2012 Mazda 3 with SkyActive

Mazda is a brand marketed heavily towards the enthusiast crowd. Their commercials ask if your car is inspiring or just an appliance. They claim they build cars for people that care about what they drive, how it drives, and the way it makes the driver feel. In pursuit of Mazda’s “what do you drive?” manifesto, they have often sacrificed fuel economy for driving pleasure. I’ve always given Mazda props for doing this given the current trends automakers are following. This year though, Mazda has introduced a new technology to focus on making their cars more fuel-efficient. They call this technology SkyActiv, and I’ll admit, I’m a little worried hearing that Mazda is going in this direction.

So let us get a bit cerebral and talk about exactly what SkyActiv is. What it’s not is a hybrid platform, and unlike many other manufacturers, Mazda didn’t opt for smaller displacement turbocharged engines. SkyActiv all starts under the hood where you’ll find a big, blue plastic engine cover. Under that cover is a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine. This engine is made lighter, it uses newer direct injection technologies – much like Ford and Hyundai – and it takes advantage of a uniquely high compression ratio.

The first big question is has all of this SkyActive stuff worked? Do you get better fuel economy thanks to some engineering voodoo? That answer is, simply, yes. On our second day with the car, we reset all the computers and made a normal highway run in Dallas morning traffic. On that run we averaged 40.9-mpg. That’s 0.9-mpg better than Mazda’s official fuel economy rating. When we left the computers alone for a few days though and really tested out the average economy in the Mazda 3 is when we were really shocked. By day 4 we were still showing a 37.1-mpg rating and we stayed in that ballpark until day 7 where we were really being hard on the car doing video.

So we know the SkyActiv is a little more powerful than the normal Mazda 3; we know it’s a light and stiff chassis; we know it really does equate to better mpg, and we know the interior is still a nice place to be, but the next big question is does it really still have that unique Mazda feel? That is answered simply as well. This is still a fun to drive little car.

I’ll have to admit, I’m completely sold on SkyActiv. It seems that Mazda has found a way to get great fuel economy with none of the normal sacrifices. This isn’t just a great car for the young buyer or the enthusiast, this is a great car for just about anyone!

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Check out our video review of the 2012 Buick LaCrosse with eAssist.
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Buick, in the past few years has been making a big effort toward Lexus. With the LaCrosse, Buick has succeeded in making an entry level luxury car that is as nice inside as any Lexus we’ve driven and comes in a great looking package as well.

With a starting price of just under $30,000 dollars the LaCrosee is a great bargain. Our tester was a decked out Lacrosse with eAssist. This cars msrp ran up to just over $36,000 but is basically top of the line. That’s still not bad at all.

The engine is a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder. This is matched up with a 6-speed transmission but is also matched up with an electric engine. The lithium ion battery takes up a little truck space but it’s still sufficient for almost any occasion.

Unfortunately the power train that allows this LaCrosse to achieve the 36 mpg rating is also the worst part about driving the car. The engine lacks power, especially when compared to the likes of Lexus. The stop-start technology is nice and saves fuel but in traffic and in situations where you’re doing lots of stopping and going it becomes rough.

The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze 2LT reviewed by txGarage

We’ve been looking to get into the Chevrolet Cruze for a full week review for a while now. We’ve actually driven a few different models of the Cruze at some events, but have never had the time to really check out the details. Well, we finally got our hands on one, so what’d we think?

The last two times I was behind the wheel of a Cruze, one was a base and one was an eco model. Both had cloth seats and a lackluster performance. Our tester was a 2012 Cruze 2LT. This afforded us leather seats, navigation, 17” alloy wheels, remote start, and a 1.4 liter turbocharged engine matched up to a 6-speed automatic transmission. This decked out Cruze has a window-sticker of just under $24k (23,980) and is spec’d out the exact way I’d want one if I was dropping the money. But would I drop my own money for this car? Let’s get more into the driving, looks, and feel and find out.

