Interior plastic disappointment...

[usa1]

I saw a 2005 V6 Mustang with a interior upgrade package and leather interior at a local dealer yesterday. It looked great on the outside - clean, strong, and beautiful. However, the interior for me was a disappointment. After all the rave reviews and Ford tooting their horn about how they are spending money on their interiors, I expected a lot more.

The layout was fine. It's a big change from my 2003 which I expected. It felt roomier, but not too much so. Leg room was noticably improved up front which was great. The back seats are still unusable.

The swiper and turm signal controls were cheap feeling. They did not click smoothly at all. The controls in the center stack were nicely laid out.

Every surface, with the minor exception to the door and center arm rest were rock hard to the touch. The grain pattern was terrible looking to me. It's the same course pattern used to similarly poor looking results on the new Ford 500 and Freestyle. At least in the 500, the plastic is soft to the touch.

Now, I think some of the blame lies in the plastic color, which was gray. It would probably look better in black. However, the hard touch of the plastic and the noticable mold lines were simply cheap and lame looking. The interior ergonomics were better than my 2003 GT, but heck, is that a surprise? My interior dates back 10 years. I just expect so much more.

I know this car is designed to meet a low price point, but when you compare other low cost cars and their choice of plastics, it's a let down. Details like the still clunky controls and cheap plastics just bug me because I know the Cobra will have the same interior by in large and we cannot expect the interior to changes for many many years, so we are stuck with this stuff for years.

Mark

 

[migg]

The swiper and turm signal controls were cheap feeling. They did not click smoothly at all. The controls in the center stack were nicely laid out.



8 weeks ago, i need the (realy small) consolepart for the handbreak lever in my rover 75 (english car with bmw parts). I payed 89.- Euros for it (110. US$)!!!

I realy, realy, realy ... hope the new mustang have a cheaper interior!

My Rover costs with 2.0 ltr. diesel (115 hp), leather, soundsystem, etc. over 39680.- US$

The V6, loadet, under 24000 US$

the little different

 

[sixstringthing]

What about the Kia Amanti? It's not very expensive and have you seen the interior on that thing??? A Mustang doesn't need to have all that stuff but some nicer plastics here and there wouldn't add another $10k to the car.

 

[2112]

Who cares what it looks and feels like? If you want quality wood grain and chrome and other luxury features, go buy a luxury car. Cheap plastic interior means less weight and since this is a RACE car and not a luxury car, less weight is a very good thing

 

[NewPony'05]

the mustang is a RACE car? umm... alrighty then

 

[2112]

the mustang is a RACE car? umm... alrighty then

Did you not watch the special on TV where all the engineers said it was designed with racing in mind? Alot of what they did to it was tested and designed for the track. If you don't consider it a race car, what do you consider than?

 

[markham51]

I thought overall the interior is decent. No car in this price bracket, especially a sports car is going to have a spectacular interior. I think Ford spent the money where MOST Mustang owners wanted them to... although everyone will have a pet peeve or two. I would have liked to have audio controls on the steering wheel and where's the satellite radio setup? Others would have liked 18" rims. Overall I am very happy with my 05 including the interior!

 

[DBMSTNG]

i didn't think it was all that bad in the GT i sat in. better than previous stangs IMO.

 

[66Satellite]

Now, I think some of the blame lies in the plastic color, which was gray. It would probably look better in black.

I think a black interior is the only way to go with this car. The gray and tan are too light IMO. It's hard to get away with such a light gray or tan unless you're talking about a very expensive car. The gray interior on most mid-priced Japanese and German cars is quite a bit darker. Too bad Ford didn't go this route.

 

[Rootus]

People have been way too forgiving of this car. Just because it's better than the 2004 Mustang does not say much. Compare it to what else you can buy in 2005 for $27k. 300 horsepower is just barely adequate, and really it's the V6 that should be pushing closer to 300, the V8 should be north of that. If the car had 350 horsepower or more it would be easier to say the interior quality did not matter. But a 300 horsepower 3V 4.6L hardly makes it a race car, so the interior quality and features do matter.

I just don't understand why we are willing to lower the standard for Ford -- as owners we should hold them to a *higher* standard.

 

[Totemic]

People have been way too forgiving of this car. Just because it's better than the 2004 Mustang does not say much. Compare it to what else you can buy in 2005 for $27k. 300 horsepower is just barely adequate,

I'm sorry, but I must have missed all those 300hps, $27K sports coupes available on the market. Could you do me a favor and name a few?

The closest cars I considered when I was making a decision for a new "toy" for myself were the Nissan 350Z and the Mazda RX-8--neither of which are 300hps (well, the 35th Anniversary version of the 350Z which will be available in another two months is exactly 300hps but it'll lose a few foot pounds of torque from the standard 350Z). In terms of performance, the 350Z is comparable, but costs considerably more, unless you cheap out and get the absolute bare minimum base model. Then you're at about the same price point as a fully loaded Mustang GT. In most cases, people will opt for either the Touring, Performance or Track trim which all have a starting price above $30K (the Track trim is over $34K base). Incidently, one of the more moronic aspect of the Nissan 350Z is the smorgasbord of trims available--where the Mustang GT has Deluxe and Premium, the 350Z has no less than 5 different base trims (not counting the two convertible trims).

The interior of the 350Z was way too claustrophobic. The upgraded Bose stereo is crap and and they made it extremely difficult to install aftermarket speakers in that car (the speakers on the door are a weird size so the typical aftermarket speakers obstruct the window when it's completely lowered). And the placement of the subwoofers can only be described as brain-dead (if you've ever sat in a 350Z and are over 6 feet tall, you'll understand what I mean).

