Ive had my 2004 LS V8 through all types of driving conditions and situations but this one tops them all. Had to go from Palo Alto to Santa Cruz Saturday for my sons last football game. Those from the SF Bay Area know the hated and loved highway 17. Start out at sea level, rise to about 4300 feet or so and back down to sea level. The LS handled the twisties like a champ. I cant imagine any of my tricked out mustangs or my 95 Mark VIII being more fun to drive. Excellent throttle response (I cant believe complaints about the drive by wire), no nose plunge when getting into hard turns downhill and no tire noise. Always felt confident in control. I really hate to see Lincoln move away from this platform. I thought they got it right with the Mark VIII but really felt they hit a grand slam with the LS V8. Maybe the lights will turn back on and someone actually be at home real soon at FOMOCO HQs.

my ls also did well through that drive, although it would have been more fun with a clutch

oh ya, someone else commented on this same drive about a month ago

I miss 17. God I used to have fun on that road.

When I drive home from work, I always take the twisty route! Love feeling the taut cornering.

The LS's handling capabilities are DEFINATELY underrated by most. Lou will surely back me up. With near 50/50 weight distribution and a nice set of tires, the car handles like a champ. Good to hear your having fun with the car!

my ls also did well through that drive, although it would have been more fun with a clutch

I disagree bigtime. SST made it just as fun as driving a manual with alot less work. I was born and raised in San Francisco and had 3 Mustangs all 5 speed manuals. I doubt there is a city as large with the hills I had to deal with.

Dartastic. What part of SF are you from? I grew up in Potrero.

i got an 01 v8 sport and it will handle flat turns and twists like a champ not a problem at all. i took a drift doin about 40-50 ish and it was smooth as ice (for a drift that is).

I disagree bigtime. SST made it just as fun as driving a manual with alot less work. I was born and raised in San Francisco and had 3 Mustangs all 5 speed manuals. I doubt there is a city as large with the hills I had to deal with.

i didn't mention that i didn't use my sst, i just put it in d4. i haven't really used my sst much at all yet. with the bay area traffic i don't really find much need for the sst. even when there isn't traffic, I am usually just going in a straight line.

is the sst best for cornering? most people agree that the best accelleration is found not using sst.

That is what the car was designed and built for. Hands down, the best handling sedan built in America...and better than most built around the world. What a shame to see it go.

Dartastic. What part of SF are you from? I grew up in Potrero.

First 15 years in the Mission District. corner of Army and Mission almost. 19 years in Hunters Point. 5 years in Palo Alto.

Oh yeah..... worked 6 years at Hunters Point Power Plant and 6 years ar Potrero Power Plant.

Before I bought my '00 LS (base, not sport), I had test driven an LS sport model with the 17" rims and the handling absolutely blew me away!! I settled on the base model I have now with 16" rims for a bit less money. The handling is still very good, but quite not what I remember from the sport test drive.

If I upgrade to a good 17" rim/tire combo, should I expect similar handling as the sport, or are there some other performance related differences to the sport model's suspension that I would still be lacking on my base model??