While I was getting the oil changed in my wife's Fusion today I braved the sea of starving car salesmen and checked out a new GT PP. Surprisingly after about 15 minutes one of the sales guys finally walks up to me and asked if I needed any help. I immediately ask if I can take the car out for a test drive. I was wearing a BMO t-shirt and as Grant will attest BMO shirts pull quite a bit of weight in the automotive world and the sales guy said sure let me get the key fob. ;D
After he pulls it out we take off for about a 15 minute drive. I took it out on I-80 and got up to speeds beyond what was posted. We then headed down a winding road and over some hills before we headed back to the dealer. Let me cut straight to the chase and say I was highly impressed with the way it drove and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Some more detailed information:
Interior - I've heard the interior is a lot nicer than the last iteration of the S197 and for the most part I agree. It has a fresher more contemporary look and everything is in the right spot. This car had most of the bells and whistles including leather and heated/cooled seats. It did not have Recaro's or the top of the line sound system but did have NAV. The new seats fit me well and look nicer with larger bolsters than the previous generation. One thing I heard was there was less plastic and what plastic there is was nicer. I thought there was about the same amount of plastic and that it wasn't really that much nicer if at all. Oh well. That was my biggest complaint of the S197 was the sea of cheap plastic. I liked the smaller and fatter steering wheel as well but there are so many buttons on the wheel it looked a bit busy. I also liked that your thumbs rest on leather and not metal like our wheels.
Exterior - other than the Fusion front end the car looks fantastic. The continuous side window gives the car a sleeker more contemporary look. The rear end looks aggressive with the rear wheel wells flared a bit for a great look. It's like they knew there were going to widen the front for the GT350.
The black plastic valance pieces tie in well with the rest of the car and give it a modern look. The car does look lower and wider than the S197. I don't care for black wheels in general and the PP wheels look busy and should be a PITA to clean when washing your car. The big brakes, especially the rear rotor, fill up the wheels nicely. Other than not being a huge fan of the front end the only thing I really don't like about the looks is the extractor vents on the hood. To me they don't flow with the rest of the car. I'm very glad the GT350 does not use them.
Driving - Wow. Smooth smooth smooth. The driveline feels much more refined compared to the S197 and I'm sure it will be well received globally. The clutch release is very high but other than that you just jump right in and go. I didn't get a chance to give the brakes a good test but they felt nice and firm. The engine is what you'd expect and pulls strong from down low. I jumped on is several times and it accelerates quickly. It's deceivingly fast as the thing is so quiet. First mod for most will be more open axle backs. One thing that really stood out was the shifting. From the crappy shifting of the MT-82 in the S197 it feels worlds better. Really it's a huge difference. The shifter was so smooth and precise with little effort needed that it reminded me of my 1993 300 ZX TT. Shifts like butter. I'm really glad Ford got this right on the S550. The ride was also very good yet the car still felt sporty and cornered relatively flat. The rear end never once felt out of line or jumped when hitting bumps. The IRS does make a noticeable difference in the ride quality on the street.
Anyway I was so impressed I'm now thinking I might need a GT350 sooner than I originally planned. :
Not shown was the $5K ADM.
My long legs had plenty of room.
They also had this bad boy on the lot for $32K. The drivers seat had a lot of wear so I'm guessing at least 30,000 miles on it.
After he pulls it out we take off for about a 15 minute drive. I took it out on I-80 and got up to speeds beyond what was posted. We then headed down a winding road and over some hills before we headed back to the dealer. Let me cut straight to the chase and say I was highly impressed with the way it drove and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Some more detailed information:
Interior - I've heard the interior is a lot nicer than the last iteration of the S197 and for the most part I agree. It has a fresher more contemporary look and everything is in the right spot. This car had most of the bells and whistles including leather and heated/cooled seats. It did not have Recaro's or the top of the line sound system but did have NAV. The new seats fit me well and look nicer with larger bolsters than the previous generation. One thing I heard was there was less plastic and what plastic there is was nicer. I thought there was about the same amount of plastic and that it wasn't really that much nicer if at all. Oh well. That was my biggest complaint of the S197 was the sea of cheap plastic. I liked the smaller and fatter steering wheel as well but there are so many buttons on the wheel it looked a bit busy. I also liked that your thumbs rest on leather and not metal like our wheels.
Exterior - other than the Fusion front end the car looks fantastic. The continuous side window gives the car a sleeker more contemporary look. The rear end looks aggressive with the rear wheel wells flared a bit for a great look. It's like they knew there were going to widen the front for the GT350.
The black plastic valance pieces tie in well with the rest of the car and give it a modern look. The car does look lower and wider than the S197. I don't care for black wheels in general and the PP wheels look busy and should be a PITA to clean when washing your car. The big brakes, especially the rear rotor, fill up the wheels nicely. Other than not being a huge fan of the front end the only thing I really don't like about the looks is the extractor vents on the hood. To me they don't flow with the rest of the car. I'm very glad the GT350 does not use them.Driving - Wow. Smooth smooth smooth. The driveline feels much more refined compared to the S197 and I'm sure it will be well received globally. The clutch release is very high but other than that you just jump right in and go. I didn't get a chance to give the brakes a good test but they felt nice and firm. The engine is what you'd expect and pulls strong from down low. I jumped on is several times and it accelerates quickly. It's deceivingly fast as the thing is so quiet. First mod for most will be more open axle backs. One thing that really stood out was the shifting. From the crappy shifting of the MT-82 in the S197 it feels worlds better. Really it's a huge difference. The shifter was so smooth and precise with little effort needed that it reminded me of my 1993 300 ZX TT. Shifts like butter. I'm really glad Ford got this right on the S550. The ride was also very good yet the car still felt sporty and cornered relatively flat. The rear end never once felt out of line or jumped when hitting bumps. The IRS does make a noticeable difference in the ride quality on the street.
Anyway I was so impressed I'm now thinking I might need a GT350 sooner than I originally planned. :
Not shown was the $5K ADM.
My long legs had plenty of room.
They also had this bad boy on the lot for $32K. The drivers seat had a lot of wear so I'm guessing at least 30,000 miles on it.
