Test drive: 2005 Ford Mustang V6

Overview: It doesn't take a V8 to make a thoroughbred

2005 Ford Mustang V6

It takes a lot to wring a five-star rating out of me. To earn five stars, a car has to be 100% perfect, or at least have enough positives to overcome the bad. No, not overcome... to wallop the bad over the head and render it unconcious. The Mustang V6 does it. Sure, it has a few foibles, mostly related to cost-cutting on the interior bits. But--look at it! The styling is a perfectly-executed tribute to the first Mustangs of the 60s, both inside and out. It sounds great, drives well, and goes like stink--even with an automatic transmission. It comes with scads of standard equipment including air conditioning, power windows/locks/mirrors, cruise control, alloy wheels, CD player and remote locks, and costs little more than an entry-level Toyota Camry. That, my friends, is one hell of a deal. My tester's options included the aforementioned automatic transmission and traction control (which, trust me, is a must-have--more on that in a minute) and still stayed under $22 large. Talk about pleasing my inner cheapskate! The best part is that the whole is much more than the sum of its parts. The Mustang V6 well-and-truly feels like a muscle car. Of course, it's not as fast as the GT--but nor is it as expensive to buy or insure.