Driving:

You can have the Cruze in a few different engine choices. You can have a 1.8 liter 4-cylinder engine with a 6-speed manual transmission. This combination will be good for 138 horsepower and 125 ft-lbs of torque. If you opt for the 1.8, you’ll be looking at fuel economy numbers around 26 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. As I said earlier, we had the 1.4 liter turbocharged engine, the same as the Sonic we reviewed last week, that pushes out the same horsepower (138 hp) but ups the torque to 148 ft-lbs. This car is said to get 24 city and 36 highway miles and we easily averaged in the lower 30’s during our week with the car. If you are looking at the Eco model, you get the 1.4 liter engine with a 6-speed manual transmission that should be good for 28 mpg city and a whopping 42 mpg highway.

The extra torque from the small turbocharged engine helped push the small Chevy Sonic out of the corners well, but how did it fair in this heavier family sedan?

Well the power just wasn’t there to make this car feel real sporty or responsive. If you’re going for a fun and sporty ride, you might want to keep the Sonic on your test-drive list. Although it wasn’t as sporty, it was still enough power for trolling around town and merging onto highways. Also, because this is a European car, the handling and steering feel were “bang on”.

Looks:

If you pay attention to the European car market, this look might already be growing old as the Cruze was being sold overseas there a full year before it hit American showroom floors. If you’re seeing one for the first time, it’s intently recognizable as a Chevrolet with it’s big two tier front grille. The headlights and lines down the side give it a swooping and sporty look and the 17” alloys we had continued that theme well.

Unlike the Sonic, the Cruze doesn’t really have any radical styling. It’s more of a basic style that looks good but won’t really put anyone off either. The looks outside and the ride were not really the party piece of this ride though. In our tester, the real surprise is the interior. The leather seats and quality material used is very European like. The interior isn’t just good for its segment, it was even better than some Cadillacs I’ve driven and it’s what stood out to everyone that got into this car.

Feel:

Comparing this car to it’s predecessor, the Cobalt, just isn’t fair. Just like the Sonic we drove last week, it’s not just better than the car that came before, it’s a giant step forward for Chevrolet. You can actually buy a smaller family sedan without sacrificing quality and comfort. Compare that to the competition and there is really only one car that can compete. This Cruze sets it’s sites on the likes of the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla, the Ford Focus, and the Hyundai Elantra.

I can tell you right now that the interior quality of the Cruze outshines that of the Civic and Corolla easily. It is also a much more enjoyable drive than either while costing less than an equivalent Civic. The Corolla is a little cheaper than the Cruze, but can’t stack up to the options you get. Also, the Corolla only has one engine option, a 1.8, and comes with a 4-speed automatic.

The Elantra is a nice car that has improved in quality over the years. I like the exterior design and what Hyundai is doing with their products. The interior quality is very good as well, but it doesn’t quite hold up to what we got in the Cruze.

The biggest competition for the Cruze is now the Ford Focus. We really like the Focus we reviewed last year, and it was also an all around good car. The interior is nice and put together well, the looks are great, it’s priced well, and it gets good fuel economy. Choosing between these two really comes down to what you personally think looks better. The Focus is probably the better to drive enthusiastically, but the Cruze isn’t bad.

Overall, we’ve been real impressed with the Cruze after our week long test. We’re impressed with the car, but also the attention that GM is giving it’s lineup. The only thing we really see lacking is a real sporty model. In Europe, they race the Cruze in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). I think GM would do good to make an RS model with a powerful 2.0 liter engine that’s not focused on fuel economy. Then enter that car into some racing series within the U.S.; maybe Grand-Am racing against the likes of the Mazda 3, Honda Civic, and Volkswagen Golf.

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2012 Chevrolet Sonic turbo - reviewed by txGarage

First and foremost, let’s do some house cleaning. The Sonic is a replacement for the Chevrolet Aveo. Don’t look on this site for an Aveo review, because there isn’t one. I have driven a few versions of the Aveo. Back when running a small local dealership in Dallas we would stumble across an Aveo or two. This was always a tough sell as there was nothing particularly good about these cars, except maybe it’s price. I could never recommend it to anyone; not as a teenager’s first car or a cheap family car. There were just too many other products you could get that were much better.

Now we have the Sonic and GM says that it’s not really replacing the Aveo because it’s a whole new car. You see the Aveo was a car built by Daewoo and badged in the U.S. as a Chevrolet. The Sonic on the other hand is all Chevy and assembled in Michigan. So did Chevy do it right this time? Can I finally recommend a Chevrolet, compact hatchback, to friends and readers?

