Well, for my brother's birthday, his friend rented him a 2005 Mustang convertible for the weekend. I guess if you can't have the real thing, at least you can play pretend for a short time...
Anyway, my brother kindly allowed me to drive his 'baby'. It was a peculiar sensation, since I am very familiar with the 'real thing', having owned and driven a '69 for years. Although I enjoyed the 'new car' experience, and liked the horsepower (the car I drove was a V8, and I got it up to 140 before chickening out and backing off the accelerator [note to self: never buy a former rental car]), and appreciated the pains Ford had taken to replicate the original's dashboard and other features, overall, I was kind of let down by the new Mustang.
Don't get me wrong: I think they're great to look at. I especially like the view from the rear, where they have gone so far as to replicate the gas tank cover from the '69. Another interesting feature is the headlights: on the original, the '69 had four headlights while the '70 had only two. On the 2005, the number of headlights is used to designate engine size (2 headlights for the V6, 4 for the V8). Just a bit of insider information for you there.
Anyway, I currently drive an SUV (Dodge Durango) that has the most comfortable seats ever. I've also driven other cars with great seats (my '69 Mustang and my Thunderbird). When the Durango was in the shop two weeks ago, I had to drive a Hyundai Accent courtesy car. That vehicle wins hands-down for the worst seats ever - sitting in that car was was like sitting on a slab of concrete. Although Ford has gone to pains to make the seat backs of the Mustang a bit more high-end with lumbar support and all that junk, both my beloved and I commented on the discomfort factor with these Mustang seats.
Likewise, the seats sat so low in the car I felt like a little old lady, straining to sit high enough to peer over the steering wheel. I'm an average sized woman - 5'6" - and my beloved, who is 6'2", also felt like a midget in a bathtub while driving this car.
The third thing I did not like about the car was the feel of the turning indicators and other levers and knobs. I don't know how else to say this - they just felt cheap.
Finally, it was a rental car and as such, is subject to an unusual amount of abuse (see third paragraph, above) - however, in this brand new car, the convertible roof attachment was already broken. Just imagine what'll happen once this baby gets some age on it.
So, overall, a bit of a disappointment. I'd rate this one a 6.5/10.
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