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Follow-Up Test: 2001 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
Drop-Top Dinosaur
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By Christian Wardlaw
Date posted: 11-09-2001
"Daddy, I think I like curvy roads!" Ah, music to a car enthusiast parent's ears. Sarah, my four-year-old, and I were halfway between California 23 and Pacific Coast Highway, driving quickly on my favorite stretch of the famed Mulholland Highway in a Laser Tint Red 2001 Ford Mustang GT convertible, top down, wind in our hair, mellifluous exhaust note booming off the canyon walls as we dove through the Santa Monica Mountains to the beach.
This was Sarah's official introduction to the concept of driving as fun (unofficially, she knows that anytime Dad is behind the wheel, the driving is fun), something she would never learn trundling about suburbia in her mother's Toyota Sienna. At first, she was all princess attitude about the top being down because her hair was blowing into her face. But once we got off the freeway and onto some twisty two-lane roads, her eyes widened in excitement as speeds increased and turns generated g-forces. Lest you believe that her father is irresponsible, note that the driving was well under the Mustang GT's prodigious limits and that the car is equipped with automatic locking retractor rear seatbelts, keeping Sarah and her child seat tightly secured.
Earlier in the week, driving alone as the sun began to settle into the Pacific, I had wrung the Mustang out on the same road. The GT, with its torquey 260-horsepower V8 engine, notchy five-speed manual shifter, live rear axle and driven back wheels, is not a state-of-the-art vehicle. It is a throwback to a simpler era, when performance cars were all about straight-line speed and visual attitude. Driving it makes you want to put away the Jill Scott and Maxwell CDs and load the in-dash changer with six vintage AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen discs. You can't help but cop an attitude when the view out the teensy slit of a windshield offers little but hood and hood scoop and the V8's throaty exhaust note is roaring from the twin chromed tailpipes.
Still, it can be finessed, and hard driving is plenty of fun. Traction control is standard, and useful. Meaty 17-inch wheels and tires do a commendable job of keeping the Mustang GT stuck to the corners, and the car is so easily steered using the throttle that it's a snap to induce controlled power-on oversteer. The thick-rimmed, leather-wrapped four-spoke steering wheel feels good in the driver's hands, even if response and feel don't come close to matching the crisp intuitiveness of an Acura RSX or BMW. Brakes are four-wheel discs with ABS, and they aren't really up to the task of repeated use; brake fade was evident when they got overheated.
None of this is to say that the GT isn't fun to drive. It is almost criminally pleasurable to keep the engine's revs high, both for quick bursts of acceleration and to enjoy the sonorous exhaust note (the best the planet has to offer, in my humble opinion). Punk drivers (both young and old) can slide the tail out at will. Even the recalcitrant shifter, which requires some muscle to move from gear to gear, is fun to wrestle through the gates.
Attitude is what this slice of Americana has always been about. (Except for the years 1974 to 1981 — that was a pretty bleak time for this revered nameplate.) Take the ridiculous, over-the-top gingerbread-encrusted styling, for example. Fake side scoops, a non-functional hood scoop and a wing spoiler do nothing to enhance the Mustang's basic lines, but oddly, neither to they detract. Despite the fact that it leaks water all over the hood for at least 12 hours after a wash, I love the hood scoop. Viewed straight on, the scowling GT looks like a seriously menacing machine. The squared-off rear is less successful, with triple-bar vertical tail lamps that pale in comparison to the original 'Stang. Our test car was the cloth-upholstered Deluxe model, with simple five-spoke alloy wheels. Opt for the leather-lined Premium version, and you get gray-painted retro wheels that resemble the Torq-Thrust aftermarket rims vintage Mustang owners favor.
Inside is more retro flavor, with a dual-cowl dash design that mimics early Mustangs. The cloth upholstery in our test car felt durable, proving it could withstand spilled apple juice and ground-in Goldfish crackers. The seats themselves were also comfortable, but could've used additional bolstering. Unlike many of my peers, I find the tall, upright driving position appealing, but the useless head restraints are mounted too far away from the driver's head to hope for any effectiveness at reducing whiplash. Simplicity, a Mustang hallmark, is evident in the triple-dial climate controls and old-fashioned pull out headlight switch.
Lowering the power-folding top is equally simple. After engaging the parking brake, release the latches at the top of the windshield header, give the leading edge of the top a push, and press a button. Raising it isn't as easy; the latches on our test car were particularly difficult to secure. A glass rear window with defroster was appreciated, if unused during our week with the car.
On paper, the aged Mustang GT convertible hasn't got much going for it. It's loud, crude, unrefined and of age. But like a college pal who possesses the same qualities, it's the life of the party when the good times roll. You can't help but love the flawed but fun Mustang GT, especially when it inspires your four-year-old daughter to exclaim, "Daddy, I think I like curvy roads!"
See all the Ratings: 2001 Ford Mustang GT Deluxe 2dr Convertible (4.6L 8cyl 5M) Road Test Scoreboard
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