[AZ_SS_1LE]

So today I had an itch to scratch and had to test drive a Shelby GT350 to see what all the fuss was about. I test drove a pre-owned Black with white stripes 2016 Mustang GT350 Track pack with 10k miles. Here are a few of my impressions:

Interior: Recaro seats were nice, but less snug on me my build (6'1" 195lbs). I like my 2017 SS 1LE powered Recaros better than the manual Shelby seats.
The cockpit in the GT350 was more open and airy. However, I felt like I was sitting on the car (too high, and yes I ratcheted the seat as low as possible) rather than down into the car's cockpit like in the 1LE. It may be due to the higher belt line in the 1LE, not sure. The '16 Track pack's consolidated/dash setup looked extremely cheap with the small screen compared to the nice 8" screen in the 1LE with apple car play etc. Thankfully Ford wised up in '17 with the standard coolers making the Track/tech possible in the same car. The old school manual e brake looks prehistoric in the Shelby. Though, I don't like how slow the 1LE takes engage the brake once activated, but the electronic e-brake is ingenious with its small foot print especially when real estate is precious in the alpha chassis.
I noticed the hood sticks out a lot while driving as opposed to the 1LE which has those deep valleys for better sight lines.

Exterior: I love the side vents on the Shelby which give the car an aggressive wide stance. Both cars are beautiful and very different to my eye. However, the 1LE's 20" forged wheels (vs the average 19's on the Shelby's) are some of the best looking wheels I've seen OEM or aftermarket.

Performance/sound: The Shelby had the resonator delete so it was LOUD! It's the best sounding car IMHO. Very subjective, again just my opinion (I haven't done the 2ndary Cat delete yet on my 1LE). The Raspy engine note from the FPC Voodoo is special. It revs to the MOON and then some! However, no one is home (low torque) below 4K RPM. I absolutely love the 1LE for that reason - having torque on tap down low in the RPM band. This attribute from the 1LE's push rod LT1 makes it much easier to drive quickly without drama and makes me feel like a much better driver than I am. The GT350 didn't feel any faster than my 1LE even at high RPMs accelerating to freeway speeds i.e. lots of bark with average bit (when compared to the 1LE). I was surprised how much I really missed not having active rev match (I know, don't flame me, I can just learn how to heel-toe) but around town rev match is AWESOME on the 1LE!

Fit/finish: The Shelby's body panel gaps are just unacceptable on a $40K car let alone on a $60K plus car. 1LE panels are straight and tight. Lots of paint chips on the Shelby, paint seemed very thin to me. I didn't like that the exhaust tips weren't connected to the Shelby. The front, sides and rear splitters were really nice on the GT350. Why doesn't Ford add hood struts?

Chassis dynamics: Again I felt like I was driving on top of the chassis of the Shelby rather that in the chassis on the 1LE. The magnetic ride calibrations on the 1LE felt tight and more refined (makes sense, since GM's has been at it for much longer than Ford).

Again, not an exhaustive review on my limited time in the Shelby, but just some things that stuck out to me. I'm not a fan boy of any car company. Rather, I'm proud of what the BIG 3 American automakers have done to provide outstanding dollar to performance value in normally aspirated, manual vehicles.

Last, I pulled up to my car with the Shelby after the drive and the cars salesmen (not a Ford dealership) was interested in my car. So we went for a drive and afterward I told him there's no way the Shelby was better in my view than the 1LE let alone a 13K premium on a used car than what I paid on mine. He couldn't counter my statement after a drive in the 1LE so I dropped him off and left.

I'd love to hear your comments fellas.

[snakeslayer]

I love the looks of the GT350R, and would have considered it had the markups not been so freaking high. And of course getting a test drive in a GT350 is next to impossible, and I can't buy a car I have not first driven to make sure everything fits. I'd still like to have one...maybe in a year or two after the hype has died a bit more. Which I predict it will as soon as the words "GT500" come out of Ford's mouth.

[rootus]

From a looks perspective I think the GT350 is gorgeous. Haven't been able to score a test drive, but haven't tried too hard since it's more than I'm willing to spend. I did drive a GTPP and was very underwhelmed. Didn't expect to like the Camaro as much as I did, I've owned lots of Mustangs and no Chevy's.

