Consumer Reports: Best Products of the Year!
12-09-2010, 08:19 PM
#1
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Consumer Reports: Best Products of the Year!
Hi, I read this in "Consumer Reports Canada Magazine; The Best Products of the Year" I am not the author of this article, I am not a part of Consumer Reports Canada Magazine.
I do own a Mustang; I am a Ford Girl; I like this article.
On Page 60 of Consumer Reports Canada Magazine; The Best Products of the Year, there's a report on the Mustang.
"Ford Mustang GT.Iconic muscle car is fun to drive as a coupe or a convertible.
The Mustang GT is fast and agile and tackles corners and straightaways with equal ability. A decent ride and comfortable front seats make it livable. The VI engine is powerful, sounds great, and gets decent fuel economy. You slose some agility with the convertible and gaine some body shake. In either form, and with either the manual or automatic transmission,m the GT is an enjoyabler Muscle Car.
The Driving experience: The ride is daut but remains mostly comfortable. The suspension soas up most road bumps well, but rough pavement can provoke some stiff jiggles even on the highway. The convertible's ride can quiver a bit. There's minor wind noise in the coupe,a nd the exaust growls as it should under acceleration. The soft-top car does an ok job of keeping ambient noise at bay, but not surprisingly, it;s not as quiet as the coupm, and the lack of a wind blocker causes some top-down buffeting.
Quick, well-wighted steering does a good job at conveying road feel, but recent tweaks have diminished feedback a bit. The coupe is the more agile of the two cars, and although body lean is well suppressed in both, it is more pronounced in the convertible. THe coupe turned in an impressive speed in our track-handling trials. The convertible was les capable, but drivers still felt confident at the wheel. THe well-calibrated stability control intervenes appropriately for both.
The 402-hp, 5.0-litre, V8 engine delivers excellent performance. With premium fuel, that horsepower number bumps up to 412. The coupe, with a six-speed manual transmission, got an impressive 22 mpg overall on regular fuel; the automatic convertible topped it by 1 mpg. The manual transmission in the coupe has ratios will matched to the entinem, short throws, and a sporty feel. Our convertible came with a six-speed automatic, which only slightly detracts from the high-performance feel.
Stopping distances were short overall, with a firm, easy to modulate pedal.
There are some nice materials throughout the cabin, but a few unsightly panel gabs and rough edges mar the overall effect. THe inside of the convertible top is mostly lined, but some hardware remains exposed.
The rooming driving postion accommodates people of all sizes, but a wide center console can intrude upon knee room. The steering wheel tilts but does not telescope, a notable omission at this price. The coupe's over-the-shoulder veiw is constrained, but a large glass area aids the view out. The convertible's fabric roof creates a bigger blind zone. The outside mirrors have small convex sections that show cars hidden in theside blind spots.Most drivers found the firm front seast to be confortable and supportive, even on long drives. THe backrest provids good lateral support, but has only a manual recline frunction. tHe rear seat is no place for adults on any but the shortest of trips.\The guagues suffer from refletions in sunlight,. Most congtrols are straightorward, but the climate controls are low and some labesls are small. The sync system allows voice activation and control of cell phones and MP3 players.To drop the top on the convertible, two stiff manual latches must be reeased; many convertibles don't have manual latches these days. After unlatching the top, it oens or closes in 12 seconds. There is no indicator to tell the driver when the top has finished opening.
Folding one or both rear seatbacks augments cargo space in the coupe. Unlike many convertibles, putting the top down doesn't reduce it's trunk space. Both have a small truck opening. We expect above-average reliablity for the V8 Mustangs."
There is a lot more to the actual Article, but it is mostly complimentary. (Which is surprising: Consumer Reports doesn't seem to actually like Ford Products; never mind Mustangs)
The trunk space and the backseat thing was a "Well-Obviously!" thing for me. I don't know about many of the other Mustang owners out there, but I have always known that the Mustang is a Sports Car! It isn't a family Sedan and never claimed to be! (Incidentally, I got my first Mustang when the original owner couldn't stand up a jug of milk in the trunk; and the kids were outgrowing the back seat)
Anyways, this magazine was on the stands November 2010: I'm unsure whether it's still available to buy, or not. But, you could check out your local Library; they'd likely have it.
