I'm the first to say I love my old cars and really appreciate how seldom you see a Marauder lately. But recently I was in Florida and being the off season I was able to rent a convetible Mustang on the cheap. When we arrived the only one available was a GT Premium so they let me have that as a free upgrade. Within 10 minutes of expressway driving my wife said "this is the most comfortable car I have ever driven in with you besides my own car." We were going 75 mph with the top down and could hear each other speak, radio on, just cruising. I can't hear her in my MM at 30 mph! It was a joy to drive. I always thought if I ever got a Mustang it would be a used manual car like a GT350 or GT500. Well, I was having so much fun in that car even with the automatic that I went to a few dealerships and drove a few GT350s, some brand new ecoboosts and some GTs.
GT350: The car was way more fun and way easier to drive than I ever could have imagined. Very compliant and easy to handle. But not nearly as fast in a straight line as I would have expected. I know its not made for that but still not the rocket I expected
Ecoboost convertible: Drove very well and handled as good as the GT. Others say they handle even better as the front end is 200lbs lighter. I guess since I was on the roads and not on a track I couldn't really tell and I am sure I am not a good enough driver to tell anyway. In the end it was noticeably slower than a GT and didn't feel any better braking or handling even with the PP1 package it had.
GT Premium convertible: Way quicker than I expected, I drove one after the GT350. Sure enough the GT premium at least felt faster. I have owned 6-speeds before but I wasn't going to bang gears on a test drive of a car I didn't own so maybe that was the difference. The 10 speed automatic is way better than I thought and the driving modes really make a difference. The amount of comfort, tech and performance in these new cars is just unbelievable.
I think I am going to keep my eyes open for a used 2019 GT convertible, in Florida some are already in the low 30s. I think it would be a great all around car. With the automatic anyone in my family can drive it. It is faster than I need, (not faster than I like just than I need). Lower entry and maintenance costs than even a 4 year old GT350. I really have to think about it.