Here I am!
Our 2012 V6 Mustang is a month old now and I’m really enjoying it. I’ve been pushing it more and more over the last little bit and it goes like a demon when you hit the gas hard. The traction control does an excellent job as well – I have been finding that she hugs the curves at high speeds without so much as a chirp from the tires (except that one time last weekend when I turned the traction control off and gunned it around a tight left-hand corner and got a delightful squeal out of the rubber and just the right amount of skid). I actually test drove a Mustang with the traction control system a couple years ago in the dead of winter and it handled the snow and ice like a champ, behaving very well in crappy road conditions. I’m planning to get winter tires for the extra grip, but I’m not forseeing any issues there. One other thing that has impressed the hell out of me about the 'Stang is that it has about the tightest turning radius of any car I’ve ever driven – it can easily pull a U-turn next to my house without touching the curb which I can’t do with my wife’s Corolla, which is 10" shorter, 7" narrower, with a 5" shorter wheelbase. In fact, I couldn’t make that U-turn in my old Tercel and those things are tiny! So overall, I’ve been finding the handling extremely good, the live rear axle and the size (as compared to the compacts we have had in our family previously) notwithstanding. In fact, given the Mustang’s historical reputation for lousy cornering, I have been absolutely thrilled with the way this car gets around corners and threads through traffic. I also want to emphasize that this car doesn’t realy feel “big” to me and, in fact, it’s easily the smallest of the current crop of muscle cars on the market (2" shorter than the Camaro; 10" shorter than the Challenger; a full foot shorter than the Charger).
I went with the 6-speed manual, partly because I have no interest in ever owning an automatic (I’ll perhaps consider changing my views if paddle shifters become commonplace) and partly because running a car with 300 hp with an automatic tranny just seems pointless to me. Anyway, we had heard about the potential concerns with the manual, as noted upthread (thread asking the Dopers about it here) and asked the dealer about it during the purchase process. He admitted that there had been some issues with the tranny but assured me that a) the 2012s had resolved the problem and b) the dealership would move Heaven and Earth to fix the problem if my transmission started to have issues. That satisfied me that I could take a chance on it. The information I’ve read online about the transmission is that the problems shifting to 2nd or 3rd tend to start showing up around the 1500 mile mark – I’m over 1600 now with not a hint of trouble, so I’m confident that this won’t be a problem for me.
To sum up, I’d say that my experience with my new baby has been outstanding. Mileage is ok in the city, good-great on the highway, handing is very good, the motor is bad-ass. There are a couple wee niggling things that I’d call less than perfect, but I’ve never yet driven a car that didn’t have a couple details I’d like to see done differently and none of my little peeves with this car are significant enough to lower my grade on the car. You’re getting a hell of a car for a great price. I’d give it an enthusiastic thumbs-up! 
You are confusing the WRX STI, which starts at $33,000 with the base model WRX, which starts at $25,000.
my 2012 GT with the MT-82 6-speed has 3k miles on it now, no issues.
Man, some of y’all are being way to practical. Mazda3? Fiesta? Focus? Cruze? All excellent cars, of course, and good choices for practical-but-fun cars. But the OP already has one of those (the aforementioned Fit). Now I’m very happy with my Fiesta, but for most practical purposes it’s the same as a Fit (better handling, but can’t haul as much stuff).
I think the OP doesn’t seem to be interested in anything with four doors or a big cargo area.
I’ll echo everyone else, and say that the Miata will be at the top of my list whenever I can afford having an un-practical car.
But a Miata is a chick car
I’ve got an '06 Mustang GT (V8 version) Convertible and I can honestly say it is one of the most fun cars I’ve ever driven. Since you mentioned you may be interested in the convertible I’ll address that… GO FOR IT! It is a little bit noisier than the hard top, but not bad at all. I just took a 6 hour (each way) trip with my son and there is no problem with conversation, hearing the radio, or even sleeping (my son not me). But then when you get there and it is a gorgeous day and you can put the top down and cruise around there is nothing better on four wheels. The heat and AC on the convertibles are fantastic. One of my favorite things to do is to put the top down, turn on the heat and cruise around on a crisp fall day and look at the leaves.
