2007 Ford Mustang Pony Edition Coupe from North America - Comments

The car is brand new, so nothing has gone wrong with it yet. Since we have driven Fords for over 30 years (including several that went over 200,000 miles and one that made 325,000 miles), I don't expect any problems with this one either. This is our 7th Mustang, and none of our previous Mustangs ever saw the inside of a service department.

I love the car. The Pony package adds awesome 5-spoke retro style 17" wheels and huge 55 series tires, as well as driving lights in the grille at a very reasonable price.

I chose the V-6 for economy, and the first tank of gas yielded 21mpg. I know this will increase to at least an average of 25-26 in mixed driving. The V-6 provides plenty of power and a 0-60 time of 6.5 seconds, which is very respectable.

The 5-speed automatic shifts very smoothly and down shifts as demanded for great passing power, even at freeway speeds.

The interior is top notch. The leather seats are very comfortable, and all instruments are well-placed and easy to read. The gear indicator could be a little more obvious, as it is hard to see the little light in daylight to see when you have it in a particular gear. Mine has the optional retro style aluminum dash panels and bright spokes on the steering wheel. The back seat is virtually worthless for anyone over 7 years old, but people don't buy sport coupes to haul people around in.

The handling is great, though I wish car manufacturers would offer those of us who don't street race, but like sporty cars, a softer suspension option. The ride is harsh by any definition. The ride in my 8 year old GM compact is much smoother.

I plan to do a good bit of custom detailing on the car, as that is a hobby of mine. I'm adding black GT stripes and blacking out the panel between the tail lights. I'll also be changing to a wing style spoiler, and adding 1970 Mustang style rear window louvers to add to the retro feel.

In looking at so-called sporty coupes, I quickly realized that there AREN'T any except for Mustang. Next year Chevy will be coming out with the retro Camaro, and Dodge will have the retro Challenger, but I don't think their notch-back styling will compete with Mustang's sporty fastback look very well. Right now there just aren't any other sporty coupes made by foreign or domestic companies that can come close to competing with the Mustang.

Original reviewer here. After three months I've found only one annoying thing about the Mustang, and it is a problem I also have with my GM compact. With the windows down on the freeway, there is a terrible buffeting from the wind rushing into the car. I realize most people don't drive 70mph with the windows down, but I do and I enjoy it. Unfortunately I can't do it in the Mustang. This is not a DEFECT so much as a result of the aerodynamics of the car. I wouldn't change the sleek and sporty shape of the car at all, so it's a minor thing well worth living with.

Otherwise, out of the 7 Mustangs we've owned this is the smoothest (though still too harsh to suit me), most comfortable and best handling of them all. I'm also very impressed with the performance of the 4.0 V-6. This car is actually a bit faster than my last V-8 Mustang.

I feel Ford should come back with a retro Torino. Would anybody want a hybrid sporty coupe, with a turbo 4 banner, and the same performance as a v-8? At my work we have hybrid city buses. Instead of using the big bus diesel, it uses the same 5.9 diesel from the Dodge Trucks. The hybrid unit had to be turned down, because the rear duals were broken loose. Pretty cool for a 40 feet long bus, uh? Maybe, Ford diesel pick-ups should go hybrid like our buses. We are getting more performance and better fuel mileage at half the engine size.

Original reviewer again. After nearly 6 months no problems. My only complaint is the automatic transmission. Like all Fords, this new 5-speed automatic is not as sporty to drive as even the most basic GM compact due to the lack of smooth and instantaneous downshifts. We also own 2 GM vehicles and the silky-smooth, super responsive 4-speed automatics in them have spoiled us terribly. When you floor it, the Mustang takes a while to decide which gear to use.

Otherwise, the car is great. The leather interior is comfortable, the car handles high-speed cornering far better than any of my 6 previous Mustangs, and the retro styling is the sportiest look around. I have done quite a bit of custom work on the car and have shown it in car shows locally. It's a definite head-turner.

It will be exciting to see the Dodge Challenger, and it will definitely give the Mustang competition.

The Challenger looks like a Micro-Machine style, which could be good or bad. It might appeal to a younger set, while the purists may not like it because it looks like a cartoonish version of the original 1970's style.

On the other hand, the new Mustang still has great appeal because it looks so much like the original Mach I -- it looked great then and it still does.

Also, there's no question that the Challenger will be about performance. I don't know if there is any other engine option than the 6.1 Liter Hemi, so it won't even be the same target market as a V-6 Mustang. As far as performance, the Mustang will have a hard time keeping up.

The big knock against the Challenger will be the $40,000 price tag, compared to the Mustangs that are in the mid $20,000's.

I've driven two 2007 Mustangs recently; one was a rental and the other belongs to a friend. The rental was actually nicer with leather, Shaker stereo, power seat, and automatic transmission. My friend's has the Tremec 5-speed stick and I have to say that I could not live with this setup as it is way too balky and imprecise to get the full performance benefits. Also, if you let it rev up to about 5,000 rpm, the clutch sounds like it is going to self-destruct when you press it to shift gears. The gearbox itself sounds as though it has oatmeal lubricating it.

The automatic in the rental, while not perfect, seems to be a much better fit for this car. I will say the price for these cars is quite good; but the old school suspension, rod aerial, bonnet prop rod, and poorly designed indicator stalks would drive me crazy on a day-to-day basis. The V6 is very punchy and it DOES seem faster than the older V8 models. I would happily pay more for one of these if they had proper suspension and small refinements such as struts to hold the bonnet up and an integrated aerial. The styling is great and the interior is adequately comfortable.

