TheaterFire

I have a hot take: the mustang is a very easy car to control and doesn’t deserve its reputation.

Posted by 79QUATTRO@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 63 comments

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thisisjustascreename@reddit

I don't think it's the Mustang itself that has the reputation, more the drivers.
View on Reddit #75635176

Plastic_Willow734@reddit

Yeah no one’s equating Mustangs with the first gen Viper or nothing, mostly young dudes graduating from a G37 wrapping them around poles
View on Reddit #75635528

thisisjustascreename@reddit

Even a first gen Viper is really not that scary on modern tires. Sure it doesn't have TC and you're going to spin if you disrespect it, but good tires and a bit of caution go a long way.
View on Reddit #75635605

A_Puddle@reddit

Nah man, I've witnessed in person 3 complete loss of controls that resulted contact of a body panel and something else for 1st gen Vipers. Aside from Nissan products, it is by far the most common car car I've personally witnessed get into accidents. Given how rare they are, that's all sorts of fucked.
View on Reddit #75799391

elswede@reddit

It's a shame about the g37s, they're a good value, decent handling, fairly reliable, and I was thinking of getting one if it wasn't for 1 how easy and often they're stolen 2 I didn't want to have to deal with the insurance for it
View on Reddit #75636681

ThePandaKingdom@reddit

I graduated from my 98 v6 to a 2006 GT in like 2019 at the age of like.. 22? It came with poopy skinny tired and if it wasn't for the traction control i would have wiped out on an on ramp 20 minutes after i bought it.n i really didnt gove it a ton of throttle. That was sort of on me, though. After this I immediately bought a wheel and tire package with some 295s on the back wheels. After that you would honestly have to try to crash that car. It had a great diff that made it super easy to do a controller slide in the wet, and even from a dig you had to be stupid or actually trying to break the tires in a normal driving situation. The only thing that could make them "hard" to drive is the snap over steer, which almost got me exactly once. I think after somebody gets a rear wheel drive car, it's not a terrible idea to go to an empty lot and see exactly what it takes to break traction, and how the car behaves when it does. By the time i sold that car i could easily turn on to an EMPTY road and keep the car sideways for a while or do some l o n g & s l o w slides in the snow / rain. It's an easily accessible car with some decent power to the rear wheels, which can be disastrous for the uninitiated in a panic correction situation.
View on Reddit #75638100

KingTy99@reddit

Exactly this
View on Reddit #75635242

PurpleSausage77@reddit

Very accessible car to terrible drivers. I have a lot of seat time in S550 Mustangs, and tried out the S650’s. Soon as they got IRS in 2015 they got really good, same with the 6th gen 2016+ Alpha Camaro. Great control, feedback, handling. Really want a cheap ecoboost Mustang as a drift car. And since 2011 most if not all Mustangs come with trac-lok LSD’s or if performance pack equipped will have Torsen. Whereas most of the new Nissan Z’s are open diff.
View on Reddit #75635693

GimmeChickenBlasters@reddit

> same with the 6th gen 2016+ Alpha Camaro. Great control, feedback, handling. The 5th gen had IRS. The Alpha platform is great because it's a class above everything else in its price range. It's a luxury platform that was designed for Cadillac first, so it uses a lot more aluminum and light weight materials than other similarly priced cars.
View on Reddit #75758976

Slideways@reddit

Camaro got IRS starting with the 5th-gen.
View on Reddit #75637537

NotoriousCFR@reddit

A clapped out Mustang GT is the cheapest way for a Monster-addicted, broccoli-headed, 17-year-old fuckboy whose brain has been rotted from too much vape and too much TikTok, to get access to a RWD V8 making 300+ horsepower. These kids would wrap a Radio Flyer wagon around a tree. The car did nothing wrong, it just fell into the hands of the wrong drivers.
View on Reddit #75675483

SnooGiraffes560@reddit

It can be easy if you know what you’re doing. If you’re a 20 y/o schoolboy who thinks he’s the king of the road just because his dad bought him the car, then yeah, say hello to the first lamp post.
View on Reddit #75635474

