A friend of mine is considering a Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger. He wants a brand new one so he will have a full warranty. Yesterday we went to look at Mustangs and Camaros. We went to Crossroads Ford first. My friend drove a 2011 V8 and V6 Mustang, both with manual transmission. I didn't ask to drive the car but in hindsight I should have. My friend doesn't have too much experience driving performance-oriented cars but here were a few comments he had about the Mustang:

1) the clutch on the V6 was had much easier engagement and was better to drive in traffic. The V8 model required more gas to get going. This isn't surprising. He felt that the V6 would definitely be a better commuter/daily driver for that reason.

2) He said that the car was more nimble than he expected for parking and normal driving. For what it is, it didn't feel like a boat.

3) Interior lighting on some of the models is gimmicky. The kick plates for the doors light up on some of them.

4) Ford Sync system is kind of cool but can also be a pain in the ass... yelling commands to it and such. We both agreed that it didn't seem worth paying extra money for it unless you had to get it as part of some package.

5) The leather seats if you get that package aren't very nice. They are the same cheap things you would find in an Expedition. It's not as bad as 90s Mustang leather but the cloth seats are good and the only thing worthwhile that the leather package has is a much nicer steering wheel. GT500 seats are an exception.

6) He didn't go wide open throttle in it because of the traffic around there. His current car is a Scion so of course both the V6 and V8 Mustangs felt much faster in regular driving.

2/13/2011 2:07:29 PM

Then we went to Hendrick Chevrolet to look at Camaros and I did get to drive one. I'm not sure what the exact package was but it had the leather interior, manual transmission, and the V8. They didn't a V6 one with a manual transmission. Here are some things we noticed:

1) Dash is way cheaper than the Mustang. The Mustang dash wasn't "nice" but it felt solid. The Camaro dash felt hollow and just cheap. It also had these ugly Autozone-looking gauges in the middle. The gauges appeared to be functional (not "dummy" gauges) but for some reason there was a transmission temp gauge on a manual transmission car.

2) The controls and ergonomics were just kind of weird. The steering wheel was very busy-looking with too many buttons, and the spokes were laid out in a strange way. The 10 and 2 position on the wheel didn't feel natural.

3) I was not happy with the clutch. It felt like I was driving an aftermarket performance clutch, with a high engagement and narrow grab point. It just didn't have the refinement and smoothness that you expect out of an OEM clutch compared to an aftermarket one of similar holding capacity.

4) The leather was much nicer than the leather on the Mustang GT. The Camaro leather was at the same quality as the GT500 leather in terms of the texture, support, and quality of materials.

5) Drivetrain noise. It made noticeable creaking sounds when I let out the clutch. That's just unacceptable on a brand new car with a sticker price in high 30's.

6) Like any GM LSx it had a broad and mostly flat torque curve. The engine felt strong and torquey and the car felt controllable in a straight line. I did go WOT in 1st gear and I liked it.

7) The exhaust sounds much more sporty than the Mustang did. It really had that V8 rumble. You really feel like you are driving a muscle car.

8) It drove like a big car. The steering and overall handling just felt loose and not very sporty. If a Solara had rear wheel drive and a 6.2L V8, this is how it would handle.


Maybe I didn't read the sticker closely, but the Camaro seemed a couple grand more expensive than a Mustang with similar options. It felt like more money for less car. Now if I were planning to mod for straight line speed I would still get the Camaro, but otherwise the Mustang wins based on my experience with it so far.

[Edited on February 13, 2011 at 2:10 PM. Reason : leather]

2/13/2011 2:08:12 PM

It drove like a big car b/c it is a big car. I love the engine and style of the Camaro but its too big. it's like 11/10ths scale, so dumb. I'd probably go with the 5.0 as well even though I've never been a Mustang guy.

2/13/2011 2:24:47 PM

Quote :

"A friend of mine is considering a Mustang, Camaro, or Challenger."

Quote :

"The steering and overall handling just felt loose and not very sporty."

2/13/2011 2:44:55 PM

Hahaha American trash.

2/13/2011 3:01:44 PM

the interior of the new camaros looks like a cadillac compared with the interior of my 02 SS.

2/13/2011 4:08:49 PM

A friend of mine had an '02 Z28 with leather. The '02 model looks more dated (looks like my old '01 Cavalier and my other friend's '02 Z06). I don't think the current Camaro interior is any better in terms of quality. It's definitely much cheaper and crappier than the C6 interior.

2/13/2011 4:46:00 PM

^^^why do you say that.

2/13/2011 5:00:21 PM

you know you don't have to buy brand new to have a warranty...

2/13/2011 5:28:05 PM

^ which is why I said "full warranty"

2/13/2011 6:54:45 PM

What are the american warranty periods up to now? 36,000miles? What wondrous times we live in! Man, ol' Henry F. would be amazed that the wheels stay on that long. Fantastic automobiles.

