In the case of the 2011 Ford Mustang GT, if you're interested in things like performance, handling and price more than whether or not your not cranium can get a tan, go for the coupe. Comparing manual-equipped models of both, the Mustang GT coupe is 118 pounds lighter than the automatic and $5,000 less expensive. There's not much left to consider unless you plan to drive your Mustang GT in a parade every weekend.
As for Dan's distaste of the Mustang GT's automatic transmission, I'll agree that saddling any modern day muscle car with an automatic transmission is a disappointment from the get-go, especially when said slushbox comes with no manual shifting functions. The 'Stang's six-speed manual is the transmission you want if you're going for the full muscle car effect; accept no substitutes.
Whereas the six-speed automatic effectively corrals the new 5.0-liter V8, the six-speed manual lets those ponies run free, fuel economy be damned. The shifter action is nice and deliberate if a little notchy, but definitely not sloppy. The stick itself is also very short, which makes throws quick and easy unless you've got a beverage in the center console's cup holders. Best to avoid bottles of any kind, which are tall enough to get right in the way of your arm's motion when shifting gears.
The new 5.0-liter V8 is a gem of an engine and plays perfectly with the manual transmission. Perhaps its most surprising characteristic is that it delivers power everywhere, even high in the rev range before it tops out a redline just shy of 7,000 rpm. That makes the new 5.0 more than just what its peak power numbers of 412 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 390 pound-feet of torque at 4,250 suggest, since its broad powerband is working hard for you at every rpm. Of course, that's to say nothing of the engine's aesthetic qualities, a feature so often forgotten these days under the many plastic shrouds that commonly obscure an engine's actual shape. The Mustang GT bucks this, showing off its tubular exhaust headers like a body builder's bicep peeking out from the sleeve of his muscle shirt.
Fortune had it that I also drove a 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 a couple weeks prior to the Mustang GT, and a comparison between either the Challenger or this car's other obvious competitor, the Chevrolet Camaro, brings into sharp relief what Ford is doing with the Mustang. Its cross-town rivals are less focused on bringing a balanced performance car to the party than creating an experience. At its most basic level, the feeling of driving a modern day muscle car requires retro styling and a big, powerful engine. Both the Challenger and Camaro offer this, though each takes their own tack at what "retro styling" means.
The Mustang, however, hasn't taken a break in 46 years, and so doesn't need to convince anyone that it shares a direct link with the cars from the late '60s and early '70s that defined this class. Instead, the latest generation Mustang nearly evolves the car right out of the muscle segment. It is a high-performance car on every level, perhaps evidenced best by what it's being compared with other than the Challenger and Camaro. We ourselves pitted the new 2011 Mustang V6 against the Nissan 370Z and Hyundai Genesis Coupe, while Motor Trend put up this same GT model against the BMW M3. Let me repeat: the BMW M3. And the Mustang GT almost won, which is a victory itself.
All this is to say that the 2011 Ford Mustang GT is laser-focused on being the best all-around performance value on the market, not just the best reinterpretation of what it means to be a muscle car in 2010. If you just want to look good in a Mustang, get the automatic-equipped convertible model reviewed above and idle along on Woodward Avenue to your heart's content. If you want Challengers and Camaros in your rearview mirror while nipping at the back bumper of an M3, get this model.
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