04 Cobra or 05 GT

Svtpilot

Svtpilot

Founding Member
Jun 16, 2002
944
59
59
Long Island, NY
#1
A buddy of mine is undecided on wether he should buy an 04 Cobra or order an 05 GT. I'm in it for the horse power so right away I said get the Snake. However as much as I love the 05s as a loyal SVT owner I am biased. So what do you guys think?
By the way he is 6 ft so head room is an issue.
 

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#3
OK I have driven both!!

I have driven both cars so heres my spin. First consideration is price!! If we are talking MSRP on both,( 04 Cobra is like 35k), (05 GT loaded same setup is like 28k)At MSRP I dont see a choice, 05 wins hands down in pure horsepower/enjoyment for the dollar.

Now if we are talking a good deal on the Cobra that's different.The dealership I ordered my 05 from has been pretty straight with me. A freind from work told me this dealership offered him a deal on an 04 Cobra at 28k!!! Now when I heard that, thats a tempting choice!! But as it happened my freind wasnt sure about the Cobra, and it was sold. He went back there to try to buy another one and they would not give him the same deal on another Cobra, so he went else where and bought a used Mach 1.

So If I had the same choice between an 04 Cobra at say 28k( and I dont see anyway the dealers are going to sell these cars with the 05s coming in unless they do some real discounts) and an 05 I would still buy the 05. Cobra ride is hard, clutch is too stiff, stick is long throw and sloppy. If I had to drive that car everyday( my 05 is going to be my daily driver) with that clutch and shifter, I'd shoot myself first!!

05 seats are a joy to sit in, the relationship of steering wheel/pedals/arm rest/shifter, is dam good. I know because I have driven the RX8, which is THE best interior/seating/shifter arrangement in a sports car(and all the magazine comparisons agree).

As far as horsepower, yeah 400hp sounds good, but if you look at all the 1/4 mile performance tests on both, the Cobra is not all that much faster than the 05, and you really would have to take both to a drag strip and push them to see it. In daily driving ( Of course I'm not talking about all you people that race these cars ) the 05 is a much more enjoyable ride and is WAY fast enough to impress anyone including me and smoke all the tires you want.

That's my story and I'm stiking to it!!!(05 is ordered and on it's way)
 
#4
If your buddy can live with the 04's interior, go for the Cobra(at a good price of course). What I'm trying to say is this. I have had three SN95 Mustangs(94 GT/95 Coupe/99 GT) since 1996. Even with the S/C I could not make myself get into another SN95. I'm waiting to get a Cobra around '08 or '09.
-Jason
 
#5
VOORHEES said:
If your buddy can live with the 04's interior, go for the Cobra. What I'm trying to say is this. I have had three SN95 Mustangs(94 GT/95 Coupe/99 GT) since 1996. Even with the S/C I could not make myself get into another SN95. I'm waiting to get a Cobra around '08 or '09.
-Jason
Click to expand...

That's what stopped me from getting a Mach 1. I've had a '97 V6 and my current '02 GT and I didn't want to get another car with that interior.
 
#6
i was faced with this same decision in august!!

long story short.. i went with a 10th anniversary svt cobra convertible for 30k out the door. it had 2500 miles on it. best car i've ever owned, and i'm glad as hell i went with it.

BUT.. it is a PITA to drive. i just installed the new MGW shifter though, and that is no longer an issue. the clutch is extremely have however, so stop and go traffic is a ******. but you don't buy a cobra to drive to work every day imo anyway..

as far performance.. i'm not even being biased the cobra will always blow away a GT. i agree that stock-for-stock there is not much difference. but you buy a pulley, tune, and drag radials for the cobra and its bye-bye GT. i think that a lot of people who buy the cobras, like myself, buy them because they are so easy to modify. you simply cannot modify a n/a GT for as cheap as the cobra.

ALL LOOKS ASIDE..

daily driver? -'05 GT
all else?- Snake
 
#8
Svtpilot said:
A buddy of mine is undecided on wether he should buy an 04 Cobra or order an 05 GT. I'm in it for the horse power so right away I said get the Snake. However as much as I love the 05s as a loyal SVT owner I am biased. So what do you guys think?
By the way he is 6 ft so head room is an issue.
Click to expand...

