I think the 3.7 is a better motor than the 4.6 3V), but for the better chassis tuning. LSD, better gears, bigger brakes, lower/stiffer springs shocks, and a better transmission (not to mention a driveshaft that won't explode at 90) all add up to make it much more sporting car. If you can find a V6 PP (unofficially the "Mayhem"), it would be the best of both worlds.
In reply to Javelin: the base v6 comes with an LSD in 2011-2014 I believe. Also the driveshaft issue is overblown from what I've seen it doesn't come into play unless you disable the speed limiter and go over 135. I don't hit that on my 15 mile commute too many times a week.
I have a 2013 GT convertible. I was looking for a V6 when I came across a great deal on a V8 for the same price.
I have kids in car seats and my biggest complaint is that after 50 years of building these coupes, they cant make a seat that slides forward when you tilt the seat forward to get into the rear seat!
BTW: when I was in high school, if you had a 305hp Mustang, you would have been king!
just throwing this out - https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/5570222260.html
Dang, that's a good deal. I would buy that if it was blue. I'll keep looking for a bit but since I have both our daily drivers up I'll need to buy something when they sell.. Thanks for the link!
dculberson wrote:
Dang, that's a good deal. I would buy that if it was blue. I'll keep looking for a bit but since I have both our daily drivers up I'll need to buy something when they sell.. Thanks for the link!
A very good deal. A few more miles than my car, but quite a bit cheaper, too. Unfortunately, that porno red interior is an absolute deal-breaker for me, and I suspect many others. "Unique" options like that tend to limit your potential market and thus drive the price down.
WRT the convertible it has more rear headroom with the top up than the coupe which can help. I think rear shoulder room is reduced though. I did on occasions spend 3 hours back there and I'm 6' and 230lbs.
Tom_Spangler wrote:
dculberson wrote:
Dang, that's a good deal. I would buy that if it was blue. I'll keep looking for a bit but since I have both our daily drivers up I'll need to buy something when they sell.. Thanks for the link!
A very good deal. A few more miles than my car, but quite a bit cheaper, too. Unfortunately, that porno red interior is an absolute deal-breaker for me, and I suspect many others. "Unique" options like that tend to limit your potential market and thus drive the price down.
There's something wrong with me - the red interior is one of my favorite features of that car. I'll run it by my wife, she might like the white exterior. They do look good in that color.
In reply to dculberson:
I'm down with porn red interiors too but they've been vetoed by SWMBO.
I have a black '14. Only options are the Performance Pack and 102a package. Performance Pack makes a huge difference in handling, it's a must have option for a GRMer. You could always add on aftermarket suspension but it would be easier to buy one already with it.
One weak spot on these cars are the transmissions. The shifter linkage bushing is literally zip tied in place. Replacing it with this makes a huge difference in shifter feel and accuracy and takes under 10min once you get the car on a lift. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00718W0Y8/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Another annoying thing is the rev hang, it takes a long time for the revs to drop after a WOT up shift.
Transmissions does like to grind in cold weather, you have to double clutch until it warms up. Some other owners have switched fluids but I'm waiting until the warranty expires to do so. I put a grill block on so it warms up faster.
I run 3 degrees on negative camber and it makes the tires last longer and makes it turn in much quicker but the back end can come around on you.
OEM Leather seat skin take offs are readily available on eBay for about $700 for the entire interior. So you could buy one with cloth and swap them out.
Are you planing on tracking the car?
There a quite a few tips and tricks I can give you if you decide to purchase one.
If there's a reason you don't like the car, let me know and I might be able to give you a workaround.
Mmadness wrote: If there's a reason you don't like the car, let me know and I might be able to give you a workaround.
dculberson loves his, so I guess you're talking to me? After expecting the opposite, I just didn't think it was as fun as other cars I've driven recently.
I don't own one yet. Probably doing the deal to buy one this week. I have to work out the purchase details since the seller has a loan on it. I hate that.