I now have my Mustang reasonably well broken in, and have switched to a high-flow K&N air filter and full synthetic oil. The mileage is up to about 22 average, which could be better, and the power seems to be up a bit. When the car was first purchased it was impossible to break the tires loose taking off (due to the automatic traction control). Now flooring the gas pedal will result in the kind of tire-smoking starts my old 5.0 V-8 delivered.

All in all, this is by far the best of the 7 Mustangs I've owned, and after driving this V-6 for a while now I really don't think I'll ever go back to the V-8. The V-6 is much less expensive to buy and insure, and considering that my old 5.0 got a whopping 12-14mpg, I'm saving a bundle on gas.

The performance is more than adequate, and actually better than my old V-8s. My only regret is the slightly stiff ride, but it is, after all, a sporty car. When I want to be pampered I drive my GM car.

Although I look forward to the comeback of the new Challenger and Camaro, I seriously doubt either will pose any threat to Mustang.

First of all, the notchback styling is not nearly as appealing as the Mustang's fastback, and in the area of performance only the Corvette and Viper pose any real competition to the 500 horsepower Mustangs, and with the release of the new 620 horsepower Mustang, it is doubtful that even the Corvette will be competitive.

There are even 1000 horsepower after-market versions of the Mustang (such as the street-legal Shinoda twin turbo) now currently available. Only the after-market Vipers have that kind of power.

I just read the first actual road test of the new Challenger. It appears to be a really great car, in the mold of the old pony cars, but with the added benefit of modern technology.

My only real concern is the price. The actual car is actually very attractive (much better than the prototypes I have seen) but the biggest issue is cost. the BASE price was listed as $38,000. That is even more than Pontiac tried to sell the really awesome GTO for.

The GTO was a great car, rode and handled better than Mustang, and offered more power in the low-end models. The problem was price. It listed for 10 grand more than a V-8 Mustang. No one was willing to pay 10 grand more for such a similar vehicle. You can drive a nice V-8 Mustang away for about 25 grand. If you want a less expensive, but still great car, you can opt for a base V-6 at under 16 grand.

I bought my fully loaded V-6 with oversized tires, Bullit wheels, leather, upgraded stereo with satellite radio, custom dash and every available power option for just a tad over $20,000. Paying twice that much for the Challenger is just not a viable option for me.

The reason the new Challenger is $38K is because the only version available is the SRT-8 with the 6.1 liter V8.

Once all the suckers (who have to be the first one to have one) have bought theirs for sticker price (or higher), and the demand drops off, expect to see cheaper versions with the V6 or smaller V8 motors. Less performance, but also better gas mileage than the 13/18 ratings for the SRT-8.

I occasionally see comments to the effect that "muscle cars" or "pony cars" should not be offered with smaller V-6 engines. I have to disagree. We are living in an era of rapidly increasing fuel costs and global warming. We are also a nation of people who cannot all afford a $35,000+ car.

The Pontiac GTO is a perfect example. Great car, great power, great handling. But it's lack of a smaller price and more fuel efficient engine made it a low-sale laughing stock. Our local Pontiac dealer never sold even ONE GTO.

My fear with the new Camaro and Challenger is that they will be over-priced and not available with a smaller power plant. That will result in very poor sales.

The average American is now more concerned about fuel costs, insurance costs and damage to the planet than they were in the late 60's.

I have owned 7 Mustangs. My latest one is a V-6. It is actually rated at MORE horsepower than my previous two V-8's, outperforms them, and gets 7-10 mpg better fuel mileage. I will not buy any more V-8s.

"21st Feb 2008, 12:19.

Although I look forward to the comeback of the new Challenger and Camaro, I seriously doubt either will pose any threat to Mustang.

First of all, the notchback styling is not nearly as appealing as the Mustang's fastback, and in the area of performance only the Corvette and Viper pose any real competition to the 500 horsepower Mustangs, and with the release of the new 620 horsepower Mustang, it is doubtful that even the Corvette will be competitive.

There are even 1000 horsepower after-market versions of the Mustang (such as the street-legal Shinoda twin turbo) now currently available. Only the after-market Vipers have that kind of power."

This argument has the same flaws as the people that say "I once saw a guy with a 2000 horsepower Honda Civic" and then claim that therefore all Civics can run 8-second quarter miles. How many stock 500-horsepower mustangs are out there? Come on, that is not even remotely the majority of stock Mustangs being sold. There are also 1000-horsepower Vipers "out there", so what's your point? Stock for stock, compare the 425-horsepower SRT8 6.1 Liter hemi Challenger to the stock V-8 Mustang. No contest.

Well, actually there is "no contest" between the stock Mustang GT and the SRT-8 Challenger. At 15 GRAND less, the Mustang may not run rings around it, but I guarantee you it will SELL rings around it!!

That's a great argument: "It's not as good, but at least it's cheaper!"

Actually for just a few dollars more, performance car shoppers can step up from the Challenger to the Mustang Shelby GT 500. That is certainly more car than either GM or Chrysler will be offering at ANY price.

I have read (for what it is worth) that you can get all the performance and suspension components of the GT pkg by checking the apporporate boxes on the option sheet. Avoiding the expensive GT pkg and saving money on insurance because it is not a 'GT'.