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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
As a child, I wanted to grow up to be a reporter, and I wanted to drive a Mustang convertible, just like Joe Rossi on "The Lou Grant Show."
I also wanted to date Billie Newman. That part never happened. But the reporter part did. And the Mustang convertible part happened just this week.
I accepted the loan of two Mustang convertibles at the invitation of Ford Motor Co. First, I drove a Mustang GT for four days, then one with the standard V6 engine for two more days.
For pictures and more details on the Mustang convertible, click here.
I will confess, up front, that I have a fondness for the Mustang that is not entirely rational. I tend to ignore faults for which I would smack other vehicles. The dashboard, while great looking, is made of hard, cheap plastic. The back seat may be roomier than last year's but my three-year old, strapped into the back in a child carrier, whined about not having room to kick his feet.
There are also those who complain about the lack of independent rear suspension, something that almost every other car has, at any price.
Perhaps this is perverse, but I actually like the solid rear axle. It's sort of a nostalgia trip to hit asphalt patches while turning and feeling the rear end wiggle sideways a bit. The Mustang's rear suspension is, in fact, supple for a solid axle design. The shimmy that remains is like a bit of seasoning. It adds flavor.
As far as looks go, the hard-top Mustang coupe is nearly perfect. In its convertible trim, though, some of the Mustang's naked aggression looks to have been modestly covered in cloth.
When the top is up, it's hard to tell the difference between the coupe and convertible from the driver's seat. The hood and windshield could be seen to wiggle a bit over hard bumps and when starting up the GT's 4.6 liter V8. But, mostly, the car felt quite solid. There was no noise or rattling.
The 2005 Mustang was designed from the start to perform well as a convertible. Ordinarily, performance and ride quality suffer in convertible designs because a solid roof helps stiffen the car's body.
When the roof is taken away, the lower body of the car has to be strengthened which, unfortunately, adds weight. Ford brags that its convertible is just 175 pounds heavier than the hard-top.
The weather refused to cooperate -- we had flood-producing rains in the Northeast -- during my four days with a black Mustang GT. I barely got a chance to lower the lid.
With the top up, though, wind noise was never a problem even at highway speeds. The cloth top does allow more engine noise to enter the cabin, but that shouldn't cause complaints. Engine noise is part of the car's attraction.
I got a second shot at top-down driving when I traded that car in for a V-6 automatic in "Legend Lime," a pale metallic green color. I loved the paint job. Pretty much everyone else hated it.
With the top down in the V6 the relatively quiet engine wasn't an issue. On the highway, the wind wafted gently in over the back seats, threatening to pop the baseball cap off my head. I smashed the hat down a little harder.
The standard V6 Mustang did seem awfully mild after having driven the 300 horsepower Mustang GT. But, at a maximum 210 horsepower, the V-6 nearly matches the output of a Mustang V-8 of just a decade ago and it handily beats a standard Mustang GT engine from the 1980s, according to Krause Publications' "Standard Catalog of Mustang."
Of course, 210 horsepower from a V-6 is not the same as 300 horses from a V-8. With less power, and especially less torque, the V-6 Mustang is a mellower ride. The engine sound is suitably rumblish at idle. But when the gas is pressed, it elicits more of a purr than the growl the V8 puts out.
Without that evil sound controlling my brain, and without the wicked punch of the V8's torgue, I found myself driving in a far more adult manner in the V6 than I had in the GT. In the GT, I drove like one of those "bad kids" in high school, racing away from stop lights, taking every turn way too fast .
The V6 still had plenty of power when demanded and it handled every bit as well as the GT, which means very well in either coupe or convertible form.
One way in which the V6 is actually quicker than the GT is in depreciation, however. Over 3 years, a V6 will lose about seven percent more value than a Mustang GT, according to sources at Kelley Blue Book. That will eat into some of your savings, but with insurance and fuel costs factored in, the V6 still makes a strong financial case for itself.
Also, I suspect many folks might find the V-6 a more pleasant daily companion. Easier throttle control makes it less of a handful in the day-to-day grind of traffic and parking lots.
When the top, and the road, are wide open, it's still fun.
OK, it's not as much fun as the GT. But it's still fun.
For pictures and more details on the Mustang convertible, click here.
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