2012 Ford Mustang V6 Review

In the spirit of the 4th of July I thought I'd review a 2012 Ford Mustang V6. This particular Mustang belongs to a close friend and thus I have had a great deal of experience driving it. As always, before I go into the details of what the 'stang is like to drive, I'll give you a rundown of the features and modifications.

Engine: 3.7 V6
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual
Options: Premium & Sport Package
Mods: Magnaflow Cat-Back Exhaust, Airaid Cold-Air Intake, 73mm Throttle Body, SR Performance Lower Control Arms, Bremmer Kraft wheels






As you can see, this particular Mustang celebrates the classic Mustang "make-it-your-own" mentality. This is one of the things I always appreciated about the Mustang community as almost all owners seem to personalize their ride. The first thing I'll tell you about driving the Mustang is that 13 years has drastically changed what the V6 pony represents. No longer is it the couldn't-afford-a-V8 choice that I owned. With 305 Horsepower before any of the modifications, this Mustang will outperform BMW 3-Series' and Nissan 370Z's alike. But I wouldn't care even if it was slower than those cars. Why? Because the Mustang has bad attitude in spades. Opening up the exhaust and throttle body to more air has quickened the V6's throttle response while giving it a unique burble and crackle on throttle-down similar to the 3.8 in my old Mustang. Handling was never one of the Mustang's strong suits and that doesn't change with this particular car. While the lower control arms help stiffen the rear end and reduce axle-hop, the car still doesn't communicate anything to the driver. Compared to a new GTI, the seating position is ridiculously high and still doesn't give the driver a good view of whats in front of him/her (I compare it to riding an actual horse).

So handling isn't great but who cares? If you're buying a V6 Mustang its not like you're taking it to Road America and running hot laps. What hasn't changed with this mustang is that its not afraid of being what it is. While the Mustang has picked up a ton a speed over the years, it still represents perhaps the best fun-to-dollar ratio and allows enthusiasts access to one of the largest automotive modification communities out there. American Muscle is where nearly all of this Mustang's aftermarket mods came from and one visit to the site will affirm that the Mustang community is still booming after all these years.


Fun:            9/10
Practical:    6/10
Fast:           9/10
Total:        24/30

2016 Volkswagen GTI w/Performance Pack Review

I realize that this is supposed to be reviews for the "enthusiast" but I recently had the opportunity to drive the Mark 7 GTI and was not about to say no. This particular GTI was a 2016 model with the 6-speed manual, autobahn package and performance package. Included in the autobahn package was "leather" seats, a power sunroof, a backup camera, fender audio system and a host of other non-essentials I would never consider if I was spending my own money on a new car. The performance pack, however, was something I was very curious to experiment with. I have also driven a 2015 non-performance-pack 2-door GTI briefly but I can tell you the performance pack provides the best compromise between ride and handling of any front-wheel-drive car I have ever driven. While the 2015 model I drove was no slouch in the corners, understeer was non-existent in the performance pack. Power on mid-corner in my 2006 A3 and there's a good chance you'll end up eating the median as the tires squeal for mercy. Limited-slip differentials are not a new technology but have truly been perfected with the newest GTI.

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From a power perspective, the performance pack brings an additional 10 horsepower due to a less restrictive exhaust. The extra power is unnoticeable and I predict just a way to separate the 2 models and justify the extra two grand you'll pay for the package. The base GTI has enough power to get you into trouble in a hurry and while related to the engine in my Audi, feels like it has more than a 20 horsepower advantage. This could be due to the sub-3100 pound curb weight as compared to 3300 in my A3. Power delivery is also a big difference as VW has discovered how to make a turbo-4 with a linear power curve all the way to redline. This makes the GTI almost feel slower behind the wheel because there is no longer the surge of power associated with turbo lag. This is one of the things I always found fun with the A3 because once I discovered where the power truly was I could put the hammer down and feel like I'm driving a much faster car. Instead, the GTI is unflappable, delivering power with the efficiency and lack of emotion you'd expect from a German car.

Overall, the GTI is a brilliant car that offers 4-door practicality, sports car flash, excellent fuel economy, and speed. My only gripe with this car is that its almost too perfect. Its hard to have a connection to a car that has so few flaws. The tire-melting FWD burnouts (not my car but you get the idea) in my A3 would be impossible in this car because it is too well-behaved, too mature for that...


Fun:            8/10
Practical:    9/10
Fast:           9/10
Total:        27/30

Turtle Wax Ice Spray Wax Product Recommendation

I recently received Turtle Wax brand's Ice Spray Wax for my birthday and thought I'd try it out on my Audi. Usually I buy the Turtle Wax's liquid wax as I have always thought it did a better job of protecting the paint than the spray products. I was amazed, however, at how well the spray wax did. The concept behind spray waxes are not new, however, in recent years it has become extremely popular as a more time effective way to protect your car's paint. For the Ice Spray Wax 3 or 4 squirts of the bottle was more than enough to cover about a square foot of car. What I liked most was that I only needed a microfiber towel and a little elbow grease to get an even layer on the A3. Instead of having to repeatedly remove and buff out the wax I could just spray, wipe and be done. While perhaps not as cost efficient as using the traditional liquid wax, the spray wax was far more time-effective with me being able to finish the entire car in about 20 minutes as opposed to more like 45 with the liquid wax. I also noticed that even after the waxing was complete, the car retained its post-wash shine. This could be due to using the "Ice" brand as I had not used it in the liquid form before.

