Chevy Vs Ford: Is a Chevy Better Than a Ford, Or Is a Ford Better Than a Chevy?

Chevy Vs Ford: Is a Chevy Better Than a Ford, Or Is a Ford Better Than a Chevy?

Here’s a question for the ages, and without a doubt, you’ve heard it before: Is a Chevy better than a Ford, or is a Ford better than a Chevy?

Honestly, the answer depends on who is asking the question and whether or not they’ve ever owned each type. It also helps if owners have ever performed maintenance on them or added customizations.

Either way, the general idea is that it’s best to listen to the expertise of someone who knows what they’re talking about and not someone who’s merely a fan because they like to drive a particular model.

But it’s getting harder to find those types of expert mechanics in and around Clovis, Fresno, and Sanger – our hometown at Sanger Chevrolet.

No matter how you compare the two US auto brands, it always seems like for every Ford enthusiast you find there’s a Chevy fan ready to debate why Fords are an inferior make. Of course, the Ford enthusiasts say the opposite and always have a quick comeback at the ready.

It’s a see-saw battle that’s gone back and forth for the better part of a century, so here’s our take on the rivalry.

Comparing Chevy vs. Ford – What really matters to consumers these days?

First of all, to make a fair comparison, you have to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges.

Honestly, just because two particular makes and models are equally popular and look similar doesn’t mean that they are comparable.

For example, it’s not really fair to compare the Ford Mustang to the Chevy Camaro outright.

That’s because the Mustang has roots as one of the original “pony cars” of the early 60s, and the Camaro is simply a roaring beast of a sports car, specifically made to outclass the Mustang.

After all, nearly twice as many Mustangs were sold during its debut year than the Camaro’s debut year, so Chevy had to differentiate their product from the top-selling brand at the time, Ford.

Manufacturing a pony car of their own with a larger engine is how Chevy eventually started to catch up to Ford in the sports car market.

Nowadays, modern Mustangs have faster top-line speeds, but today’s version appeals to a much broader market than the Camaro. To this very day, owning a Camaro is all about speed and raw power, so we’ll start our comparison there.

Speed and raw power

Let’s cut to the chase and ask the question on everyone’s mind: which automaker manufactures the fastest sports car? And a look at the numbers tells you everything you need to know!

Initially, it’s tempting to compare the absolute fastest Ford you can buy to the absolute fastest Chevy you can buy.

But a better way to compare the two brands is to look at their fastest street-legal models, not the fastest models overall because anyone can customize a sports car to reach seemingly unheard of speeds on a race track.

At the time of this writing, the fastest street-legal Ford is the Mustang Shelby GT500, which can reach a top speed of 216 miles per hour.

Yet, The fastest street-legal Chevy is the Corvette ZR1, capable of reaching 212 miles per hour.

The difference in speed may only be a few miles per hour, but technically, Ford makes the faster sports car by the smallest of margins.

Acceleration-wise, let’s compare the GT500 with the ZR1. The ZR1 is capable of reaching 60 miles per hour in three seconds, while the GT500 gets from zero to 60 miles per hour in 3.3 seconds.

That’s not a statistically significant difference, so Chevy wins the acceleration category while Ford wins the speed category.

Safety

When it comes to safety, some consumers base their entire decision on a car’s national rankings. For instance, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the safety of each automobile in the US each year, and there are always a few surprises on their list.

Recently, IIHS revealed several interesting facts that add to the Chevy vs. Ford rivalry.

According to their safety criteria, Ford Fusions and Chevy Malibus have comparable safety ratings, yet the situation is entirely different when it comes to other models.

For instance, IIHS ranks the Chevy Cruze above the Ford Fiesta, yet it also ranks the Ford Escape over the Chevy Equinox.

So, it’s a push when comparing the mid-range sedan and SUV models, but according to IIHS, Chevy sedans seem to have a slight edge regarding safety.

Special features

So far, we’ve discovered that Chevrolets come with slightly better safety ratings, but their top-selling sports cars are a few miles per hour slower than the fastest Fords, although a better acceleration makes up for it.

Still, speed and safety aren’t the only two things that matter to the modern auto buyer. A significant portion of consumers expect a new car to come with unique features that compliment their lifestyle.

It could be a unique camping and travel package for an SUV, or it could be a tech-heavy entertainment package for a luxury sedan.

Notwithstanding those examples, the general idea is that auto manufacturers have stopped trying to force special features and extras upon specific buyers who won’t use them. In fact, the automakers have found out that some consumers will actually choose simpler cars if they don’t know the benefit of technology updates.

Indeed, special features aren’t as big of a selling point as they once were, yet the newest Chevrolet’s on the market seems to have found the right balance with Chevrolet MyLink.

Essentially, Chevrolet MyLink it’s an onboard system that allows you to integrate and sync all of your devices, especially your smartphone, with the built-in touch screen display.

Even better, Chevrolet MyLink comes with its own selection of apps you can browse and install exclusively through Chevrolet without needing to use an app store on your smartphone or a third-party app you can’t trust with your personal information.

Ford offers a similar system called FordPassConnect, but they also include Ford Co-Pilot360 features, which supposedly make driving safer with features like a rearview camera and a blind-spot information system.

Those bells and whistles are impressive, but as far as versatility goes, Chevrolet’s system is simpler to use for most consumers.

Sales volume

Can you guess which manufacturer has sold more vehicles overall? Here’s the short answer, so you don’t have to research the figure yourself.

In total, Chevrolet has sold about 200 million cars and trucks since its Inception in 1911.

Now, compare that figure with Ford’s total number of cars and trucks sold since its founding.

In 2012, Ford manufactured its 350 millionth vehicle since its founding in 1903, so give the sales volume title to Ford, which has obviously outsold Chevrolet by a landslide.

Final call – Is Chevrolet a good car or is a Ford the better option?

So with all of that in mind, is Chevrolet a good car, or is Ford the better option?

We may be a little biased here at Sanger Chevrolet, but for us, Chevrolet is the clear winner because they offer the most extensive range of quality sports cars, trucks, SUVs, and sedans.

That’s not to say that Fords are a lousy car per se; they’re decent values for the price, and the best-selling models always include plenty of amenities, perhaps too many.

Still, when an auto dealership like ours has a Chevy for sale or a Ford for sale, the Chevy is the one that usually sells first in our experience.

Fords are perfectly fine, but it seems like more people enjoy Chevrolets over time and keep coming back year after year to buy the latest models from us.

Visit Sanger Chevrolet to browse a full line-up of the top-selling Chevys!

If you’d like to learn more about Chevrolet trucks or other used trucks for sale at Sanger Chevrolet, contact us anytime for an appointment or stop by to speak with a knowledgeable rep who can point you in the right direction.

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