So, just how much demand is there for the latest crop of high-quality Ford products? Get this: In the recent “2010 Readers’ Most Wanted” survey at Edmunds.com’s Inside Line (IL) website, the Blue Oval blew away the competition by taking first place in eight categories; no other automaker topped more than three.
The Ford Mustang V6 was the readers’ hottest must-have in the “Speed Under $30,000” category, with the folks at IL noting it “certainly wins our award for most improved,” and the readers chiming in with kudos like “The new Mustang is the fastest, best-handling car in this segment. 305 hp for $22K? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?,” and “Great-looking car, 30 mpg-plus and 300-plus hp makes this a no-brainer.”
The Mustang also took honors in the “Speed Over $30,000” ranking with the 2011 Mustang 5.0 GT. Any concerns over the power that IL had with the 2010 GT’s power numbers were “certainly resolved for 2011,” thanks to an advanced new V8 that now pumps out 412 hp. But there’s more here than a pony car packing 400+ ponies of its own. As one reader explained, “I’m a real-world man, and the Ford Mustang GT 5.0 has all of this: style, speed, power, price, reliability, good mpg, fair cost of maintenance, heritage, driving pleasure. And when I was a kid I dreamt of a Mustang GT 5.0, too!!!”
And there’s a familiar name atop the “Convertible Under $30,000″ segment: The Mustang Convertible. Yes, even a rival like the Mazda Miata “loses to the juggernaut that is the 2011 Mustang,” according to the IL team.
Hauling home yet another award is the Ford F-150, winning the “Hauling Under $30,000” honors with a “50 percent share of the vote,” said IL. That makes sense when you consider, as one reader did, that’s it’s an “Attractive truck that can do whatever you need it to,” which includes offering “a little bit of the SVT Raptor’s soul,” according to another.
Coincidentally, that high-performance pickup—the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor—was the people’s choice when it came to “Hauling Over $30,000.” In fact, as IL explains, while Ford’s ultimate offroad machine was recognized for “posterior hauling,” yet another F-150, the Ford Super Duty, came in second thanks to its “actual hauling” abilities. The bottom line for one reader: The SVT Raptor is “the enthusiast’s truck if there ever was one.”
Ford had two podium finishes in the “Commuting Under $30,000” category, too, with the Fusion and the Fusion Hybrid finishing one and three in the IL survey. And why not, when at least one reader says “The Ford Fusion is the best thing since the Model T”?
Ford siblings naturally climbed to the top of the family-oriented segments as well, with the Ford Flex both besting all comers amongst the “Family Under $30,000” competition and, when packing its optional EcoBoost powerplant, scoring highest in the “Family Over $30,000″ segment. The former gets the nod because “it’s the perfect family car” for one reader, while another says the EcoBoost Flex is best described as a “luxury jet on wheels.” For IL: It’s “No arguments here.”
And remember, nowhere will you find more of this year’s Inside Line Readers’ Most Wanted winners than your local Ford dealership.
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