Can’t really address the winter driving as I park mine after thanksgiving and drive the 4WD Blazer for the winter.
Yeah, it totally is. But I don’t care, it’s the most fun you can have in that price range.
Ah, meant to address this in a previous post. The Mustang (or even the Miata) can be driven in the winter if you invest in good snow tires. Again, my parents are in the Detroit area, and they still use their Mustang as a daily driver through the winter. Snow tires aren’t magic, but you can still drive on packed snow or plowed roads. There aren’t many situations where you can drive an ordinary front-wheel-drive car, but can’t drive a rear-wheel-drive sports with good snow tires.
that all depends on what you have available. If you live in an area where you have lots of curvy, open road, or have an accessible track in the vicinity, then sure. If you’re like me (in metro Detroit) many of the interesting roads are residential and/or heavy with traffic (e.g. in W. Bloomfield) so spirited driving is out. The local constabulary takes a dim view of people flying around all Lewis Hamilton-like in residential areas.
138 horsepower, or three more than a CR-X, in a car that weighs twice as much. I do like the concept, but they should have given it the 2L four from the Elantra. Instead, it gets a tweaked version of the Accent’s 1.6L four, which has far less torque.
Okay. After spending a few hours with my CR-Z EX today, here are my latest impressions.
Today was the first time I drove in Sport mode. Wow. What a difference. Until now, I drove in Econ mode only. Driving in Sport mode is literally like driving a different vehicle.
The engine sounds AMAZING under acceleration in Sport mode, and the deep cough it emits when upshifting brings a smile to my face. Unlike Econ mode where an indicator in the dash guides you to shift up through all the gears in quick succession and into 6th at 40 MPH (yes, I said 40), in Sport mode, you drive by engine feel alone; there is no upshift indicator. 3300 to 3600 RPMs seems to be the optimum upshift range in Sport mode. I shifted into 4th at around 45 MPH. Pick up is very nice in Sport mode, and there’s a nice kick when accelerating from zero; e.g., when the traffic light turns green.
Even in Sport mode, the CR-Z is not going to set any speed records or win any races, but I have to tell ya, Sport mode does provide an element of fun I didn’t think was possible in this car.
To answer voltaire’s question about the A/C shutting off, keeping the car in gear prevents this from happening. Also, if you’re parked, or idle, and in neutral, depressing the clutch pedal once and letting it go brings the car out of Auto Stop mode and restarts the A/C.
In my other thread about the CR-Z (see link in second post of this thread), I mentioned that I’m not enamored with the navigation system in the EX. After playing around with it today, my feelings haven’t changed. It doesn’t call out roads by name, saying “turn right at the next light” instead of “turn right at the next light onto Broad Street.” The maps and visual guidance cues are rudimentary. There is no option to choose an alternate route, and no traffic congestion indicators. Destination input is cumbersome and counter-intuitive, even when using voice commands. I should be able to say “Go to 123 Main Street, Brooklyn New York” like I can with my Droid X smartphone, instead of “Navigation” <wait for prompt> “State” <wait for prompt> “New York” <wait for prompt> “Main” <wait for prompt> “Brooklyn” <wait for prompt> “123” <wait for prompt> “Go.” In a nutshell, the navigation in the CR-Z EX seems to be a throwback to turn of the century systems. Inexcusable. They’d have been better not offering the option at all if this was the best they could do. And like I also said in the other thread, because it’s a DVD-reliant system, eventually the maps will be out of date.
My test driving was more limited than I wanted today, thanks to a late start and a lot of unrelated running around. I ended up driving the CR-Z, a Camaro, and two different Mustangs.
CR-Z: I really wanted to love this car, but I didn’t. Hard to say why. Sport mode did make it a little more responsive, but overall it felt like the Fit with a third of the cargo room. I liked the space-age dashboard pretty well. Overall it feels like it’s trying to be equal parts Insight, Fit, and Civic Si, but it isn’t very good at being any of them. There’s a lot of potential here but I think it needs a pretty serious revamp.
