And they were also lighter than their V8 siblings but most importantly they're still Mustangs with a plethora of aftermarket partsĪnd I doubt anyone could disagree w/ the SN95 vs S197 in the handling dept. The thing about the 3.8(3.9 2004 only) and 4.0 SOHC motors is they're torquey in the lower RPM band which makes them great as daily drivers and some autocross. I was able to bring home a 6' doug fir in the trunk once w/ the back seats folded down - another plus. It served it's purpose well and ended up enjoying it more than I thought. At the time I was in need of transportation and just happened to come across it and test drive it. I had owned an '86 GT and SVO years ago and a few years back found myself dd'ing a clean '00 V6/auto (nonetheless) which I picked up real cheap off the original owner. I personally used to have the typical distaste towards 6 banger Mustangs for quite some time. Aside from the exhaust noise I didn't find the GT and its power significantly more useful on a road course than the turbo 4-certainly not for the substantially higher cost. Much better balanced car and just as many thrills. I would NOT pay the extra for a GT after my time in the Ecoboost. Haven't driven a S550 V6 but have ridden with students in both the Ecoboost 4 and the GT. The power delivery is linear but oddly a bit dull. I've driven the 3.7 version and it is fast but doesn't 'feel' fast. I'm itching to put a tune on mine and run 92 octane just to see what happens. I'm also pretty confident the engine comes de-tuned a bit from the factory to keep the gap between V6 and GT larger. The T-5 in the 4.0 dislikes speed shifting and the open rear diff won't help in sharp turns. Stock seats are horrible and don't hold you in place at all.
With some better sways and lowering it would be a lot of fun.
The only reason it comes across as slow is most of the HPDE hardware these days has a lot more power. It will run with E30 BMWs (167hp, lighter weight). Even the 210hp engine can push it along decently. My expectations for it were really low but I came away impressed. I didn't buy it to be anything more than a DD but I have had it to two HPDE's at Summit while in-between other cars. My 4.0 S197 is much maligned by the general (ignorant) populace. The New Edge V6 with a stick is better than you'd expect but it is still no S197 in the handling department.
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