Let’s start with the looks. The Sonic’s design was given high priority. With manufactures like Ford and Hyundai making not just good products but great designed compact cars, GM couldn’t afford getting it wrong. They haven’t disappointed either. The design is supposed to inspire sportiness and it’s said to be taken direction from motorcycles. I’ll have to say I really like the headlight and front fascia design. Looking from the side you can tell the car leans aggressively forward. This is no mistake as it’s given two character lines running from wheel to wheel showing off it’s aggressive stance.

Step inside and you’ll notice that this is a budget car. Unlike the Hyundai Veloster that offers a big touchscreen with navigation on even it’s base model, the Sonic doesn’t even offer one on it’s top-of-the-line LTZ trim. No matter though, what you really want to be looking at is the gauge cluster. This is more styling taking from “sport-bikes” with a large tachometer showing your 6500 rpm redline. Beside the large tachometer is every other output displayed onto a LCD display.

The rest of the interior is designed well and you don’t automatically notice its cheapness. There are a lot of plastics used but GM did a good job of breaking up the interior and keeping the driver focused on driving. In our tester we had cloth seats that were comfortable and supportive. There were a few times that I longed for leather/heated seats but after seeing the leather seats in the LTZ trim, I’ll stick with the cloth on this car.

The Sonic comes with two different engine options. You can get a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder that pushes 138 horsepower matched up with either a 6-speed automatic or a 5-speed manual transmission. You can also get a 1.4 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine with the same 138 horsepower but torque is bumped from 125 lb-ft to 148. This engine can be matched to a 6-speed auto or a 6-speed manual. Our tester was equipped with the 1.4 turbo and a 6-speed manual, so we’re expecting some fun driving!

Ride:

Driving a car with a turbocharged, small displacement engine is a lot different than what I’m used to. Living in Texas our sports cars are equipped with big V8’s or V6’s with lots of low down power. The Sonic’s 1.4 turbo doesn’t have that kind of lowdown power on tap. Cruising down the highway in 6th gear at 70 mph is smooth and fine, but what if someone pulls out in front of you and you need to slow down a little. Slow from 70 to 55 mph and then put the peddle to the floor and you get nothing. No power. Drop a gear to 5th and you get the same result, now people behind you are getting frustrated. Drop it another gear and finally that turbo is spoiling and you can use that 138 hp. It’s the same story around town. Corners I’d normally take in 3rd gear in my car require 2nd in the Sonic.

You might be thinking that this is a slow and un-fun car to drive then. Well you’d be wrong. You just need to adjust your driving style to get the most power of the small engine. Keep the rpm’s above 2500 or 3000 and you’re good. Keep them at the top of 5000 rpm and you’re having a blast! I know 138 horsepower isn’t that much but the suspension and the chassis are tuned for cornering. You can toss this car into corners at speed and you don’t get wobbling body roll. You get decent grip and balanced, level cornering. The steering has good feel as well so it’s easy to predict the amount of lock needed to attack a corner. This would be a great weekend time-attack car.

Economy:

This is a small hatchback and many will buy it not just for the price or utility but also for its economy. Our tester with the 1.4 turbo engine and 6-speed manual transmission is ratted at 40 mpg highway and 29 mpg in the city. Overall, with our fun spirited driving style, we averaged 32.8 mpg.

The Sonic is light and small but feels more spacious inside. I can easily get out of the driver seat and sit in the back without having to adjust the seat and I’m 6’ 1”. The hatch has decent space too and it helps that the seats fold down. The biggest thing that bothered me was the size of the fuel tank. Although you get great fuel economy the tank is so small you’ll be filling up ever few days if you drive a decent amount a day.

Comparison:

So the Sonic is giant leap above the outgoing Aveo and that’s great for GM, but how does it stack up to all the great compact hatches in the American market today? We really like the new Ford Fiesta and the hot new Hyundai Veloster. Not just that but the Mazda 2, Suzuki SX4, Honda Fit, Kia Rio, and Hyundai Accent are all decent cars.

I think the Sonic can be thrown right up there with in the top 3. It’s got good looks, a good engine, and it’s great to drive. This could easily be a weekend time-attack car and still produce good economy on day-to-day runs. My only slight reservation is on the price. When you’re comparing it to the likes of the Fiesta and the Veloster it’s priced similarly, but offers a little less as far as standard equipment. When you start looking at some of the others though, like the Mazda 2, you can find an economical and fun car for a lot cheaper.