[WhyUMad1LE]

The steering is the biggest advantage SS 1LE has over GT350. It's noticeably faster.

Aesthetically I like both. Prefer the front of the 1LE, rear of the Shelby, and side they're about equal.

[show7ime]

The look of the 350 is perfect. The sound is amazing. But, the limp dick low end experience is meh, non driver focused interior and steering ruins the experience.

Just my personal opinion. Love the car regardless.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Burly]

Mostly agree. I rode in 16 GT350 last week and loved the sound. Its a good looking car from the outside but interior looks dated. I think the 1LE wheels are best looking OEM out there and I'm on the fence about getting replicas...

[mr965]

Absolutely love the looks of the gt350. Probably nicer looking than the original boss 302 that I became infatuated with as a kid. I grew up in a family that thumbed their noses at Ford and would probably never live it down but now that I live across the country I could almost pull it off. Although I have NO regrets in buying the ZL1. Maybe next time I'll go the 'Stang route?

[AZ_SS_1LE]

One other thing I forgot to mention was the brakes. The Shelby's brakes were fantastic. The initial bite from the brakes were confidence inspiring. Better initial bite/braking power in the Shelby vs. the SS 1LE (that's not to say the 1LE's brakes aren't good its that the Shelby's were incredible.)

I agree with many of you the looks and the stance of the GT350 is perfect especially the 3-D taillight design. I didn't like the seating position.

[Drizzt ss]

Thanks for your review! And I would never bust balls about the rev match in our cars. I had an Sti before this and I lived heel to toe. As much as I loved when I pulled off a perfect rev match downshift flying into a turn, I love this option on our cars. I would definitely recommend you learn if you haven't, but for me, I'm good with the car doing it for me. It's a pleasant change even though I still do my own heel to toe about 25% of the time. It's like a bike, once you learn, muscle memory takes over, at least for me.

[Camaro Maybe]

To me the cars overall are even-steven from performance, looks, ride, tech, so to have to pony up (pun intended) an extra $20K for the Shelby is wasted money imho.

I do love the sound of the Shelby and I like a motor that revs but that upper level of rpm's most people (including me) aren't going to drive their car that way.

[spotswood]

I grew up with a Boss 302 that I raced in SCCA B Production after totally rebuilding the car about 40 years ago. It was fast but nothing compared to the cars now.
I have had a Ferrari 550 V12 Maranello since 2000 with a 6 speed manual. It is a torque monster and unbelievably smooth on the highway all the way up to top speed. It is 500 hp with a weight of 3900 pounds. It is a great highway car but cost of maintenance is out of sight and the car is very delicate. More trouble than the fun it provides.
I now have a new ZL1 1LE and at first I thought the Ferrari was faster. I was mistaken. Its just that the Camaro is more integrated and the speed deceiving.
The Camaro will just spin the tires in the first few gears if the traction control is disengaged.
It is a blast to drive and it is 1/3 the cost of a Ferrari. It is a no brainer as being the best value out there for speed. It is horrible to drive on a long distance due to the harsh suspension. The car is great for short or medium duration bonsai runs.
Although I like the look of the new Mustangs I think the only model that may come close to the package of the ZL1 would be a rousch mustang.
I feel the camaro is a no brainer. speed comparable to other cars that are 4 times the cost and it can be fixed by any chevy dealer at 1/3 the hourly rate and no long tows to the dealer.
Now if only it sounded like a V12 it would be the perfect car.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Originally Posted by AZ_SS_1LE

So today I had an itch to scratch and had to test drive a Shelby GT350 to see what all the fuss was about. I test drove a pre-owned Black with white stripes 2016 Mustang GT350 Track pack with 10k miles. Here are a few of my impressions:

Interior: Recaro seats were nice, but less snug on me my build (6'1" 195lbs). I like my 2017 SS 1LE powered Recaros better than the manual Shelby seats.
The cockpit in the GT350 was more open and airy. However, I felt like I was sitting on the car (too high, and yes I ratcheted the seat as low as possible) rather than down into the car's cockpit like in the 1LE. It may be due to the higher belt line in the 1LE, not sure. The '16 Track pack's consolidated/dash setup looked extremely cheap with the small screen compared to the nice 8" screen in the 1LE with apple car play etc. Thankfully Ford wised up in '17 with the standard coolers making the Track/tech possible in the same car. The old school manual e brake looks prehistoric in the Shelby. Though, I don't like how slow the 1LE takes engage the brake once activated, but the electronic e-brake is ingenious with its small foot print especially when real estate is precious in the alpha chassis.
I noticed the hood sticks out a lot while driving as opposed to the 1LE which has those deep valleys for better sight lines.

