Right off the bat, anyone who bought a 2010 Mustang should be kicking themselves, or at the very least driving down to the Ford dealership to trade in. Both V6 and V8 mustangs have completely new beating hearts, and man are they both fantastic. For 2011 Ford finally ditched that wasteland of valve-train noise they called an engine in the V6 model. Even though displacement is down for 2011, the V6 pumps out 305 horsepower, just ten less than the previous year's GT! The car is very good to drive, and even boasts a very nice soundtrack through the exhaust, but it somehow lacks that racecar feel you get in some cars with similar performance. However, if you want a fast, cheap, fuel efficient car with room for four, look no further, the V6 Mustang has arrived. I have yet to get the opportunity to drive a V6 Camaro, but based on my impression of the V8, buyers should opt for the Mustang either way.
Now, onto the big boys; the V8 crowd. The Camaro's new body absolutely screams muscles, and has the power to back up the badass look. Chevrolet lifted the engine straight out of the new Corvette; the LS3. At 6.2 liters this engine packs quite the punch with 426 ponies, 14 more than the mustang delivers. At idle, and even full throttle the engine is fairly quiet, but I also had the opportunity to drive a Camaro with an aftermarket Borla exhaust, which really gave the car a sound to compliment its looks. This Camaro is a bit tricky to drive, it feels really big and has a strange feel to the clutch. Even after several miles I couldn't seem to get the clutch perfectly smooth, which was rather annoying. Acceleration doesn't feel quite as brutal as I was expecting considering the overall power of the car. The first time I put the power down hard I actually felt myself leaning forward as I expected to be pushed harder back in the seat. The car itself feels very good, but incredibly big. Too big, GM needed to shave at least 200 pounds off the weight of this car for it to be right for me.
The 5.0 mustang is powered by an all new engine, codenamed the Coyote. I didn't know Ford had such refinement in them, a big, muscular Mustang has never revved so smoothly, or felt so lively. If my vote counts for anything, I'd give the Coyote the award for best surprise engine of the decade. Lined up against the Camaro, the Mustang will barely pull away, but at the same time the car feels much faster, and puts the power to the road through a phenomenal 6 speed manual transmission. If I didn't know better I would think that the Mustang was pumping out 50 more horsepower than the SS. Driving along the Stang feels slightly large, but seems to cope with this size a lot better. Its a lot easier to drive, and looks better too (though it doesn't have that big-bully-coming-to-beat-you-up appearance of the SS). The car also handles worlds better than the SS, and the transmission is an absolute blast to shift. Think of the best shifter you have ever felt; this is it, and then some! The positive feel of engaging a gear is so satisfying that automatic junkies would consider this six-speed. My one qualm with the Mustang: the steering wheel. Its terrible, horrible, uncomfortable, but at least it looks alright. The split spoke design makes me feel uncomfortable no matter where my hands are positioned, but its not bad enough to detract from the overall car. Not only is the Mustang a better performing car, but its much easier to live with day-to-day as well. Its smoother, easier to drive, sounds better, and similarly priced. With a $30,495 sticker price, not much gives a better value than this, the fastest Mustang GT ever produced.
Contrary to the pony car race of the early 2000's, the tables have turned on Chevrolet. GM has some serious catching up to do (literally) if they want to have a chance at knocking this Mustang off as top dog.
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