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It’s a new year and here at txGarage we’ve got a new look, a new logo, lots of new reviews coming your way and a new website!

-We are all real executed for all the changes and updates and it’s thanks to the support of all of you guys who watch our videos and read our reviews.

-We’re already kicking off the year well and this month we’ll be bringing you reviews of the 2012 chevy Sonic Turbo and the 2012 Chevy Cruze. Plus we’ll be heading to Houston for the firs big auto show in Texas for 2012. We’ll be tweeting and updating our social pages so make sure to follow us on twitter @txgarage and like us on Facebook. We’re even on Google+.

-Also please subscribe to us on YouTube! We’re looking to post up lots of cool videos this year and the more subscribers we get, the better!

2003 Ford Focus ZX3 Pro Touring V8 - RWD

There is always something to say about having a rare car. When you’re driving along in a car you’ve spent a lot of money on, you do not want everyone else on the block driving the same thing. But there are two different types of rare cars: those you spend an enormous amount of money on and those you put a lot of effort into making rare. Today we are focusing on the latter.

You might see a Ford Focus driving in your neighborhood, and heck you might even see a 2003 Focus ZX3, but it only takes a few seconds to realize that there is something special about this car. Taking a quick look at this Focus, it doesn’t really pop out at you at first. You might be thinking, yeah I’ve seen a Focus with nice wheels before. Wait what’s that heat extractor in the hood and what bumpers are those? The answers to your questions would firstly be, yes. Neatly fitted to the hood of this Focus is a heat extractor from a 2011 GT500 Mustang. The front and rear bumpers are Ford parts from Europe. The front and rear bumpers are fitted with custom stainless steel mesh grilles. Hella fog lights are fitted nicely into the front and a shorty billet aluminum radio antennae sits atop the roof. This is no aftermarket body-kit glued onto a rice mobile, these are Ford parts and fitted with care and passion. It really is almost easy to look right over this car thinking it’s a stock body.

Inside is more of the same. Mostly stock looks with some tasteful add-ons. The first and most noticeable of these is the A-pillar gauge pod and Autometer Phantom custom gauges behind the wheel. The stock Blaupunkt CD player rests in the dash, but the speakers have been replaced in favor of some with a little more quality. The windows have been swapped from manual to power, keyless entry has been added on, and cruise control has been added as well for easy highway driving. There are a few extra little buttons, but we’ll get to those later. Other than that, it’s pretty stock and a pretty solid ride.

So what makes this Focus so special? Is it more than a few custom parts here and there? Well yes, it is. Start this bad boy up or pull up next to someone at a light and they’ll instantly know this is no ordinary Focus. The rumbling from the engine and exhaust are unmistakable. Laying under this hood is a Ford Motorsports Sportman 5.0 block. Yes, that’s a big V8, pushing 450 horsepower stuffed into this little car. The engine has been well taken care of with forged pistons and a forged steel crank. We also have AFR 185 aluminum heads, Scorpion roller rockers, and a custom grind cam to round it all out. Up top we have a Edelbrock Victor JV intake manifold converted to EFI to help this thing breath and consume some fuel.

This 5.0 engine is hooked up to a 4R70W custom built overdrive automatic transmission with Buammator stand alone computer control. All of this sends power to the rear wheels through its 8.8 Ford differential with 3:55 gears. That’s right, a rear-wheel-drive Focus, powered by an amazing V8 powerplant.

Translate all of this into driving and it’s more mental than anything else. Here at txGarage, we’ve driven plenty of muscle cars and performance cars, but to have all this power is such a light and unexpected car is mental. Start this car up and immediately tingling sensations begin to run up your legs and down your arms. Look down to the shifter and you’ll see a small switch. This flips the transmission computer from mental everyday driving into insane race mode. Better leave if in mental for now. Shift down to drive and tap the throttle with your big toe and receive a jolt and slide from the rear-end. From a standstill, this Focus really makes it easy to break the rear wheels loose, but we’re merging onto the street so lets keep that in check. Heading in a strait line again I smashed the throttle once again propelling me to the roads speed-limit of 60 mph before I could even try and enjoy the sensation. This is one fast ride.