Anchor_Aways@reddit

The cheaper sports cars are more likely to be crashed since they're more accessible for young drivers to get ahold of. See mustang and chargers
View on Reddit #75637450

uberdosage@reddit

And gr86's....
View on Reddit #75649079

Anchor_Aways@reddit

A bunch of those are manual though
View on Reddit #75651886

RunninOnMT@reddit

Yup. There’s like a base driving level of “Car starting to go sideways, instinct is to countersteer and be careful with gas/brakes” That like 75 percent of the people out there just don’t have. Once you’ve met that very basic standard, there’s a whole bunch of difficulty levels. But first you gotta be able to not crash something the instant it starts going sideways.
View on Reddit #75636946

strongmanass@reddit

> “Car starting to go sideways, instinct is to countersteer and be careful with gas/brakes” That's not instinct, that's knowledge/experience/training. Instinct when something is suddenly moving in a way it shouldn't is to immediately try to stop the movement; in a sliding car that means hitting the brakes, which leads to > That like 75 percent of the people out there just don’t have. Because they panic and operate on instinct.
View on Reddit #75642075

DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

You've basically encapsulated why, as someone who learned to drive on a TTB Ford, I think the current "anything other than a fully independent suspension CUV is a deathtrap" mentality is a bit overstated.
View on Reddit #75651375

lowstrife@reddit

In the right situations it can. Timestamp 1:40 https://youtu.be/w7IWVPDguoU?si=5I0NpbaxITwvjUXI&t=100 PS4S with reasonable tread, standard sport mode, systems left on. No clue if the car or my countersteer saved me when I got tunnel vision chasing the x3 and didn't see the gravel.
View on Reddit #75651374

VLAD1M1R_PUT1N@reddit

> By no means was I using a grippy tire. I think at the time I was using a used set of Michelin pilot sport all season 3s. In fairness, these are far better than the OEM trash that the non performance models came with. I had a 2016 V6, so far less powerful than your GT, and the stock tires would slip and slide easily if I was being silly. I upgraded to 355 summer tires all around and never again had any questions about grip. I think it's safe to assume that the average 25 year old mustang driver isn't investing in quality rubber. So yeah it is mostly a problem with people being stupid, but the actual OEM tires also suck.
View on Reddit #75635755

Main_Hornet8676@reddit

355 tires are comically insane on a v6 mustang lol
View on Reddit #75637292

VLAD1M1R_PUT1N@reddit

Agreed, it was wholly unnecessary, but made the car much more stable during spirited driving. I did not want to be associated with the mustangs leaving car meets crowd lol.
View on Reddit #75637859

Main_Hornet8676@reddit

Ah, that makes way more sense. I mean, hell, even the GT500 doesn't have that much meat on the tires.
View on Reddit #75648966

UnnamedStaplesDrone@reddit

i know, i have a great idea, let me add 20 lbs of rotating mass per wheel on my already slow mustang v6
View on Reddit #75638231

ok_buddy_but_no@reddit

Holy shit, it fits 355 in the front?
View on Reddit #75637260

VLAD1M1R_PUT1N@reddit

Yessir, IIRC I had 16x9 wheels from AMR.
View on Reddit #75637795

neueziel1@reddit

doesn't the mustang have skinny ish tires for what it can do
View on Reddit #75636102

UnnamedStaplesDrone@reddit

you can buy an absolute base model GT with 235 series tires. Sounds pretty scary to me tbh. Most of them are spec'd up to 255s at least though.
View on Reddit #75638309

neueziel1@reddit

still kinda wild, a ct4v blackwing has 275s in the rear
View on Reddit #75648160

UnnamedStaplesDrone@reddit

Yea, performance pack stangs come with 275R 255F
View on Reddit #75648939

Jamaican_Dynamite@reddit

Depending on which gen we're talking, not really. It's mainly people putting it up at 6k, and sending it into the nearest tree outside their local Cars and Coffee.
View on Reddit #75637181