Camaro: “Ridiculous” is the word that stood out. The car just feels enormous and the interior is oddly proportioned. Rear visibility is almost nonexistent. Fun to drive, but there’s a lot about it that would get on my nerves. It didn’t help that I hated the salesman I worked with, the only high-pressure asshole I encountered all day.
Mustang: Now we’re talking. My first impression was how much more expensive and substantial it felt than the CR-Z despite the relatively small difference in price. It was comfortable and laid out well. It was a joy to drive. Was it fair that my test drive took us through the backroads of Woodford County (one of the most beautiful places in America, IMO) on a sunny afternoon? No, but it’s too late now. I’m going to check on the insurance on Monday (to make sure I won’t get completely reamed) and start some email negotiations.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me out. I’ll definitely look back on this thread if I end up going back to the drawing board for any reason.
I thought you were going for a convertible? That would solve your visibility issues with the Camaro. The downside is that people on the street will also be able to see your 1990s GM interior.
Your comments on the Camaro and Mustang are interesting in light of this recent article in Car and Driver, which seems to make similar observations (especially regarding the rear visibility in the Camaro). If you’re still thinking about the convertible, you might want to have a quick read through this one.
I think you’ll have a blast in a shiny new Mustang.
That article said the Stang had a solid rear axle? I thought it was independent.
I haven’t decided yet on the convertible. Most of my trips are fairly short, and I’ve found with the Cabrio that most of the time I end up not putting the top down. Not to mention the four or so months out of the year when it’s never really drop-top weather. True, the times I do drive with the top down are exquisite, but the price difference is not insignificant. If I hadn’t driven a ragtop for the last nine years I’d say definitely, but as it is I can live without it.
The bigger debate is manual vs. automatic. Stick seems like the way to go but I’d want to get some coaching first.
Nope. Sad, but true. Even the Cobra has a live axle.
The manual-transmission Mustang is actually very easy to drive, compared to a lot of other manuals I’ve driven. It has such ridiculous quantities of low-end torque that it’s almost impossible to stall. Seriously, I used it to teach my sister and my wife how to drive stick. To make it challenging, I had them try hill starts in third gear. Everything else was too easy. Similarly if you forget to downshift after slowing down, you won’t stall it trying to accelerate from 15 mph in fourth gear.
I have a 2006 Mustang (V-6, full pony package, automatic) and I hate it. Worst car I have ever owned.
Before I even hit 60k miles, the rear brakes went, shocks went, throttle body went. Now, at less than 70k miles, the transmission is having issues. Sometimes there is a delay and then a “thunk!” when shifting into reverse, and it also kicks hard when shifting into 2nd and third. The sensors in the gas tanks have both gone bad, and the car was also recalled for side curtain air bag issues.
Sucker also burns out tail light bulbs like there is no tomorrow, and you have to take half of the trunk apart to replace them.
The only thing good about this f’ing car is that it looks nice.
Reviews so far* say* it is peppy, apparently helped by the DCT. I’m hoping I don’t have to wait for the turbo due in the spring.
I drove the Juke when it first came out but did not like. It was peppy, but the touchy accelerator combined with the turbo/CVT lag was frustrating.
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your '06 Mustang Cherry… I’d have to say though that this isn’t the norm for these cars, although I’m not sure exactly what the issues are. Brakes wear depending on the habits of the driver. Having them serviced by 50k miles is not unusual. I’m not sure how a throttle body “goes” but if it was sticking, they are very easy to clean as part of regular maintenance. As far as the transmission, have you checked the fluid?
Maybe your issues weren’t so simple (shocks definitely shouldn’t be shot at that mileage) and it is possible you just were unfortunate and got a lemon.
I also have an '06 (except mine is the V8) and have had none of the problems you have except for one brake light went out. $7 and 15 minutes later with the help of a 12 year old it was fixed. Required removing 4 snap fasteners and folding down a corner of the carpet in the trunk. Hardly taking half of the trunk apart.