It’s not all about speed though. The builder of this ride paid as much attention to ride and handling as he did to the massive engine. Sway bars, control arms, adjustable caster camber plates, adjustable coil over struts, lowered, triangulated, polyurethane bushings, and 4 link are all words that came out of his mouth while we took a tour underneath this Focus. What it translates to is ride comfort and handling in the turns. Adding to the grip and handling are the racing tires mounted to the 18 inch wheels. The rear tires on this Focus are 9.5 inches wide; now that’s some grip!

When you have all this power and handling in a ride you never want to forget about stopping power. Luckily for us this Focus had plenty of it. The front brakes are a big break conversion kit for the Focus SVT with EBC slotted disc rotors and ceramic pads. In the rear, the discs are pulled from a V8 Explorer also slotted with ceramic pads and custom stainless steel braided brake lines. Let’s just say these come in handy when you’re coming into a turn a little faster than expected – which you inevitably will with this car.

To sum it all up, I’d have to say that this is one of the best conversions I’ve ever seen. It’s not every day that you see a six-figured supercar and it’ll be an even more rare occurrence to see something else like this driving down the road. This Focus delivers amazing performance in a stealth package that really is feasible for everyday driving. If you’re looking for a car that you can have fun in, show off to your buddies, and still use every day and get 20 mpg, this is a ton of fun.

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2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon reviewed by txGarage

I’ll admit, after selling my Acura Integra in 2002, I really didn’t pay much attention to the Acura brand. Their styling seemed to go from bad to downright ugly. Their performance seemed to run away after letting the Integra go and featuring the RSX. At the Main Street in Motion event, I test drove the new Acura TSX in comparison to the Buick Regal turbo and was quite shocked at how well I liked it. Then I drove the 2012 Acura TL around the infield track at Texas Motor Speedway. Again, I was shocked at how well the car handled, how balanced it was, how nice the steering was, and how good the paddle shifters on the automatic transmission were.

After seeing the commercials for the new TSX Sport Wagon, my first impression was amazement that they’d bring this to America. My next impression was that it couldn’t be as good as the TSX was. Of course now we have the chance to test it out and see what’s really what.

Let’s take a look at the styling first. As I said earlier, Acura has gone through some bad styling. So much so that they have lost sales and customers have attributed that to the new styling. The front-end styling of the 2012 TL seems to have gotten the point and Acura toned it down a little. The TSX still needs some work in my opinion, but it’s good that Acura is getting the message. Other than the front beak-like grille, the rest of the lines on the TSX are sharp and almost aggressive. When adding the wagon to the rear, Acura took the time to make it more stylish and sporty rather than optimize interior space. So the back end cuts a little forward and the spoiler hangs over the rear windshield giving it a constant in-motion look.

As far as wagons go, I think it looks good. It still looks young and sporty, but wagons haven’t ever really caught back on here in America. We have been seeing more consumers warming up to the fact that wagons are coming back though. This is evident in the Dodge Magnum, the Cadillac Sport Wagon, and now the Acura TSX Sport Wagon. Still, most people I talked to and I’d have to agree, if it was my money, I’d just go for the sedan.

One thing a wagon can offer is more room inside. I never really had the need to fill it up, but there was a ton of space in the back. The rear seats, though, suffered on the roominess front. They were actually quite tight. Up front though, the leather seats were not just roomy, they were incredibly comfortable. The dash seemed sort of plain and Acura admits that this being it’s bottom line car isn’t equipped with as many goodies as others. Our tester was equpped with navigation, Bluetooth, power tailgate, voice recognition, a backup camera, and a decent stereo with 15 GB hard disk and 10-speaker surround. The navigation system and stereo where all controlled by a joystick like knob on the dash and the screen was set back further out of reach. It took a little playing with, but was actually a nice change to touch screen systems. Compared to others like Buick or even Hyundai and Kia, it just didn’t seem as luxurious as I expected from an Acura. That doesn’t mean, though, that it was a bad place to be.