As for the RX-8, it was easily the closest rival in my mind to the Mustang GT (and I really liked the funkiness of the RX-8's rear doors). It was a four seater just like the GT (well, 2 adults and 2 double amputees). Unfortunately, the exterior of the RX-8 was just a tiny bit too busy for me and the performance of the car wasn't all that great.

The interior on the RX-8 appears pretty comparable to the GT. Neither of them really jumped out at me nor was a major problem point.

But a 300 horsepower 3V 4.6L hardly makes it a race car, so the interior quality and features do matter.

While I agree that the interior does have room for improvement, it's hardly the utter crap that most seem to make it out. I've sat in the GT and played around with the upgraded interior. It doesn't compare to higher end BMW/Benz/Lexus, but it's quite reasonable.

Infact, compared to some of the other $27K German and Japanese cars, it's easily on par.

About the only negative aspects of the GT that I can bring up (at least not without actually test driving it--my dealership has one GT in the showroom and won't let anyone test drive it yet) is the wheel/tire combination. The car really needs to have 18" wheels + 255/45's on them.

 

[Ernad]

Did you not watch the special on TV where all the engineers said it was designed with racing in mind? Alot of what they did to it was tested and designed for the track. If you don't consider it a race car, what do you consider than?

Any car today is advertised to be designed with racing in mind. The Mustang is no race car. It's just a coupe (with 300hp ).

 

[kirkyg]

Who cares what it looks and feels like? If you want quality wood grain and chrome and other luxury features, go buy a luxury car. Cheap plastic interior means less weight and since this is a RACE car and not a luxury car, less weight is a very good thing

Actually i care alot...as do alot of people here...BUT ford increased the quality of the new mustang interior MILES over the SN95's. The people complaining here want too much and expect too much. Your not going to get 40k luxury + performance in a 25k package...sorry.

kirkyg

 

[Red35th]

The new GT actually is making north of 320hp. With a simple tune easily in the 350 range (per MPH in Georgia).

Don't believe Ford's advertised hp numbers, look at the 420-430hp 03 Cobra, I mean 390hp...

 

[Mr_dcj2001]

Without the IUP the plastic does suck. But it is not far worse than other comparable vehicles.

 

[Joe 5.0]

I sat in one a month or so ago, and I immediately could tell it was higher quality in terms of the interior. Sure it wasnt up the plastics standards of my Acura, but my Acura doesnt have 320hp either, and it stickered at $6k more than a base GT.

I think the black interior with the aluminum accent looks dang nice. You have to go to a $32k GTO to get a nicer interior in a car with a rwd/V8 configuration.

Right now, nothing can touch the 05 Mustang GT for $$$ per hp, and at least now it has a decent interior and better overall refinement.

 

[Steeda90GT]

To me weight and wheel size is an issue. I would really like to see a V8 mustang closer to the 3,000-3,100lb mark again. 300-320HP is great but because of it's portley weight it makes it comparable to the lighter weight 350Z's 287 HP. I'm also dissapointed about the wheel/tire size. We've had 17 inch wheels for 10 yrs now!! Would be great to see 18s or at least a more aggressive tire.

I agree, this stang is light years ahead of the the current one but I also agree with some others. Ford need to stop comparing their new cars to their old models and start comparing them to the competition. Honestly, this is the stang that SHOULDVE came out in 94...

 

[beary58]

While I agree that the interior does have room for improvement, it's hardly the utter crap that most seem to make it out. .

I didn't think USA1 called it crap. I agree with much of what he said, but I still like the car. I will say that the mustang has never had roomy back seats, but my kids never complain. I personally want fabric seats because it's cooler in the summer with the top down. But the seats I sat in felt like cheap imitation leather. When the verts come out, I will drive it on a hot day and see how they feel.

I'm tall and have a long reach, so put me on the list for radio controls on the steering wheel. And, how much does it cost to put a garage door open in the visor. That looks a lot better then finding a place for the one provided by the garage door opener maker.

2000 white vert

 

[TR03Mach1]

Actually i care alot...as do alot of people here...BUT ford increased the quality of the new mustang interior MILES over the SN95's. The people complaining here want too much and expect too much. Your not going to get 40k luxury + performance in a 25k package...sorry.

kirkyg

I don't know about that. My wife and I took an 05 V6 auto for a test drive, and neither one of us thought that the interior was "MILES" over my Mach 1. Matter of fact, I thought it was pretty chintzy when balanced against all the rave revues it's been getting. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, and I'm still going to wait until I get to drive a GT with the interior upgrade package before I pass final judgement on the interior. Part of the problem, I thought, was the color, some kind of blueish gray on the dash panels, combined with some funky grain pattern that just screamed PLASTIC CRAP! I'm not real fond of the lack of "intimacy" for lack of a better word, with the cockpit of the car, due to its increased size. It feels more like a midsize luxury car, ala mid 90's Thunderbirds, than a Mustang. I like the exterior of the car alot, but the interior brings back bad flashbacks of the huge 71-73 Mustangs. Just my .02

 

[M1Rifle]

I think a black interior is the only way to go with this car. The gray and tan are too light IMO. It's hard to get away with such a light gray or tan unless you're talking about a very expensive car. The gray interior on most mid-priced Japanese and German cars is quite a bit darker. Too bad Ford didn't go this route.

Actually, I think that the Medium Parchment interior on my 2005 is pretty nice. It gives the car an open and airy feel that you don't get from dark interiors.