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Attention! This site is for information purposes only, does not promote any driving style and is not of a training nature. All cars covered by the descriptions and photos posted on this site are used in accordance with traffic regulations and with the highest security measures in order not to cause any damage to road users. The author of the blog is not responsible for other road users who in a manner inconsistent with traffic regulations or with the exposure to the health and life of others, will use vehicles on public roads and outside them.

„This is not... America"

The USA.., a country of many opportunities, career success, speculation, film production and hamburger. The American mansions looking similar to castles dripping with luxury and are often made of plywood and boards, and aditionally equipped with a chassis thanks to which they can be transported on a large trailer all over the United States, escaping, for example, from the land owner who claims the right to the area on which such a building stood. The American cars have always aroused fear and terror in me, they looked like an old red couch standing in the office of the director of a public transport station, they had the poor performance and size of a prehistoric dinosaur. The most captivating of all these were the names of these cars, which evoked a variety of usually nice associations. The Chevrolet Impala, the name reminds me of an agile, living creature, walking carelessly over Savanna's grass, meanwhile, take a look at this "agile" creature, preferably from the years 1981-85. The next hit of the season was Pontiac Sunfire, whose successor was Pursuit G5, one better than the other, just interesting what is this "pursuit" for, in a car equipped with a 115 horsepower engine (maybe chasing The Polish Fiat 125P ?). My favorite in this plebiscite is Buick Rendezvous, please find him and honestly answer the question if it would be your dream date. Under the bonnet of most of these cars there was the second part of the drama, 4, 5, 6-liter engines, and sometimes more, generated power rarely reaching 200 horses, the fuel burning was counted in liters per second, and the suspension resembled a screwed George Bush appearing in the cabaret entitled "On Ice Skating" and allowed to drive only forward. While many of my colleagues were delighted with the view of Cadillac, which got stuck somewhere in a narrow street in the town square, I decided to take care of something completely different and not pay much attention to something that was never the object of my automotive interest. The Chevrolet Corvette C6, which my friend bought in 2006, turned out to be a silver lining. The car looked good, it had a huge seven-liter engine with a capacity of 512 horses, it accelerated in 4 seconds to the first hundred and even kept to the road. Well.., a new one is coming, I thought but after some time I forgot about this car and continued to deal with German motorization. One day, I went to the cinema with my female friend for Transformers, basically I was more interested in my girlfriend than in this movie but I thought that since I went to this screening, which in principle concerns motorization, I will share my attention and with one eye I look at my girlfriend and the other at the movie. Suddenly during one of the movie scenes I noticed a yellow car with a Chevrolet badge, it was the most recent, then probably the conceptual Camaro. I thought that I really like the car, I started to look for information about it, and wonder how it is going and whether it would be worth buying it. Full of youthful optimism, I began to look kindly towards America, until I finally decided to get in my claws a real gem, in this part of the globe, namely the Ford Mustang 5.0 V8 GT, which I will present to you today.

Ford Mustang VI generation debuted in Barcelona in December 2013. Initially, this American Coupe was offered with two V8 engines with a capacity of 5 and 5.2 liters respectively and with power from 421 to 533 horsepower. For less demanding customers, Ford has prepared an EcoBoost engine with a 2.3 liter turbocharger and 314 horsepower. The sample which I tested was equipped with a five-liter, naturally aspirated motor, generating 421 horsepower which is transmitted only to the rear axle only via a six-speed automatic transmission. The torque of this drive unit is 524 Newton meters and is available at 4250 rpm. I walked around this car for a long time, wondering how to characterize its appearance. I think that the Mustang body is not typical American, and I say better, I see in it some classic European stylistic elements. While the shape of the headlamps, the bonnet and grill are characteristic of Muscle Car, the shape of the side windows and the strong embossing on the rear fenders are no longer. Both at the front and rear of the vehicle we find numerous aerodynamic additions, used in many European sports cars, and the American classics of the genre include rear lights, which with their shape resemble claws, protruding from the trunk lid. An interesting fact is the six-piston Brembo brakes that are undoubtedly the European contribution to this massive Ford. After pressing on the key to open the locks from under the mirrors, a hologram resembling a running horse is displayed on the road, a small thing can bring a lot of joy. The doors are massive and long, equipped with a comfort access system (which works flawlessly) and automatic windscreen opening system during opening. This solution makes it easier to close the door and is used in cars with a Coupe body, due to the encapsulation of the cabin, an underpressure is created that makes them difficult to slam. The interior of the Mustang is quite coarse, everything is large, massive and it does not impress with quality but ultimately it is a gym, not a beauty salon, so there is no need to write about the fit of elements and materials used to finish the interior, after all, the important is at a decent level and in place. Due to the fact that I never played with the functions of this car, I decided to analyze them, thoroughly. Once, it seemed to me that the AMG gives like no other, option to read a large amount of vehicle parameters, but I was wrong, because what Ford gives in his car definitely takes the cake over the other wheels, I've been driving so far. On the monitor integrated into the center console we will not find any sophisticated settings, basically the whole is limited to the control of the radio, air conditioning, telephone, navigating, voice control, bluetooth and display. The real icing on the cake is a small display on the dial between the speedometer and tachometer. In addition to driving modes, on this small monitor you will find information about; oil pressure and temperature, oil temperature in the gearbox, battery voltage, vacuum value in the air intake system, an air temperature in the intake system, cylinder head temperature, and information on the fuel ratio, and in addition some of these indications can be displayed in digital or analogue, to choose from. Once we digest the curiosities associated with the work of the power unit, we are left with dessert, which consists of measurements of acceleration and braking. We can measure the start time from zero to 50, 100 and 200 km/h, or on a quarter of a mile. If this fun we get bored then we can analyze the records from the accelerometer, which will show us what g-force have been acting on our body during the acceleration and braking. If this is not enough, we will successfully measure the braking distance of the vehicle from 100 or 200 km/h to zero. All measured values can be saved. The manufacturer predicted the option of warming up the rear tires before the "quarter" (race on 1/4 mile). Imagine that you can lock the front wheels on the steering wheel with one button to stand still and spin the rear to warm up the tires. In my point of view "a big cred to Ford", these indications and functions are really useful, and not only in driving on the racetrack.

