2011-2014 Mustang V6 opinions?

The world is changing: I'm considering a new-ish daily driver to replace my 265k mile Lexus. The baby and big house have left me with little will to work on my daily and zero time to do so. I was considering a commuter class car like a Honda Fit but wifey said I should get something I like. (she's awesome.)

So in hunting I came across the 2011-2014 V6 Mustang. 19mpg city/30mpg hwy, rwd, manual trans, good looking, plenty fast. Anybody have any opinions or showstopper problems with them?

This will be shared with my wife - I will drive it three days a week and her two - so it remains to be seen how the ergonomics accommodate both of us. I've heard the non-telescoping wheel causes short drivers some discomfort, and my wife is about 5'2". I'll have to find one locally to test drive.

I recently test drove a 2013 with the performance package. Even with the PP; it just seems like they sucked all the fun out of it, to make you buy a 5.0 if you wanted a fun car.

All I know is do not attempt top speed runs after bypassing the speed limiter. It's there to keep the driveshaft from exploding.

David,

I looked at them hard over the past six months and posted a thread about them IIRC. I test drove them again even after I bought my FoST. So many things I like about them, but two things kept me from pulling the trigger. One...even though the magazines stats say the Mustang is faster than the FoST, it doesn't feel like it. No low end power. Second, the interior...mostly the radio and HVAC look straight from the early '90's. I'd have to get one with the navigation and auto climate control. Otherwise it's a very nice car.

If you're looking at quick coupes, look at the 6spd V6 Accord coupe. I'm still looking at them. They are awesome on so many levels. I kinda wish I got one instead of the FoST, because mine is miserable in traffic.

I have had a 2012 V6 6sp for about 2 months now. I had Miata's for about 8 years before that so I guess thats what I am basing my experience by. It is comfortable but a little soft. I need to put on better shocks. It has good power for the street,you can get in trouble quickly.I have the 3.31 gears and get 27-28 mpg at 65mph on regular. If I put in premium it gets 30-31 mpg. The one time I tried it at the speed limit of 55 it got 31 on regular. I like it,I am glad I got it,it makes a nice daily driver.They (the internet] say the v8 isnt that much worse on gas and sometimes the insurance isnt much higher. But I paid 15K for my V6 and the V8's were @20

Buy the 5.0.

You're ears will thank you. 4mpg on the highway is totally worth it.

I run my BRZ on E85 when it's warm and get 21. Still worth it.

Thanks for the input! I'll have to drive one. Right now I think the interior wouldn't bother me but I'm used to a Lexus so maybe it would. The 5.0 is great but I'm already pushing my comfort zone cost-wise. The v8 cars tend to sell for $7k and up additional. IE, I can get a 2014 v6 car with manual and 11k miles for $17,500. You can't touch a comparable v8 for less $24k and that's got almost twice the miles. Add in the MPG drop and it doesn't make sense to stretch for a commuter.

I would still have a v8 in my fleet, just chopping two cylinders off our commuter.

Klayfish wrote: If you're looking at quick coupes, look at the 6spd V6 Accord coupe. I'm still looking at them. They are awesome on so many levels. I kinda wish I got one instead of the FoST, because mine is miserable in traffic.

That is something I've considered. I prefer RWD but the recent Accord coupes are good looking cars. I'm sorry the Focus is miserable in traffic! Thanks for the input Steve, it's been helpful and now I just need to drive one. That is, in addition to getting over the "I'm spending how much on a car?!" hump.

I think if you get one with leather the interior is not so bad. With the cloth interior, combined with the plastics it's pretty damned terrible, especially compared to a Lexus.

Klayfish wrote: If you're looking at quick coupes, look at the 6spd V6 Accord coupe. I'm still looking at them. They are awesome on so many levels. I kinda wish I got one instead of the FoST, because mine is miserable in traffic.

IMO, I never had an issue with my FoST in traffic. Clutch is light and easy to work and the car creeps along nicely, but realistically if you spend a lot of time in stop and go I find that any manual gets tedious after a while.

Seems like it would be a pain to get the kid in and out of the back seat.

dculberson wrote:

Klayfish wrote: If you're looking at quick coupes, look at the 6spd V6 Accord coupe. I'm still looking at them. They are awesome on so many levels. I kinda wish I got one instead of the FoST, because mine is miserable in traffic.