tonyfonzy@reddit

Gonna copy pasta my response from r/mustang Same progression here - 15 GT PP -> 6MT Supra. The barrier to entry on a mustang is significantly lower, attracts low credit score behavior…There’s gotta be 20x GTs on the road than Supras. It’s far more likely to be someone’ first high HP RWD rig after driving FWD/AWD/ shitbox. Same folks will perpetually drive with the nannies off, cheap tires, no real experience with limit handling. They run out of talent very quickly, hence the deserved memes. The Supra is more nervous/twitchy but I’d argue the composure and feedback thru the chassis is light years ahead of the GT. Skill cannon car. You’re gonna find Supra owners at track days and auto cross. You’ll find stang owners at takeovers and late night meets showing off the CJ pony parts catalog. With all that said, I miss how rowdy the 5.0 gets.
View on Reddit #75644226

ArcticBP@reddit

Not a hot take at all: in North America it is too easy to get a license and waaaaaay too difficult to lose it And when you look at the stats, the most dangerous vehicles per capita aren’t anything sporty; they’re typically the massive trucks & SUVs that everyone “needs”, but even on r/cars, if you suggest that maybe millions of people don’t need a half-ton crew-cab to go to the McD’s drive thru ina city, you’ll get a lecture about how you hate freedom
View on Reddit #75635477

crwdbull@reddit

Only on Reddit will a post about Mustang limit handling turn into this weeks 500th rant about trucks
View on Reddit #75638177

ArcticBP@reddit

Its almost as if millions of mallcrawlers are negatively impacting people…. Just days ago in my City, a 81 year old killed a woman while reversing his Ram, but sure, let’s do everything possible to coddle the egos of society’s most fragile snowflakes.
View on Reddit #75638867

crwdbull@reddit

And what does that have to do with how Mustangs handle at the limit?
View on Reddit #75639053

ArcticBP@reddit

Because statistically (read: not emotionally) the vehicles in the US that are deadliest to others aren’t Mustangs or anything like that - the list is dominated by pickups and SUVs
View on Reddit #75639799

crwdbull@reddit

Ok... let's talk stastistics then. No better source than insurance actuarial tables. https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/auto-insurance/insurance-losses-by-make-and-model Vehicles with the lowest medical payment claim rates 1. Rivian R1T 4dr electric 4WD Large pickup -67% 2. Volvo XC60 plug-in hybrid 4dr 4WD Midsize luxury SUV -61% 3. Chevrolet Corvette convertible Midsize sports car -53% 4. GMC Sierra 2500 crew cab 4WD Very large pickup -53% 5. Ford Bronco 2dr convertible 4WD Midsize SUV -52% 6. Volvo XC90 plug-in hybrid 4dr 4WD Midsize luxury SUV -52% 7. GMC Sierra 3500 crew cab 4WD Very large pickup -51% 8. Land Rover Defender 110 4dr 4WD Midsize luxury SUV -49% 9. Chevrolet Silverado 2500 crew cab 4WD Very large pickup -48% 10. Ram 2500 crew cab SWB 4WD Very large pickup -48% Vehicles with the highest medical payment claim rates 1. Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Mini four-door car 231% 2. Lexus ES 300h hybrid 4dr Midsize luxury car 144% 3. Kia Rio Mini four-door car 143% 4. Nissan Versa Small four-door car 138% 5. Kia Forte Small four-door car 124% 6. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 4dr 4WD Small SUV 124% 7. Chevrolet Malibu Midsize four-door car 122% 8. Dodge Charger HEMI Large four-door car 119% 9. Chrysler 300 Large four-door car 116% 10. Nissan Sentra Small four-door car 114%
View on Reddit #75640527