The ability to choose how much was I wanted in certain areas was also a handy feature. For example, the Audi tends to get bug splats and small rocks right near the license plate area. Usually, I cannot get a good layer of wax in this narrow space as it would require hulk levels of elbow grease. The spray wax, however, made it easy as I sprayed the area about 5 times and and just wiped as best I could. Again, with buffing not necessary this makes waxing your car much easier as you don't have to worry about the wax getting too dry before spreading it. Overall, I would highly recommend this product to anyone as either a supplement to traditional liquid wax or as your new wax of choice. I will warn that the spray bottle tends to run out faster and is more expensive than liquid so keep that in mind if you wax your car frequently.

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1999 Mustang V6 Review

This is the one that turned me from a kid that played racing games into the lifelong enthusiast here today. Its been 5 long years since I grasped the wheel of this gem but I still remember the driving experience well enough to give you the most biased review you'll ever see. First, I'll give a rundown of what the Green Machine included from the factory and then I'll describe the mods my brothers and I tacked on over the 8 plus years we owned the car.


Engine: 3.8 "Essex" V6
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
Options: Power Driver Seat...and that's about it
Mods: Pypes True Dual Exhaust, Bullitt-syle wheels, K&N Cold Air Intake

The first thing I will tell you about the '99 Mustang is that the difference between the base V6 and GT V8 is similar in magnitude as the difference between the space shuttle and a bottle rocket. There's a reason why people looked at the V6 model as the couldn't-afford-the-V8 model. While it worked fine for sorority girls and on rental lots, the V6 was hopelessly under-powered. So what did my brothers and I do when we realized that it wasn't going to win any stoplight races? We made it sound like the V8. The Pypes brand straight pipes were installed during my oldest brothers tenure and it transformed the mustang with trans-am levels of noise. The sound on start-up made all the right burbly noises and the crackle and pop on throttle down was insanely addictive. Next were the Bullitt-style wheels which were worth every penny spent on them as they gave it the deep-dish retro look of the 60's (and made it look like the GT model, which was important at the time).

So 0-60 felt like it took at least 8 seconds, how about the handling? The communicative nature of the hydraulic steering allowed even the smallest of rocks to be known to the driver and really did let you know when the traction limits were close. The handling was also better than you'd expect and while there was plenty of body-roll, the car was almost always neutral with oversteer possible if you were really aggressive with the right foot. The live rear-axle was really the only thing that could ruin your day as expansion joints would upset the car almost to the point of losing control. The long-throws of the 5-speed were straight out of the 70's and made it truly an effort to initiate a shift.

What made the '99 Mustang great was that it wasn't trying to be something it wasn't. There was something great about being able to hoon the mustang without having to worry about breaking the car or the speed limits. This goes back to the adage that its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. Being able to experience the limits of the mustang made it far more rewarding to drive than driving a Porsche at 50%. As you can probably tell, I miss the mustang more than I'll miss any car I'll ever own.

Fun: 10/10
Practical: 6/10
Fast: 5/10
Total: 21/30




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2006 Audi A3 2.0T Review

This is my 2006 Audi A3 2.0T and before you start commenting about how the author is supposed to be a poor college student know that this particular example has 135,000 miles under its belt. As I have been driving this car since 2012, I'll start out by giving a little history of my ownership. The vehicle was purchased new by my dad and had enjoyed a life of highway miles to and from his office. As my Mustang began to slowly die, my dad handed me down this gem to finish out high school and eventually take to college.

The first thing you need to know about this car is that its equipped with a 6-speed manual and Front-Wheel Drive. You might be thinking, "wait a minute, isn't this an audi? Where's the quattro?". Back in 2006 Audi still offered its A3 and A4 with front-wheel drive. At first, I was put off that I was essentially driving a VW GTI with audi badges but that isn't such a bad thing. The A3 is a much better looking car than the 4-door GTI and doesn't give up any of the practicality. All-Wheel Drive is great for the 5 days a year when conditions are that bad but all Quattro does in an A3 is ruin the driving experience by adding weight and increasing the ride height.

My 4+ years with the car has led me to conclude that this is the most versatile car in the world. Let me illustrate, in what other car can you move out of your college apartment and still knock the phone out of your passengers hand with a goose of the throttle? What other car can put a smile on your face during any drive, get 30 miles per gallon and seat 5 comfortably? I don't know of one. What makes this car so fun to drive is its throttle response and steering. Turbo-lag is virtually non-existent and putting the throttle down at 2000 rpm leads a shove in the back like no other car I've driven. After about 5000 rpm the engine runs out of steam but the diesel-like torque at low rpm is insanely addictive. This, combined with steering so light that I can use one-finger to turn the wheel in any situation, leads to a car that is not at home on a track but perfect to have fun on the streets. Time after time I'll search for a replacement but after a drive in the Audi I'm always left feeling "why would I need anything else"?

Scores:

Fun          9/10
Practical  9/10
Fast         8/10
Total      26/30