"The Gym"

It's time to finish the theoretical arguments and put into practice :) The Brake, Engine Start and "oh my... God bless America", well this is music. V8 without any turbo, compressors, whistles and „lollipops”. It is just as much as the mechanical mustangs sit there under the hood. The sound of the engine is similar to the work of a ship's machine, literally. From time to time something slightly shakes it, it gurgles, it's awesome. We can choose between normal, sporty, sporty +, race and rain/snow modes. A separate button on the center console allows you to set the hardness of the steering system (Comfort, Normal or Sport). The first impression during the ride reminds me of the gripping the bar before the series “to make the chest”. The car is heavy, I had the impression that I would fall through the earth together with Mustang. The steering system is quite "rubber" in the middle position, it gives the impression of being loose on the steering wheel but it is not bothersome but simply perceptible. I am adding the gas and I already know that on this day I will be smiling for a long time, the sound of the engine reminiscent of a roaring bear, who is trying to break something away in a fit of rage. In each speed range the motor has infinite power recources, the tachometer rushes to almost 7,000 turns, and the car accelerates at a suicidal pace without falling into a shortness of breath due to lack of power. I tried to determine the efficiency of the transmission, but it is difficult, because even if it is unwell in some range of turovers, the power and torque of this engine eliminates all its delayed reaction times. In this car, when you do not press the gas, the car will shoot forward, roaring horribly. Acoustic driving experience can be enhanced by activating the sport+ mode. I had the impression that the Mustang becomes even more crazy, but what's interesting there is a traction on the drive axle all the time, how is it possible with this power? Well, I ve noticed a pattern when we accelerate the car as if it were transferring its own weight onto the rear axle, recharging it in this way. All right, I have not discovered America, because that's what happens in most powerful rear-wheel drive cars, but why there is no understeer phenomenon? The answer is under the hood. In addition to the struts on the suspension arms, the positioning of the drive unit plays a significant role. The engine is moved backwards, but its center of gravity lies exactly between the mentioned arms which causes the front axle to be naturally loaded by a huge engine. These technical solutions have a huge impact on the behavior of the car when cornering. I noticed that the Mustang is incredibly stable, provided that we add gas smoothly. A large mass, quite compact, rigid suspension allows for really good fun within reason. Let's just remember that this is not a small, agile Quattro but a car of the "Muscle" genre, equipped with a huge engine whose entire power is transmitted via gearbox to the rear axle. On unevenness the car behaves well and I would even say that it is comfortable. The suspension, as I mentioned, is compact (it's good), but still the manufacturer kept a certain compromise, balancing between comfort and "wheelbarrow". As the other driver was with me, to sit back to see if the deep rear seats are as comfortable as they look. And you know what? Maybe they are, but I'm sure of one thing, well, my head has become a composite element with the rear window. Unfortunately, the place in the back seat is for a very short guy, and 181 cm tall is far too much for Mustang in the back. After this bad experience on the back couch, I moved forward to check how the sensors measuring acceleration and braking work. The matter looks as follows : Air temperature 15 degrees Celsius, even asphalt surface and start from zero to 100km/h, result: 5.2s. The braking distance from 100 km/h to zero = 42 meters in 3.2s with an overload of 0.99G. These are American facts, and now let's get to the summary.

Well... For years I did not pay attention to American cars, I did not like them and in principle, they did not raise any major emotions in me, but this car has changed it. Ford Mustang has kept a certain atmosphere which is the hallmark of the “Muscle Cars”. I agree that it is not well done inside, sometimes something creaks or is not suited to each other, “the way we want to”, but this is not important because these cars have always distinguished something else, namely the power that provides pure, wild joy of riding this beast. Mustang has one more advantage, you can use it on a daily basis, it is quite comfortable, in the low revolutions the sound of the engine is pleasant and tolerable in the long run, it looks cool and it travels the same way. If you decide to buy this Ford, be prepared for about 50,000 Euro and be sure to order a towbar for it to pull a small tank behind you because follies with this car costs even 26 liters per 100 kilometers.:)) As always, thank you for your time and invite you to the photo gallery :)) Take care.

Artur Rojewski

"The Power Is..."