Driving an '05 immediately after driving an '04 or older Mustang, any model/trim, makes you feel like you stepped out of an antique!
I've had a '98 GT, '02 GT, '04 MACH 1, '03 Marauder, '04 Marauder and dozen or so other older Fords. I now have an '05 Black GT - stick. With my experience with Fords, I can say that I can't believe that Ford built a car this nice. It sticks to the ground MUCH better than my MACH did. Take a hard turn in any older Mustang and you have to fight the car. Take a hard turn in an '05 and it goes where you point it, and asks for more. Ford built a very refined car in the '05 GT.
NOW, take an 05 and an older GT out ANYWHERE, side-by-side, and see which one draws positive attention. Twice, I had guys in 100k Mercedes Benzs stop me to look at my car. THat occasionally happened in my MACH because of the shaker hood. Never happened in my 02 or 98 GTs.
As stated in earlier posts, the stock '05 is a great starting point for mods. Hell, what does it cost to get a 260 hp '99 - '04 GT up to 300 hp? (As an aside, I'd like to get an older notch one day to tinker with in the garage.) And really, as I am a little older now with more work and less free time, I no longer do the big mods game. I'll either pay someone to do the mod, or buy it from the factory. I've had enough time under the hood. Sure some folks will scoff at that fact that I don't do my own work. I'd like to, but, I don't have enough time. So when I want a faster car, I'll buy one already built. Whlie I'm on the subject, this car was designed for the 30-40something crowd that remembers growing up in their parents mustangs and are now entrenched in a career making a good living. Did you see the Steve McQueen comercial? Its not made for the twenty year.
The '05 was developed as a package - looks, power, refinement (Remember the original 64 1/2 - What car was it intended to beat?). The '05 was
NEVER inteded to be a LS1 killer. The '07 Cobra will do that. Or, buy a FORD GT. You can pick one up for a cool 150 - 200k. That'll beat an LS1 in any car.
In short, get a engineering degree and an MBA and join FORD to so you can develope the car no one will buy, or, just get a life!
Thats my .02 worth with a little Louisiana lagniappe.
Did I mention that the '05 is nice.