Ford Shelby GT500 vs Boss 302 Mustang, one to rule them all: Motoramic Drives

I am that Mustang critic—the one who snidely whispers under his breath, "solid axle rear" whenever Ford's iconic pony car is mentioned. In the age of magnetic dampers (Camaro ZL1) and even passenger vehicles using a multi-link rear, Ford's setup seems as outdated as an Ed Hardy wardrobe. So imagine then my furrowed-brow skepticism when the 2013 Ford Boss 302 Mustang and 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 rolled in front of our Yahoo! offices.

But I was at least half wrong, because the Boss 302 suffered none of the stereotypical live-axle quirks. Its diamond-hard chassis works in Zen-like harmony with the suspension, and the striped pony car is pleasant, even supple, on longer drives. The rear never get too jittery on rougher roads. There's a mountain road I take every weekend that has a turn with a nasty mid-corner bump, which unhinges even most independent-rear-suspension (IRS) cars. The Boss 302 confidently hustled over it, making me wonder if Caltrans actually fixed the road. But then I drove over that same patch with an Infiniti IPL G37 and it hopped over the outcropping. I concluded the state is still glacially slow with road maintenance, but more importantly that the Boss 302 doesn't need an independent rear—it's perfect as-is.

There's a magic to certain cars, where all the little touches culminate into an endearing bond between man and machine. The 2012 BMW M3 has it, and so does the Boss 302. Ford sweats the details, like the Alcantara steering wheel that's soothingly soft to the touch. Or the coddling, suede-like cloth seats (a must-have option package that includes a Torsen helical differential) that prevent you from getting tossed like a ragdoll in hard cornering. Not to mention, the industrial-metal accents on the dash and stealth-black fabric headliner appropriate for its premium price tag.

There were only a couple issues that prevented the Boss 302 from perfection—the burbly exhaust tone has a menacing snarl that makes you feel like Steve McQueen for the first couple days, but eventually gets tiresome due to the unrelenting drone. Its ivory-white cue-ball shifter may be a classy nod to hot rods of yore, but after a week my palm was aching for a knob larger than a locquat. And the steering could tell a bit more of what's happening in the tires, even when setting the Electronic Power Assist Steering to Sport.