Just reached a little over 500 miles on the GT500. This car gets a lot of attention. Drawing small crowds when I take it out and stop somewhere in public. I’ll do my best to make a initial comparison to my 19’ Charger Hellcat in an organized manner.
Interior: The interior of the GT500 even though it is now over 5 years old is overall more modern looking than the HC. There are more areas with hard plastics than the HC, but the "high touch" areas are soft touch materials. The HC dash looks more premium, when compared to the stitching molded into the GT500 dash. The GT500 steering wheel is manual and not heated. Love the digital dash in the GT500 . The Base Alpine sound system in the HC is about the same as the B&O system. SYNC 3 is about on par with Uconnect. Overall I prefer the SYNC system better. Backup sensors and reverse mirror tilt not available on the GT500. I liked those features on the HC.
Exterior: not much to say here, fit and finish about the same for both, much prefer the looks of the GT500. Much more sporty, and Ford does better to distinguish the GT500 from other mustang Trims unlike dodge with the HC. Another note my base GT500 while it looks lower than the HC, it rides a little higher and does not scrape in places that my HC did. My exhaust would sometimes scrape coming in and out my driveway on the HC.
Transmission: the DCT is very nice. The torque converter 8 speed in the HC is also very nice. It is one of the best TC transmissions on the market. You could be fooled that it isn't a DCT. The only drawback to the GT500, and it’s just the nature of a DCT, it is more clunky at low speeds and does require more care when moving slowly, like in traffic, or when going up a hill. I have a sloped driveway so I know slowly backing in/out is heating up those clutch disks.
Suspension/Traction: Goes to the GT500 like riding in rails compared to the HC. Stock tires in the GT500 significantly better than the 275 P-Zeros on the HC. The wheels are much more difficult to clean than the HC 5-spokes and because they are gloss vice matte you have to be more careful to avoid swirl marks in the painted finish.
Engine/Performance: Throttle response on the GT500 is not as immediate as the HC. You can tell the GT500 does not have as much torque and it does not come on as low in the RPM range. This massive amount of torque was always immediate and significant at any speed in the HC. Making it feel more powerful in ways. The GT500 is definitely quicker it’s power comes in a more manageable way and is easier to put down. I miss the HC SC whine, but the GT500 exhaust more than makes up for it. Fords application of the active exhaust is more useful than the hellcat and quiet start is wonderful considering I leave for work most days at 4:30 AM. Further, fords application of the driving modes is much more refined and useful as a whole than the HC equivalent.
Overall, I am quite impressed and blown away by this machine. It is different than the HC in almost every way. Both are amazing for what they are, and both have their place. The HC is still a monster, but this GT500 is much more of a street legal race car in many respects.
Interior: The interior of the GT500 even though it is now over 5 years old is overall more modern looking than the HC. There are more areas with hard plastics than the HC, but the "high touch" areas are soft touch materials. The HC dash looks more premium, when compared to the stitching molded into the GT500 dash. The GT500 steering wheel is manual and not heated. Love the digital dash in the GT500 . The Base Alpine sound system in the HC is about the same as the B&O system. SYNC 3 is about on par with Uconnect. Overall I prefer the SYNC system better. Backup sensors and reverse mirror tilt not available on the GT500. I liked those features on the HC.
Exterior: not much to say here, fit and finish about the same for both, much prefer the looks of the GT500. Much more sporty, and Ford does better to distinguish the GT500 from other mustang Trims unlike dodge with the HC. Another note my base GT500 while it looks lower than the HC, it rides a little higher and does not scrape in places that my HC did. My exhaust would sometimes scrape coming in and out my driveway on the HC.
Transmission: the DCT is very nice. The torque converter 8 speed in the HC is also very nice. It is one of the best TC transmissions on the market. You could be fooled that it isn't a DCT. The only drawback to the GT500, and it’s just the nature of a DCT, it is more clunky at low speeds and does require more care when moving slowly, like in traffic, or when going up a hill. I have a sloped driveway so I know slowly backing in/out is heating up those clutch disks.
Suspension/Traction: Goes to the GT500 like riding in rails compared to the HC. Stock tires in the GT500 significantly better than the 275 P-Zeros on the HC. The wheels are much more difficult to clean than the HC 5-spokes and because they are gloss vice matte you have to be more careful to avoid swirl marks in the painted finish.
Engine/Performance: Throttle response on the GT500 is not as immediate as the HC. You can tell the GT500 does not have as much torque and it does not come on as low in the RPM range. This massive amount of torque was always immediate and significant at any speed in the HC. Making it feel more powerful in ways. The GT500 is definitely quicker it’s power comes in a more manageable way and is easier to put down. I miss the HC SC whine, but the GT500 exhaust more than makes up for it. Fords application of the active exhaust is more useful than the hellcat and quiet start is wonderful considering I leave for work most days at 4:30 AM. Further, fords application of the driving modes is much more refined and useful as a whole than the HC equivalent.
Overall, I am quite impressed and blown away by this machine. It is different than the HC in almost every way. Both are amazing for what they are, and both have their place. The HC is still a monster, but this GT500 is much more of a street legal race car in many respects.
