10 million in, it still pays to be Mustang Savvy
LAST MONTH THE 10 millionth Ford Mustang rolled off the production line, marking it out as the United States’ best-selling sports car of the last half century. To be fair, it is easy to see how the car has reached this achievement. Even those who know nothing or have no interest in automobiles are aware of the name: Mustang. It is as synonymous with Americana as Coca Cola and Marilyn Monroe. Steve McQueen looked effortlessly cool driving one in 1968’s Bullitt, but unlike other movie–famous cars, the Mustang was never out of the realms of possibility for the everyday person to acquire. Despite its power and style a Mustang has always been available for a relatively modest sum. This working class hero therefore spread throughout the land and world. We mean, what would you rather have; a mid to high-spec Japanese saloon, or an entry-level gurgling, gorgeous hunk of metal like this? We think the choice is simple.
Different powertrains
Evolving merely straight-line performance from which the model garnered its traditional reputation, you can now customise your Mustang’s power to suit your requirements. There’s the more modest 2.3-litre turbo EcoBoost four-cylinder engine which offers advantages over the outgoing 3.7-litre V6 with 310hp and 475Nm of torque. Then there’s the five-litre V8 we know and love, which has been reworked for 2018. It is more powerful and revs higher than any Mustang GT before it, delivering 460hp and 570Nm of torque. This power increase was achieved with the application of dual-fuel, highpressure direct injection and low-pressure port fuel injection on a V8 engine.
A cracking gearbox
A new 10-speed automatic transmission, available with both the EcoBoost turbo fourcylinder engine and naturallyaspirated V8, is reportedly the best automatic Mustang has ever offered. With a wideratio span and optimised gear spacing, the gearbox helps deliver higher average power for acceleration – improving responsiveness and performance.
More spritely
We don’t know if it’s the new styling winning us over, or perhaps the MyMode memory function being able to save all our favourite driving settings including the suspension and steering preferences, but it definitely has an agility we wouldn’t associate with any previous Mustangs. Then there’s the choice of driving mode: Normal, Sport+, Snow/ Wet/Track and Drag.
Would we get one?
What do you think? Entering into the Mustang’s heritage continues to be an item on our bucket list and we believe the 2018 version would be an ideal model with which to saddle up.