[fielderLS3]

Its interesting how Ford has completely reversed itself on its engines. Until recently, they seem to build for low-end torque (4.0L, 4.6L, 5.4L), not power. Thier new engines seem to be more like the Japanese, no torque, but big power coming at 6-7000 RPM.

I've driven a Ford Edge on long family vacations in the mountains (3.5L version of same Duratec engine the Mustang has), and I couldn't agree more. Looks fast on paper, but lack of torque and tall gearing (2.73 rear, same as the standard Mustang) makes it feel like a dog under normal driving. It has to downshift up even the slightest hill (sometimes 2 gears on steeper hills), and can't even get into overdrive on a flat surface in a strong head wind. The "less powerful" and much heavier Explorer we had previously did much better, and 4.6L Mustang GT we took one year went up the passes in overdrive with room to spare.

As a side note, the 5.0 Mustang suffers a bit from this too (at least compared to the LS3), which is why I'd rather have the Camaro SS, even if it is slightly slower at a race track than the Mustang.