New Mustang has lots of appeal

Is the new Ford Mustang worth all the hype that’s surrounded it for months? Damien O’carroll reports.

The new Ford Mustang’s first appearance in official factory-built right-hand drive form has been eagerly awaited to say the least. In fact, the very idea that Ford New Zealand can pretty much sell every example of a big RWD two-door coupe it can get its hands on in an age where nobody is particularly interested in big RWD two-door coupes as a practical form of transport says rather a lot about the pent-up demand for the Mustang. But “demand” doesn’t automatically mean “good” in the car world, particularly in the world of the American car. So does the Mustang stack up? Well, it really does depend on your preconceived ideas of what exactly a Mustang should be. The first thing you need to know about the blatantly orange V8-powered Mustang GT you see here is that it isn’t a muscle car. Nope, that would be your fire-breathing Shelby, Roush, Steeda and Saleen cars, or even the in-house Ford efforts that have given us such evocative muscle cars as the Mach 1, Boss and King Cobra (sorry, couldn’t resist that one). No, the bog-standard Mustang GT is basically a two-door Falcon coupe. Now that I have offended the Mustang fanatics properly, I will go even further by saying that a Falcon coupe would actually be more of a muscle car than the GT, largely thanks to Ford’s current strategy of jamming its FPV engines into standard XR Falcons, because why not? That is a long way of saying that we have been slightly spoiled for V8 performance engines in this part of the world lately, as Ford and Holden have one last competitive blast to see whose big V8 sedan can go out on the most ludicrously powerful note. That means the American Mustang is something of a tamer, subtler proposition than the current batch of loud, angry V8s from Australia. It is also a lot lower quality proposition than the local offerings as well, with its very American interior being almost exclusively made from hard, cheap-feeling plastics. While the materials are a long way from premium, there is quality where it counts – the seats are superbly comfortable (even if you do sit higher than would be preferable), the stereo is fantastic (as is the Sync2 infotainment system) and the general layout is surprisingly sensible. The same can’t be said of the switch gear, however, which is strangely switch-based when a perfectly good button would do a far better job, as well as being oddly slow to respond to inputs. Anyway, while the interior looks great, but isn’t, the exterior is simply great all over. Finally, this is a modern Mustang that has all of its proportions just right (largely thanks to the long-overdue move to a modern rear suspension setup) and as a result looks sleekly aggressive and somewhat sinister, even in the comedy orange of our test car. Under the bonnet lurks Ford’s fivelitre Coyote naturally-aspirated V8 that pumps out 306kw of power and 530Nm of torque, hooked up to a six-speed automatic transmission. This all adds up to a car that can move along at a very decent rate indeed, with a nicely refined V8 noise accompanying the motion. The noise IS fed through the speakers, however, and while it is actually imperceptible, the idea that your V8 roar isn’t entirely natural does grate for some people. “Refined” is a word that keeps coming up when you spend some time with the Mustang GT, as it offers a surprising amount of refinement in regards to its engine, transmission, ride and handling characteristics. While the transmission can and does get a bit flustered and clunky at times, for the most part it is slick and smooth, as well as being impressively quick on the shifts. The V8 is also impressively refined and smooth, but can be provoked into something a bit more aggressive and belligerent when needed. While its power and torque numbers aren’t that far off the XR8 and are very close indeed to the Commodore SS-V, the Mustang’s power delivery and overall attitude is far more relaxed and considered. The ride and handling is where the Mustang truly impresses, however, with a firm, but never harsh, ride that is actually very comfortable at open road speeds accompanied by an approach to handling that is almost un-american. That is; it actually handles well. The big Mustang feels surprisingly lithe and agile, with nicely weighted steering that offers a little (but only a little, mind you) feel and feedback. The Mustang has undoubted appeal and a massively rich history, and its appearance on the local market is a welcome one. For those wanting to live the American dream and enjoy all that appeal and history in a thoroughly modern package that looks fantastic.