Under the hood sits a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engine. This is your only option in the sport wagon while the sedan offers a V6. One of my first concerns with this car was would it be sporty enough with the added mass and no optional V6. This question was quickly answered after a few minutes of driving around. Yes, they can lay claim to it being a sports wagon. Although the 2.4 liter engine only pushes out 201 horsepower and 170 foot-pounds of torque, it rev’s up to 7,000 rpm and feels quite peppy. Your only transmission option is the sequential sportsift automatic 5-speed. You can put this in manual mode and shift with the paddles on the steering-wheel, and it actually works quite well. It seems a little disappointing that you only have 5-speeds instead of the 6-speed transmission you get in the TL. It doesn’t really hinder the sportiness that much, but seems that you could achieve better fuel efficiency that way, not that it’s necessarily bad on fuel economy. During our daily driving, we were averaging 26.3 mpg; so surprising that we posted the picture up on our Facebook page.

It really all makes sense after driving the TSX and the TL for short but enthusiastic drives. This is why they did so well. Even in the wagon, you felt like this car was nimble and sporty. Acura throws words around like coil springs, balanced chassis, independent double-wishbone suspension, independent multi-link rear, and thicker rear stabilizer bar. All these equate to a great driving experience. It’s quiet and comfortable as it should be, but it also feels light and direct. This is what sets this car above cars like the Buick Regal, Hyundai Sonata, and Kia Optima. This would be my main reason for spending my hard earned money on an Acura today.

How much exactly do we need to spend though? Well the base TSX starts at $29,610. For the sport wagon you’ll need to shell out at least $30,960. To get one equipped with the technology package and all the goodies we had, then you’re tipping the scales at $35,970. This seems like a lot for a car with less technology and luxury than we expected, but it makes up for everything when you’re driving a back country road with enthusiasm and a smile on your face.

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2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302

I wasn’t alive in the 60’s and 70’s, a time that most call the golden era of American motorsports. I never had the opportunity to watch the original Boss 302 race in the Trans-Am series and win, yet it’s a car I’ve heard of many times as this American classic certainly has a reputation that precedes it..

It’s been a long time since the Boss 302 rose to glory, and the Mustang has gone through many changes. When I first heard that Ford was considering bringing the Boss back, I was actually worried. Would it just be another dressed up Mustang with a graphics package and fancy wheels? The only real track worthy Mustang to date has been those branded with a Roush badge, so would this be more of the same?

Ford’s VP of global marketing, Jim Farley, made a pretty bold statement that made me hope for the best. He said “My dream for the car was that it would make a lot of money for a guy street racing. It should be a car that winds up on YouTube doing something illegal. I’ve been waiting 20-plus years to launch a car like this.” Now you see why this statement gave me hope!

Not a nostalgic machine:

On the outside, the Boss is basically a 2012 Mustang. The front grill sports the Mustang pony badge with red, white, and blue stripes behind it. It has a more aggressive and race-inspired front splitter. The graphics are all nostalgia with the iconic C-stripe on each side and black on the hood come straight from the ’69 Boss 302.

We all really liked the overall styling of the Boss. It wasn’t overdone; it’s pretty straight forward and race inspired. We couldn’t agree though on the best color scheme. The Boss only comes in five colors including the Performance White, Race Red, Competition Orange, Kona Blue Metallic, and Yellow Blaze Metallic. I really like the White/Black car we were reviewing while Toby thought the Orange/Black was a better fit. Actually I like pretty much every color scheme I’ve seen on the Boss.

Inside The Beast:

There isn’t much as far as options in the Boss, and that’s a good thing. You can’t get a sat-nav with SYNC and you can’t get heated/electric/leather seats. The option that is available, and you’ll want to get, are the Recoro seats. These are heavily bolstered, but incredibly comfortable!

The rest of the interior is your basic Mustang, which isn’t as bad as it used to be. A few track-themed items are scattered around you including an Alcantara steering-wheel, a retro cue-ball shifter, black gauges with a tach that stretches to 9,000 rpm, and some “Powered by Ford” door plates.

It’s a basic, business only interior and we loved it!

Powering the Boss:

The Boss 302 carries around the 5.0 liter engine like the current GT Mustang. For those of you hearing nostalgic numbers, that’s 302 cubic inches. It’s the same engine, yet it’s been tweaked and reworked to push out 32 more horses. This was done with an all new intake manifold with runners resembling velocity stacks, new cylinder heads with stronger alloy, camshafts increased lift, the intake valves grew larger, and the bearings are replaced with race-spec bearings. All this jargon equates to 444 horsepower at 7500 rpm. Yes, that’s 7500 rpm on a Mustang.

