2021 Ford Mustang S550 Fastback
I’ve not owned an American car for several years. After a health scare a while back, I sold my 1956 Ford Customline Victoria Coupe and the 1966 Ford Fairlane Squire woody station wagon. Since then I’ve had several ‘future classics’, including a scary-fast supercharged V8 Jaguar XKR, but not having an American car has bugged me.
As you’ll have read in the Mustang supplement (July issue), after careful research I opted for a year-old, sixth-generation S550 5.0 litre V8 Mustang GT fastback in Twister Orange. If it had been the same spec, but with the fourcylinder turbo-charged EcoBoost engine, I’d have probably bought it anyway. However, in retrospect, I’m pleased the V8 came along first. That said, last year Ford stopped importing the UK spec EcoBoost, citing only a 15% takeup for the more economical car.
Maybe increasing fuel prices will reverse that decision?
The Mustang is a true Grand Tourer. While the rear seats are impractical for adults, they are good for coats and bags. The boot space is generous and the rear seats fold down, so although access is a little limited there’s plenty of space inside, certainly enough for a fourday break to a country hotel that my wife and I took recently. Fuel consumption is between 17 and 20mpg around suburbia. However, having reset the trip, I was surprised to achieve 38.4mpg on a recent 80-mile motorway run with A/C off and Adaptive Cruise on. With local sightseeing in the following days, albeit on generally quiet A-roads, it dropped a bit, but on getting home the average consumption for the week was still an acceptable 29mpg. Pretty good for the
5.0 litre V8!