I have to admit to being somewhat disingenuous with my thoughts on a certain member of the pop star industry – named Robert Matthew Van Winkle Aka Vanilla Ice.
For some reason, somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, I thought that Vanilla Ice had been caught Lip Syncing (essentially miming to the music). In my defence, there was a fair amount of it going around at the time (who could forget the Villi Manilli debacle) But it would appear, I was the opposite of right. He has however put up his hand and admitted to conducting ‘crimes against music’ …good on ya Ice.
I bring this up because of 2 seemingly unrelated events. Firstly, Mr Ice was recently here in Auckland and secondly, I (finally) got my hands on a Ford Mustang Convertible. The later of which has their new Sync 3 system and the former sang about a 5.0 drop top – you see, it does all makes sense!
How about we talk infotainment first – after all, hasn’t every aspect and story about the Mustang (new and old) been done? The SYNC 3 boasts new hardware with a far more powerful software behind it but regardless of how long it’s taken to develop, of how much has been spent on doing so – I was only really interested in one thing, did it work and if yes; how well.
From a users point of view, the touch screen is clearer and with touch and swipe actions it’s very fingertip friendly.
The home button (an image of a house) remains static at the top left corner of any screen and will take you back to the start screen and in turn, access to Climate, Audio, Nav, Phone, Apps and Settings. The all important ‘Pairing the Phone’ is a simple and pain free process (not that difficult on previous SYNC’s either to be honest) but noteworthy due to its ease. A couple of prompts and you’re up and running.
The has been a lot of work done of the Navigation, Smartphone style Pinch to Zoom is great, 2D and 3D aspects again are handy and one touch of the screen can get you to the vicinity of your destination – no need for typing or voice control commands.
The voice command system is much better, I found myself swearing much less than normal. It picks up localish dialect and is more hip and in tune with general terminology – think of it more looking to understand you rather than you talking SYNC language. It’s quick too, route calculation (and recalculation when needed) seems pretty effortless however it still struggles with some NZ names but in truth; so do I.
And then of course, there is the Mustang convertible itself, it is as awesome as it is thirsty (and it really is thirsty). I am getting used to picking up cars with a minimum of 500k’s range expectation on a full tank – I believe the Open Top Pony predicted under 300. But, (if you’re like me) this one bother you one iota. Baring a downpour, your will find yourself with the roof down, (heating on when necessary), elbow pulled in the direction of the top of the door card, favorite tunes on low base last but by no means least, your foot accelerating the revs to the V8 5.0’s sweet spot over 4,000.
Other drivers and pedestrians are quick to complement your vehicle choice and you will seldom go past another ‘Stang without a toot or a wave of acknowledgement.Driving a Ford Mustang is a great place to be.
In the wet, the nose heavy drop top will frequently wag its tail (this can get a little arduous) but then there are those times when you’ll put it into track mode and let it’s wheels spin while on turn so do yours (like I said, driving a Ford Mustang is a great place to be).
Having paid a couple of visits to the petrol station in the week I had it (yes I used it that much) the time came to give it back. The Mustang is a fun car that (with SYNC 3) is very well connected. I’m left with only one thing left to say but best I simply wag my lips and let Mr Van Winkle take it to the bridge – ‘Rolling in my 5.0, with my ragtop down so my hair can blow’ (and in the NZ wintertime) ‘Ice Ice Baby!’
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