Personaly I would never buy the 1994 to 2004 body style mustang... In my opinion it is the worst body style mustang has put forth so I would go with the 2005 Saleen or get a supercharger for the 2005 Mustang GT if you really need that extra HP :nice:

I have no complaints to date about this car :)
 
#9
For the money, I would buy a Cobra. One could probably be had for the price of a loaded 05. The power is #1 for me and all the rest is icing on the cake. Just my 2 cents.
 
#11
Just slap a Kennebell supercharger on the 05 and lets see haha.
Runfox said:
I have driven both cars so heres my spin. First consideration is price!! If we are talking MSRP on both,( 04 Cobra is like 35k), (05 GT loaded same setup is like 28k)At MSRP I dont see a choice, 05 wins hands down in pure horsepower/enjoyment for the dollar.

Now if we are talking a good deal on the Cobra that's different.The dealership I ordered my 05 from has been pretty straight with me. A freind from work told me this dealership offered him a deal on an 04 Cobra at 28k!!! Now when I heard that, thats a tempting choice!! But as it happened my freind wasnt sure about the Cobra, and it was sold. He went back there to try to buy another one and they would not give him the same deal on another Cobra, so he went else where and bought a used Mach 1.

So If I had the same choice between an 04 Cobra at say 28k( and I dont see anyway the dealers are going to sell these cars with the 05s coming in unless they do some real discounts) and an 05 I would still buy the 05. Cobra ride is hard, clutch is too stiff, stick is long throw and sloppy. If I had to drive that car everyday( my 05 is going to be my daily driver) with that clutch and shifter, I'd shoot myself first!!

05 seats are a joy to sit in, the relationship of steering wheel/pedals/arm rest/shifter, is dam good. I know because I have driven the RX8, which is THE best interior/seating/shifter arrangement in a sports car(and all the magazine comparisons agree).

As far as horsepower, yeah 400hp sounds good, but if you look at all the 1/4 mile performance tests on both, the Cobra is not all that much faster than the 05, and you really would have to take both to a drag strip and push them to see it. In daily driving ( Of course I'm not talking about all you people that race these cars ) the 05 is a much more enjoyable ride and is WAY fast enough to impress anyone including me and smoke all the tires you want.

That's my story and I'm stiking to it!!!(05 is ordered and on it's way)
Click to expand...
 
#12
It really depends on what you want, a 13 year old platform and 390hp or a totaly new (better platform) and 300hp. I traded a 99 cobra convertible after a test drive. There is no comparison to the two in ride comfort. The 05 wins hands down. Im 5'11" and I am amazed at the head room, good 6 to 8 inches above me.
 
#16
the 04's and earlier are crap

dont buy an 04, depreciation on older models is high,, the interest is in the 05, it looks so much better it isnt even close, and the older cars are pure junk,,, poorly made,,, rattle,,, bad platform,,, the convertible is the worst of course,,, it felt like it was going to fall apart as you drove it,, couldnt wait to get rid of it,,,, had a 64 and 67 when i was much younger,, they were great and fun,,,,the new one is a throwback to when mustangs were great,,71 to 04,,,, crap,,, almost as bad as the late firebirds,,, which were the worst.
 
#17
#18
alan64 said:
dont buy an 04, depreciation on older models is high,, the interest is in the 05, it looks so much better it isnt even close, and the older cars are pure junk,,, poorly made,,, rattle,,, bad platform,,, the convertible is the worst of course,,, it felt like it was going to fall apart as you drove it,, couldnt wait to get rid of it,,,, had a 64 and 67 when i was much younger,, they were great and fun,,,,the new one is a throwback to when mustangs were great,,71 to 04,,,, crap,,, almost as bad as the late firebirds,,, which were the worst.
Click to expand...

most naive post ever??

another old fart trying to feel better about his purchase ;)
 
#20
Thanks for the responses guys. As much as it pains me to recomend anything over an SVT product,since the car is going to be his daily driver, he is 6ft tall, and he will probably never bring it to the track, I had to recomend the 05. Again thanks.
Just some commets:
Drummer no offense but the only way an 05 GT will accelerate like an 04 Cobra is if you drop it off a building.
Alan64 again no offense , there is no question that the fit, finish,chassis and ride quality are better with the 05, but the earlier cars are far from "pure junk." I should know I have owned a few.
 
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