ArcticBP@reddit

I’m not saying that these monster trucks are endangering their occupants, I’m clearly saying that they’re endangering everyone else. So yes, let’s talk IIHS statistics https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/latest-driver-death-rates-highlight-dangers-of-muscle-cars: Highest rates of other-driver deaths Deaths per million registered vehicle years, 2020 and equivalent earlier models, 2018-21 Vehicle name Vehicle type Death rate Ram 3500 Crew Cab long bed 4WD Very large pickup 189 Dodge Charger HEMI 2WD Large car 164 Ford F-350 Crew Cab 4WD Very large pickup 147 Ram 2500 Mega Cab 4WD Very large pickup 145 Kia Optima Midsize car 134 Kia Rio sedan Minicar 133 Ram 2500 Crew Cab short bed 4WD Very large pickup 122 Ford F-250 Crew Cab 4WD Very large pickup 120 Dodge Charger 2WD Large car 105 Ram 1500 Crew Cab short bed 2WD Large pickup 104 Jeep Grand Cherokee 2WD Midsize SUV 103 Kia Forte Small car 96 Ford F-250 SuperCab 4WD Very large pickup 95 Nissan Altima Midsize car 94 Chevrolet Blazer 2WD Midsize SUV 93 Jeep Gladiator 4WD Small pickup 93 Dodge Challenger 2WD Large car 91 Dodge Journey 2WD Midsize SUV 90 Jeep Renegade 2WD Small SUV 90 Jeep Wrangler 2-door 4WD Midsize SUV 89
View on Reddit #75640965

crwdbull@reddit

Bodily Injury Liability is claims submitted when you are at fault for another persons injury in a collision, not your own injuries. Your link still has the same Charger at P2, ahead of all the 2500 class trucks which is typically the highest class people buy without commercial purposes. Only losing out to a DCLB Ram 3500. There are plenty of small vehicles in that list too, this list claims a Kia Optima is more likely to kill you than a Ford F-250. Moral of the story? Stay away from Stellantis owners
View on Reddit #75641802

Previous_Platform718@reddit

>2015 mustang gt premium Your car has IRS. All the mustangs pre-2015 didn't.
View on Reddit #75640834

ThePandaKingdom@reddit

I graduated from my 98 v6 to a 2006 GT in like 2019 at the age of like.. 22? It came with poopy skinny tired and if it wasn't for the traction control i would have wiped out on an on ramp 20 minutes after i bought it.n i really didnt gove it a ton of throttle. That was sort of on me, though. After this I immediately bought a wheel and tire package with some 295s on the back wheels. After that you would honestly have to try to crash that car. It had a great diff that made it super easy to do a controller slide in the wet, and even from a dig you had to be stupid or actually trying to break the tires in a normal driving situation. The only thing that could make them "hard" to drive is the snap over steer, which almost got me exactly once. I think after somebody gets a rear wheel drive car, it's not a terrible idea to go to an empty lot and see exactly what it takes to break traction, and how the car behaves when it does. By the time i sold that car i could easily turn on to an EMPTY road and keep the car sideways for a while or do some l o n g & s l o w slides in the snow / rain. It's an easily accessible car with some decent power to the rear wheels, which can be disastrous for the uninitiated in a panic correction situation.
View on Reddit #75638068

Buddha1812@reddit

I’ve heard that on some of the mustangs have a loose nut behind the steering wheel that’s the cause of the issue.
View on Reddit #75637666

SirLoremIpsum@reddit

> but yet, it doesn’t have the same reputation the mustang does. The type of person who is doing burnouts and losing control from a cars and coffee is more likely to buy a mustang than a Supra. People judging the owners not the car.
View on Reddit #75635323

carguymt@reddit

> People judging the owners not the car. Exhibit B: Camaro
View on Reddit #75637327

Palmisavage@reddit

Mustangs didn't have independent rear suspension till the last 10 or so years. They used to handle very bad, and were overall cheaply built but they've gotten better every generation. A 2015 Mustang GT is an incredible car, but general reputation will always lag behind.
View on Reddit #75637300

Glowingtomato@reddit

I think the fact that meme started when they had live axles is a factor. Unless I'm mistaken by 2015 they had a independent rear axle which is a way more modern and controllable setup that the old school live axle
View on Reddit #75637287