That is something I've considered. I prefer RWD but the recent Accord coupes are good looking cars. I'm sorry the Focus is miserable in traffic! Thanks for the input Steve, it's been helpful and now I just need to drive one. That is, in addition to getting over the "I'm spending how much on a car?!" hump.

Trust me when I tell you I completely empathize on the "I'm spending how much on a car" part. I talked myself out of it a dozen times...I just had a hard time spending it when I could use the money for other things. Mrs Klayfish was getting so mad at me.

The FoST is fun when the road is open, but it's a high strung car. The clutch is fine, not heavy. But it will buck and stutter and just has that sense of feeling like a caged animal. Not as relaxed as most other manuals I've driven in traffic.

Back to the V6 Mustang. Yeah, go drive one. I really liked them a lot. I believe that it probably is as fast as or faster than my car in a drag race. Just have to wind it up to get there. My only concern for you would be accepting the interior (again, strongly suggest finding a Premium trim with the navi/auto HVAC option) and would you need to put the wee one in the back seat? It's tight confines back there.

I'd spend the same money on an 05-10 Mustang GT. Get the Premium so you have the leather and the better dashboard and such.

I would only be putting the baby in the back in a pinch. 99% of the time this car will be to haul me or my wife back and forth to work. We have a wagon for baby duty.

I'll look at the premium interior. I want something with low miles as new as possible to keep maintenance to a minimum. I'm tired of working on my daily driver; with the house and baby there's zero time available for even little repairs so that's the main reason for going away from the high miles v8 Lexus.

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

Man I would go S197 and get a GT convertible or something similar with low miles and some mods already done by the PO. I only paid like 13.5K for my last convertible GT, a few years back, with all the bells and whistles. I like the 2011 body and interior but not a V6 and a stack of cash on top.

Takata airbags. My FIL has one that sits in his garage while it waits on parts. He is considering trading it in to be rid of it. It wears on him to drive it with the looming threat of possible shrapnel. I've driven it before. Pretty great car overall.

2002maniac wrote: Seems like it would be a pain to get the kid in and out of the back seat.

I tested this out. The front seat in these moves forward quite a bit to allow access to the rear seats. It's not four door levels of ease and space for the kids, but it's also not really that impractical.

Genuine question: So why is the 05 - 10 Mustang GT so much better than a '14 v6? It's got a v8 yes but not any more power. I don't like the looks as much. It gets worse gas mileage. And at this point they're 4-9 years older than the 2014, with corresponding more mileage. For my purpose, a daily driver to drive for 5-10 years with minimal repairs, I don't see the advantage.

dculberson wrote: Genuine question: So why is the 05 - 10 Mustang GT so much better than a '14 v6? It's got a v8 yes but not any more power. I don't like the looks as much. It gets worse gas mileage. And at this point they're 4-9 years older than the 2014, with corresponding more mileage. For my purpose, a daily driver to drive for 5-10 years with minimal repairs, I don't see the advantage.

It isn't. If you're just gonna drive the thing without doing any modifications then a newer V6 wins.

That red v6 Stang looks pretty good. I'd rock it.

If you can find one in your price range, the V6 Performance Package replaced the standard 2.73 rear end with a 3.31 rear end...I've never driven one, but that's supposed to wake it up a bit. Alternatively this can easily be done aftermarket.

Driven5 wrote: If you can find one in your price range, the V6 Performance Package replaced the standard 2.73 rear end with a 3.31 rear end...I've never driven one, but that's supposed to wake it up a bit. Alternatively this can easily be done aftermarket.

As I've mentioned before, I drove one and came away disappointed. If you're at all used to imports with short gear ratios, even the 3.31 in the performance package just seems lazy and uninspired.

If you want every drive to be special, you've gotta get the V8.

I'm going to check a nice looking one out Saturday. I'll either fall in love with it and buy it or it'll underwhelm me and I'll save my cash. Win/win either way.

A friend of mine here at work just purchased a 2011 V-6 with a manual, no performance pack. He's always raving about how much power it has, especially compared to the two Accord coupes he had before. And who can argue that the V-6 has more power than the earlier generation's V-8 did? In his words:

"305 hp, rr whl drv, 6 spd, that gets over 30mpg on the highway. My average is almost 25 combined, sporty looking, great handling...no regrets so far!"

It is a very good car for what it is. A sporty coupe. Don't think it will run with a modern V8. Get that idea out of your head and they are decent vehicles.