Revving the Boss up to 7500 takes a little getting used to. If you are familiar with driving Mustangs, you don’t expect to keep your foot on the throttle that long, but it keeps going. This car doesn’t just push you back in the seat, it rockets you seamlessly to where you need to be. With over a 100 hp disadvantage to the GT500, the Boss is only 0.2 seconds slower 0-60.
The horsepower numbers aren’t the big kicker with the Boss, though. It goes without saying that a 32 hp gain isn’t that substantial, but there’s so much more to this engine and car than peak horsepower.

On the track and on the street:

No matter if you’re on the track or on the street, when you hit a corner, it’s time for this Mustang to shine. One of the first things I noticed when I got behind the wheel of the Boss is how different the steering felt compared to other Mustangs. It was lighter, but not in a bad way. It felt very direct, but made the car feel lighter on it’s feet and much more nimble. The chassis feels overwhelmingly balanced as you don’t get the feeling of a heavy front end like you do in the GT500. This, in turn, inspires confidence in the turns.

To step up the Boss’ suspension, Ford gave it stiffer springs, a fatter stabilizer bar, 5 way adjustable shocks, and new bushings. You ride on top of 19-inch Pirelli P Zero tires which are 9.5-inches wide in the rear. The tires alone give you so much grip that it inspires you even more so.

Getting ready to stop this bad boy are some 4-piston Brembo brakes resting on 14-inch rotors, vented for better cooling. The pads tucked in these Brembos are close to race-spec compound, but give minimal squeal.

Everything about this car came to life once we got it out on the track at Texas Motorsport Ranch. The track is full of elevation changes and tight cornering. The Boss just took it all in and spit it all out. I’ve been out on a few tracks in a few different cars, but this track and this car were definitely the peak of my track driving experience.

Yes, how much:

The price of the Boss isn’t that outrageous. In terms of power and performance, on paper, the Boss falls nicely in between the Mustang GT and the GT500. The price is no different. You can get a base Boss 302 tor $40,995; throw in the Racaro seats and Torsen limited-slip differential and only add another $1,995 to that price. If you are worried about fuel cost, it is a high-performance track-ready car, well don’t be. We easily averaged in the mid 20 mpg range throughout our week of everyday driving. For a weekend racer as competent on the track as the Boss is, that’s quite a bargain. Ford will be producing only 3250 Boss 302s and 750 Laguna Seca editions totalling out at 4000 total examples.

We had this car out at Texas Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas for almost the entire day. The day before they actually delivered a Boss 302 Laguna Seca S to a customer from Houston to this very track. Ford brought the car to the MSR track and had the Ford engineering team tune it and fit it to the driver. While we were there in our review car, we not only received many looks but were told on many occasions how much people loved this car. Those came from Porsche owners and even a guy who just purchased a new GT500 who told us he should have waited and bought one of these. I can see why this car is so popular at the track. It really is more than just a Mustang, it’s a great track car. It’s a Boss 302 through and through.

Video on YouTube:

Check out the full photo gallery of the 2012 Boss 302 on Facebook or Google!

Laguna Seca:

Just a little extra about the Laguna Seca edition. We had the chance to do a Quick Drive review of this car a few months back, but we were not able to get it for a full review. As I stated above, the Laguna Seca is a special edition of the Boss 302 that Ford will only produce 750 examples of total. What makes this better than the standard Boss 302? The Laguna Seca implements the “less is more” attitude. No rear seats, just a fancy tubular-steel X-brace where the seat should be. The front end has an even more aggressive front splitter that looks like it’s taken strait off a Grand-Am car. The springs are refitted with an even higher-rate. The rear wheels are up from 9.5 to 10-inches wide in the rear. You get brake-cooling ducts, an
under-body air scoop, a rear anti-sway bar, and inside the cabin you get extra gauges for oil-pressure and water-temperature. The R-compound Pirelli’s fitted to the Laguna Seca are so slick and track ready that it’s not really advised to drive it in the wet. If you are serious about trackday driving, you can’t go wrong with this car and at a $6995 premium over the standard Boss, the Laguna Seca still comes in way under any other trackday dedicated car out there.

Laguna Seca Photos