OG M2 vs Mustang GT

OG M2 vs Mustang GT

Author
Discussion

HazzaT

Original Poster:

519 posts

57 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
Hi all
I've enjoyed being back in a Fiesta ST for a year or so, but by the end of this year (investments, earning more) I'll be in a position where I'd be able to afford something a bit special without breaking the bank. My first thought was a Mustang because my dad always loved American motorsports growing up and they look+sound fantastic.

But equally I like cars that are a bit sharper handling-wise and I wonder if a Mustang would feel a bit annoyingly vague pushing it down a B Road, and I realised an M2 is about the same money or slightly cheaper. Practicality is a wash as far as I can see although apparently the M2 has more usable rear seats. Performance wise I assume the M2 feels like a significantly quicker car because the Coyote is quite a peaky engine so the BMW will have a far bigger area under the power curve.

My inclination would be to believe the Mustang is a bit cheaper to service and fix but a bit worse on fuel, so not really any different in running costs either.

The key question is if the Coyote makes up for being a bit worse handling, or on the flip side the sharper handling of the M2 makes up for the engine disparity?

The other factor is that I would ideally like three pedals, and manual Mustangs are far easier to find than manual M2s

ZX10R NIN

28,850 posts

137 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
The Mustang isn't as sharp but it isn't meant to be, BMW manuals aren't that great no better or worse than the Ford unit, I wouldn't say the V8 is peaky it actually has a good spread of torque & bhp BUT compared to a turbocharged car it could feel lacking.

They're very different cars so I'd say test drive them as one will jump out at you as the one you want, also consider the M4.

HazzaT

Original Poster:

519 posts

57 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
ZX10R NIN said:
The Mustang isn't as sharp but it isn't meant to be, BMW manuals aren't that great no better or worse than the Ford unit, I wouldn't say the V8 is peaky it actually has a good spread of torque & bhp BUT compared to a turbocharged car it could feel lacking.

They're very different cars so I'd say test drive them as one will jump out at you as the one you want, also consider the M4.
It will just come down to test driving to be fair! I'd consider an M4/M3 as well, the only reason I'd not mentioned it was that the ones around the 25k mark I've seen on autotrader seem a bit shagged compared to the other 2

nikaiyo2

5,188 posts

207 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
Have you been in a Mustang? I thought the interior was shoddy as anything compared to BMW, the one I looked at was a bit tired so that did not help but compared to a 7 year old 1 series it looked like it was 70 .
Also I think the tax is going to be £780 per year as of this April.

Legacywr

13,149 posts

200 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
What budget are you looking at?

ZX10R NIN

28,850 posts

137 months

HazzaT

Original Poster:

519 posts

57 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
Legacywr said:
What budget are you looking at?
In the 25k range, probably go a bit over for one that's spot on but can't really stretch to a facelift mustang yet.

Legacywr

13,149 posts

200 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
HazzaT said:
Legacywr said:
What budget are you looking at?
In the 25k range, probably go a bit over for one that's spot on but can't really stretch to a facelift mustang yet.
Don’t know much about the earlier cars, but the facelift is a nice place to sit.

Saleen836

11,752 posts

221 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
nikaiyo2 said:
Have you been in a Mustang? I thought the interior was shoddy as anything compared to BMW, the one I looked at was a bit tired so that did not help but compared to a 7 year old 1 series it looked like it was 70 .
Also I think the tax is going to be £780 per year as of this April.
RFL is only £780 for Mustang GTs registered before April 2017

Janluke

2,777 posts

170 months

Wednesday 26th March
quotequote all
Mustang owner here albeit a later model than the ones you're looking at. You really need to get a drive in one. I suspect it will handle better than you think but it won't be as sharp as an M2 or as well finished but if it "grabs" you you'll forgive those shortcomings. Not a perfect car by any stretch but a real appeal for some of us

Dan_The_Man

1,104 posts

251 months

Wednesday 26th March
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Saleen836 said:
RFL is only £780 for Mustang GTs registered before April 2017
2017 GT driver here, £190 RFL, 25MPG and £498 insurance on a 5.0 V8, it's borderline sensible !.

SFTWend

1,135 posts

87 months

Thursday 27th March
quotequote all
I test drove both.

Mustang for the noise, cruising and maybe maintenance (providing the engine doesn't develop the tick of death). M2 for every other metric imo.

I think you'd choose the Mustang because you really want a Mustang. Nothing wrong with that, they are an appealing car.

cerb4.5lee

35,502 posts

192 months

Thursday 27th March
quotequote all
SFTWend said:
I test drove both.

Mustang for the noise, cruising and maybe maintenance (providing the engine doesn't develop the tick of death). M2 for every other metric imo.

I think you'd choose the Mustang because you really want a Mustang. Nothing wrong with that, they are an appealing car.
That is a really good sum up I think.

nikaiyo2

5,188 posts

207 months

Thursday 27th March
quotequote all
Saleen836 said:
RFL is only £780 for Mustang GTs registered before April 2017
Haha so after 2017 what is the rate for post 2017? That might put the GT back on my list!

nickfrog

22,394 posts

229 months

Thursday 27th March
quotequote all
A N55 M2 is cheap to maintain. Servicing costs are the same as M135i.
Tyres are not too bad although the only big bill might be discs.
Mpg is surprisingly good if you need it to be.
Difficult to resist the noise of the V8 although the N55 isn't too bad.

Saleen836

11,752 posts

221 months

Thursday 27th March
quotequote all
nikaiyo2 said:
Saleen836 said:
RFL is only £780 for Mustang GTs registered before April 2017
Haha so after 2017 what is the rate for post 2017? That might put the GT back on my list!
Appologies, it is cars registered before March 1 and not April that are subject to the £780 (rising to £795 on April 1) cars registered after March 1st are £190

mjf1

54 posts

62 months

Saturday 29th March
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Don't discount the DCT version of the OG M2. I think it suits the car better but am slightly biased as I own one. I did try a manual as well.

As mentioned the Mustang and M2 are quite different propositions so go and test drive them both before deciding.