Exterior: I love the side vents on the Shelby which give the car an aggressive wide stance. Both cars are beautiful and very different to my eye. However, the 1LE's 20" forged wheels (vs the average 19's on the Shelby's) are some of the best looking wheels I've seen OEM or aftermarket.

Performance/sound: The Shelby had the resonator delete so it was LOUD! It's the best sounding car IMHO. Very subjective, again just my opinion (I haven't done the 2ndary Cat delete yet on my 1LE). The Raspy engine note from the FPC Voodoo is special. It revs to the MOON and then some! However, no one is home (low torque) below 4K RPM. I absolutely love the 1LE for that reason - having torque on tap down low in the RPM band. This attribute from the 1LE's push rod LT1 makes it much easier to drive quickly without drama and makes me feel like a much better driver than I am. The GT350 didn't feel any faster than my 1LE even at high RPMs accelerating to freeway speeds i.e. lots of bark with average bit (when compared to the 1LE). I was surprised how much I really missed not having active rev match (I know, don't flame me, I can just learn how to heel-toe) but around town rev match is AWESOME on the 1LE!

Fit/finish: The Shelby's body panel gaps are just unacceptable on a $40K car let alone on a $60K plus car. 1LE panels are straight and tight. Lots of paint chips on the Shelby, paint seemed very thin to me. I didn't like that the exhaust tips weren't connected to the Shelby. The front, sides and rear splitters were really nice on the GT350. Why doesn't Ford add hood struts?

Chassis dynamics: Again I felt like I was driving on top of the chassis of the Shelby rather that in the chassis on the 1LE. The magnetic ride calibrations on the 1LE felt tight and more refined (makes sense, since GM's has been at it for much longer than Ford).

Again, not an exhaustive review on my limited time in the Shelby, but just some things that stuck out to me. I'm not a fan boy of any car company. Rather, I'm proud of what the BIG 3 American automakers have done to provide outstanding dollar to performance value in normally aspirated, manual vehicles.

Last, I pulled up to my car with the Shelby after the drive and the cars salesmen (not a Ford dealership) was interested in my car. So we went for a drive and afterward I told him there's no way the Shelby was better in my view than the 1LE let alone a 13K premium on a used car than what I paid on mine. He couldn't counter my statement after a drive in the 1LE so I dropped him off and left.

I'd love to hear your comments fellas.

Same here. I had a 5th gen ZL1 which I consider is a great car, so I had some spare time and went to test drive a new Shelby GT350, the first thing I noticed was that without the stripes the car looks almost like a regular Mustang GT. The interior with the Recaros was nice ( remind me of my prior '11 GT 5.0). The seats were mechanical, not electrical. There were several toggle switches to adjust suspension, exhaust, etc. The sound of the exhaust was amazing much better and stronger than a roush exhaust and you could feel the adrenaline while rpm it up to 8000 rpm, by no way was slow but did not have the strong HP punch feeling of my 5th. gen ZL1 or of a prior Stingray which I also tested. Shifter and clutch were great also the steering wheel was fine, did not had a chance to test its handling. But at the end felt that Ford was crazy for the markup that they were asking for the car and that most people would not be able to distinguish it from a Mustang GT, also thought it was overrated by the car magazines and instead exchanged my ZL1 for a C7 Stingray Z51 that I'm still enjoying.

[ndnashlenz]

Depends on the driver, daily driving it for that sound to some is worth the premium especially if that car is not going to be taken to the track. Some people want a car that makes them feel special, if the GT350 does it for them then more power to them. This is all subjective of course That being said personally I would love a GT350 to cruise around town in.

[Bosse'sBoss]

Maybe the GT350R is better but that 80,000 that they are asking for it already put you on Porsche's entry league, instead I would chose a 911 or Cayman. The Shelby R is overpriced.