2010 Ford Mustang - Review

By Nelson Ireson

Nelson Ireson

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Nelson is an Editor at High Gear Media focusing on reviewing cars and covering the hottest topics in luxury and performance cars, car culture, and... More

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Hit your favorite ribbon of blacktop with an eye toward carving the corners and you’ll quickly scare yourself back to the straight stuff, as the car’s 57%-43% front-rear weight distribution biases the car heavily toward understeer, with trailbraking and hard exits inducing lots--and lots--of oversteer, especially with traction control off.

Not that the car is hard to drive without the electronic aids. You just have to keep in mind that unlike its hardtop brother, the 2010 Shelby GT500 Convertible didn’t get an upgraded suspension, wheels and tires. Instead it’s making do with the last car’s setup, and that reputation for scary handling is still well deserved.

But point it straight, uncork that big V-8 and listen to the supercharger sing as it spools and you can roast the tires until there’s no tread left without any worries bigger than the bill to replace them. Hook up a little traction and slam through the notchy, short-throw six-speed gearbox and you’ll impress everyone within a half-mile radius with the speed and sound of your acceleration thanks to the perfectly-tuned four-inch exhaust.

2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Convertible

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That big mill is thirsty, too, but not as thirsty as you might think. EPA ratings say the GT500 is good for 14 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway, and our driving matches those figures pretty closely. If you obey the fun-killing shift light on the dash, you can get closer to 17 mpg around town, but a few good romps on the go-pedal and you’re right back where you started.