North Georgia Ford Compares 2008 Ford Mustang VS 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Near Jasper, GA

The Mustang has standard tall side airbags, which act as a forgiving barrier between the driver and front passenger's upper bodies and the window and pillars. Combined with high-strength steel door beams and lower side airbags this system increases head protection in broadside collisions. Head airbags cost extra in the Corvette.

Both the Mustang and the Corvette have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, available four-wheel antilock brakes and traction control.

The Mustang’s corrosion warranty is unlimited miles longer than the Corvette’s (unlimited vs. 100,000 miles).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the engines in the Mustang have an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the engines in the Corvette.

The Mustang GT has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine’s coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Corvette doesn’t offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the car’s engine.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Mustang first among midsize sporty cars in their 2007 Initial Quality Study. The Corvette isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2005 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Ford vehicles are better in initial quality than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 10th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 15th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ surveys of the owners of three-year-old cars provide the long-term dependability statistics, which show that Ford vehicles are more reliable than Chevrolet vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Ford 17th in reliability, above the industry average. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Chevrolet is ranked 19th.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Ford Mustang uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Corvette requires premium, which can cost 25 to 50 cents more per gallon.

The Mustang with optional antilock brakes stops shorter than the Corvette with antilock brakes:

The Mustang has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Corvette, it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

The front and rear suspension of the Mustang uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the Corvette, which uses transverse leafs springs. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Mustang’s wheelbase is 1.4 inches longer than on the Corvette (107.1 inches vs. 105.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Mustang is 1.1 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Corvette.

The Mustang GT Coupe goes through AutoWeek’s slalom faster than the Corvette Z51 Coupe (45.4 vs. 44.5 MPH).

The Mustang GT Coupe performs Popular Mechanics’ emergency lane change maneuver 2.1 MPH faster than the Corvette Coupe (57.5 vs. 55.4 MPH).

For better maneuverability, the Mustang V6’s turning circle is 5.6 feet tighter than the Corvette’s (33.4 feet vs. 39 feet). The Mustang GT’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Corvette’s (37.7 feet vs. 39 feet).

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Mustang has liquid-filled engine mounts. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Corvette uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

As tested by AutoWeek, the interior of the Mustang GT Coupe is quieter than the Corvette Z06 Coupe:

The Mustang has standard seating for 4 passengers; the Corvette can only carry 2.

The Mustang Coupe has 45.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corvette (97.9 vs. 52.1).

The Mustang Coupe has .7 inches more front headroom and .2 inches more front shoulder room than the Corvette Coupe.

The Mustang Convertible has a much larger trunk than the Corvette Convertible with its top down (9.7 vs. 5.1 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Mustang easier. The Mustang’s trunk lift-over height is 31 inches, while the Corvette’s liftover is 37.7 inches.

The Mustang’s front power windows open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Corvette’s power windows’ switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully.

The Mustang’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Corvette’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Mustang’s standard steering wheel mounted cruise control is close at hand. The Corvette’s standard cruise control is on an over-crowded turn signal stalk.