Sir_Sir_ExcuseMe_Sir@reddit

2015+ Mustang has IRS, try driving one with the live axle rear
View on Reddit #75636237

rudbri93@reddit

I had a foxbody mustang, in no way was it hard to control.
View on Reddit #75637228

TenguBlade@reddit

Even older generations of Mustang are not going to kill you unless you’re at least being careless.
View on Reddit #75636693

TheWayOfEli@reddit

I don't think this is a hot take, but I also think this attributes the stereotype to the car itself rather than the *actual* owners of the stereotype - the drivers. Mustangs aren't inherently unwieldy beasts, and I don't think it's the *c*ar itself that has the reputation. It's the drivers - people that have either never driven a car that size, with RWD, with that much power, or it's their first MT and they're over-confident. It's Mustang ***drivers*** that have the reputation for not being able to ***control the car*** rather than the car itself having a reputation for being difficult to operate. The vast majority of people in the compilations you reference aren't like you; they didn't baby the car, they didn't take it easy on the acceleration, they didn't only begin to experiment with the car until *after* they felt confident.
View on Reddit #75636841

mynamejeff-97@reddit

This is because Mustangs used to have live axles all the way up until 2014 when they upgraded to independent rear suspension. Mustangs with the solid rear axles were good for drag racing, but bad for handling which resulted in its reputation. New mustangs are better and so this stereotype is going away. TLDR: things change.
View on Reddit #75636683

ScienceMechEng_Lover@reddit

The reputation used to have some merit, to be fair. Mustangs prior to the S550 used to have a solid rear axle and it was quite easy for someone to unsettle the car and end up in a ditch if they ended up hitting a bump at moderate to high speeds (or if they drove like an idiot).
View on Reddit #75636506

RIP_Soulja_Slim@reddit

Fellow Supra owner here; a number of supras have an issue with alignment being poor after shipping to the states, I’d double check yours, apparently much of the skittishness often seen with Supras is tied to that. FWIW, mine feels incredibly well planted all the time.
View on Reddit #75636199

Seymour_Tamzarian@reddit

There are plenty of other cars that are harder to control and put the power down but the Mustang is on cheaper side to both buy and make some absurd power with, so you see it more.
View on Reddit #75635842

SchoolBusBeBussin@reddit

It really is an easy car to control, I’ve had 5 of the coyote cars from bolt ons to boosted and they are fairly easy to keep down provided you have good tires. That said if someone is dumb or doesn’t know how to drive you could lose control of one just like anything else easy enough
View on Reddit #75635827

Dirty_Dragons@reddit

Most likely it's inexperienced young drivers buying a powerful RWD used car that has bad tires. A few years ago I bought a used Toyota 86 and hit the gas a bit too hard while making a turn while shortly after it rained. And well, I got four new tires for the car the following week.
View on Reddit #75635658

randeus@reddit

The Mustang is the most popular performance car in America, powerful, plentiful, and has a very low barrier of entry (or at least it did). Means a lot of young men would buy it and they’re more likely to do dumb shit or not have experience driving a car like it. You won’t see Supra or M car with that reputation because they’re either more expensive or rare or both. Plenty of Mopar and other cheaper more powerful RWD drivers crashing, but none of them are as popular as the Mustang and it’s kinda gained notoriety for it, thus more attention when they crash.
View on Reddit #75635635

inaccurateTempedesc@reddit

At the end of the day, even if the Mustang was a little "spicy", none of these accidents would've happened if they were driving normally. Even a 90s Viper won't betray you as long as you don't mash the pedal like an idiot.
View on Reddit #75635368

Geofferz@reddit

I mean, I almost spun one on the test drive and I had tc on and I'm not an idiot so... But it's mainly cos it's powerful and cheap. And cos people turn the tc off.
View on Reddit #75635357

Clintman@reddit

The reputation is that the owners suck. Not the car.
View on Reddit #75635346

CumAssault@reddit

The mustang thing is a meme. Any higher horsepower car that’s RWD can spin out. Mustang isn’t a bad car just because of a meme
View on Reddit #75635279

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