I do own a Mustang; I am a Ford Girl; I like this article.
On Page 60 of Consumer Reports Canada Magazine; The Best Products of the Year, there's a report on the Mustang.
"Ford Mustang GT.Iconic muscle car is fun to drive as a coupe or a convertible.
The Mustang GT is fast and agile and tackles corners and straightaways with equal ability. A decent ride and comfortable front seats make it livable. The VI engine is powerful, sounds great, and gets decent fuel economy. You slose some agility with the convertible and gaine some body shake. In either form, and with either the manual or automatic transmission,m the GT is an enjoyabler Muscle Car.
The Driving experience: The ride is daut but remains mostly comfortable. The suspension soas up most road bumps well, but rough pavement can provoke some stiff jiggles even on the highway. The convertible's ride can quiver a bit. There's minor wind noise in the coupe,a nd the exaust growls as it should under acceleration. The soft-top car does an ok job of keeping ambient noise at bay, but not surprisingly, it;s not as quiet as the coupm, and the lack of a wind blocker causes some top-down buffeting.
Quick, well-wighted steering does a good job at conveying road feel, but recent tweaks have diminished feedback a bit. The coupe is the more agile of the two cars, and although body lean is well suppressed in both, it is more pronounced in the convertible. THe coupe turned in an impressive speed in our track-handling trials. The convertible was les capable, but drivers still felt confident at the wheel. THe well-calibrated stability control intervenes appropriately for both.
The 402-hp, 5.0-litre, V8 engine delivers excellent performance. With premium fuel, that horsepower number bumps up to 412. The coupe, with a six-speed manual transmission, got an impressive 22 mpg overall on regular fuel; the automatic convertible topped it by 1 mpg. The manual transmission in the coupe has ratios will matched to the entinem, short throws, and a sporty feel. Our convertible came with a six-speed automatic, which only slightly detracts from the high-performance feel.
Stopping distances were short overall, with a firm, easy to modulate pedal.
There are some nice materials throughout the cabin, but a few unsightly panel gabs and rough edges mar the overall effect. THe inside of the convertible top is mostly lined, but some hardware remains exposed.
The rooming driving postion accommodates people of all sizes, but a wide center console can intrude upon knee room. The steering wheel tilts but does not telescope, a notable omission at this price. The coupe's over-the-shoulder veiw is constrained, but a large glass area aids the view out. The convertible's fabric roof creates a bigger blind zone. The outside mirrors have small convex sections that show cars hidden in theside blind spots.Most drivers found the firm front seast to be confortable and supportive, even on long drives. THe backrest provids good lateral support, but has only a manual recline frunction. tHe rear seat is no place for adults on any but the shortest of trips.\The guagues suffer from refletions in sunlight,. Most congtrols are straightorward, but the climate controls are low and some labesls are small. The sync system allows voice activation and control of cell phones and MP3 players.To drop the top on the convertible, two stiff manual latches must be reeased; many convertibles don't have manual latches these days. After unlatching the top, it oens or closes in 12 seconds. There is no indicator to tell the driver when the top has finished opening.
Folding one or both rear seatbacks augments cargo space in the coupe. Unlike many convertibles, putting the top down doesn't reduce it's trunk space. Both have a small truck opening. We expect above-average reliablity for the V8 Mustangs."
There is a lot more to the actual Article, but it is mostly complimentary. (Which is surprising: Consumer Reports doesn't seem to actually like Ford Products; never mind Mustangs)
The trunk space and the backseat thing was a "Well-Obviously!" thing for me. I don't know about many of the other Mustang owners out there, but I have always known that the Mustang is a Sports Car! It isn't a family Sedan and never claimed to be! (Incidentally, I got my first Mustang when the original owner couldn't stand up a jug of milk in the trunk; and the kids were outgrowing the back seat)
Anyways, this magazine was on the stands November 2010: I'm unsure whether it's still available to buy, or not. But, you could check out your local Library; they'd likely have it.
12-14-2010, 07:58 PM
#5
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Hey: Thank you for reading my article on an article from a magazine. (And, yes; GreenPony, Spell Check was optional. I ought have done so, but I have a {lame} excuse: The Library was closing, and I had to pack up. So, I was typing as quickly as I could.)
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