2/13/2011 7:56:01 PM

I rented a 2010 Challenger.. it was an automatic..its fun to drive, nice acceleration.. seemed to redline pretty easy.. handling in the snow felt a bit different than what I'm used to.. it was fun making donuts in the parking lot.. but overall I would never buy that car.. the quality was so damn cheap, its the small things that get me really annoyed.. I live in Rochester, NY and it gets pretty cold here... the doors were frozen shut in the morning when i tried to get in, the windows were frozen shut even after 3 hours of driving and having the heat on, the windshield was weird and smudgy every time i used the wipers, had to use washer fluid every time.. the interior was too plasctiky, did not have basic functions like mpg, amount of fuel left, tpms etc. I mean nothing about the car was good except the powerful engine and the exterior looks..

2/13/2011 8:19:38 PM

Quote :

"but a powerful engine and good looks"

No one's denying it's not a MOPAR. That's all they've ever had going for them.

2/13/2011 8:23:47 PM

I guess with perhaps a few exceptions muscle cars have always been about powerful engines, good looks, and substandard everything else.

2/13/2011 8:40:46 PM

I looked at all three and bought NONE of them.

My list was
Camaro
Mustang
Challenger.

in that order.
I liked the get up and go the Camaro had, it was much tighter and more nimble than the others but the interior did feel cheap. It was easily the superb car.
The mustang didnt feel as well tuned and sporty as the camaro, the interior was a bit gimmicky but overall it was a decent 2nd place. Didnt have the power the camaro did though overall and thats what was the difference to me...and didnt respond as easily

The Challenger SUCKED. its a boat. slow to start, slow to stop...it has no response to it what so ever...its like driving an old school lincoln town car. Not to mention they mimic motor noise in the speakers from what I hear. Piss poor MPG and really really cheap interior. I like the exterior of it the best but...it just sucks.

The camaro was my winner...but not enough to make me buy it.
Id rather buy a year older Vette and save the $ or go foreign

just my2cents

2/13/2011 8:50:42 PM

A fine review. I would also add that in less than a year everyone and their cousin will have Camaros. In less than 10 years you won't be able to give it away for $1,500. If Chevy builds it, the mullets will soon come.

2/13/2011 8:53:39 PM

93ish white Camaro

yeah, I went there; the white trash edition!

of course with a bra cover on the front end too; RS automatic

[Edited on February 13, 2011 at 9:15 PM. Reason : Garner, NC]

2/13/2011 9:14:35 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWy6A6bLSW0&feature=feedf

2/13/2011 9:15:44 PM

challenger all the way. they all handle more or less the same. might as well get the best looking one of the bunch. yellow camaro in transformers looked good at first, but then when it came out it just looked way too busy, huge, pointless with big front/rear overhang. mustang back looks like absolute shit.

2/13/2011 9:16:15 PM

I found it interesting that Hendrick Chevrolet had:

-- 2 Callaway Corvettes
-- at least 7 or 8 Z06's
-- A ZR-1 in the show room
-- A Callaway Camaro

and not a single V6 Camaro with a manual transmission on the lot. What the hell.

2/13/2011 9:49:11 PM

Quote :

"challenger all the way. they all handle more or less the same. might as well get the best looking one of the bunch. "

My thoughts exactly. You're getting it for the looks and the big engine. If you give a shit how it handles, why are you looking at those cars?




^ Good for them. 6-cyl pony cars are completely pointless and gayer than AIDS.

2/13/2011 9:51:56 PM

Crossroads Ford had a bunch of V6 mustangs with manuals.

2/13/2011 9:57:27 PM

i thought the new mustang gt could actually turn? granted you don't buy that car to turn, but it seems like a nice added bonus.

2/14/2011 9:59:26 AM

^ I didn't personally get to test this but the magazines all seem to say so.

2/14/2011 11:01:17 AM

I think it's interesting to note you guys didn't seem to have any trouble getting to drive a big powerful V8. I just remember stories on here of dealers being all douchebaggy about driving STIs and EVOs.

2/15/2011 7:10:37 AM

^ when i graduated i drove an srt-10 truck but couldn't drive an evo.

subie dealer let me take an sti though (but it was after i test drove a legacy gt and a saabaru and told them i just didn't like the looks of it and the guy told me "but you'll love how it drives" and put me in it) of course i also had an 830 credit score back then

2/15/2011 8:23:10 AM

Go to a volume dealership and you won't have any problems. You don't realize how many regular old V8 Camaros and V8 Mustangs are on the lot. I'm sure I could have driven one of the 3 or 4 used GT500's Crossroads Ford had or one of the two dozen regular C6's at Hendrick.

The thing about STi's and Evos is that there are only so many of them sitting on a lot and they tend to attract a higher percentage of guys trying to abuse them or waste the salesman's time.

2/15/2011 12:06:10 PM

^ yup. the subie dealership even gave me grief over test driving an 09 WRX when it was the only one on their lot.

2/15/2011 12:14:00 PM