By Paul Gover.
The Ford Mustang refuses to die.
That’s a good thing for the ageing Boomers who craved a fast car through the 1970s, and now have the money to live their dream, as well as anyone who loves the rumble of an old-school V8 engine.
In a world of high-and-mighty SUVs, the ’stang is also an antidote to the rush towards electrification and self-driving cars.
Autonomous battery cars are coming, but the Mustang is still with us and there are plans for an all-new model for 2023 and the years to follow.
But Ford also has the Mach-E, a fully electric ’stang, although it’s not coming to Australia any time soon.
That means the focus is still on the V8-powered Mustang, which has a starting price of $64,190 as a two-door coupe with a six-speed manual gearbox.
It’s a unicorn in Australia now the Chevrolet Camaro is gone, but there is still plenty of life in the old beast.
It turns heads when people hear the rumble at idle and they keep smiling when they see the muscle car shape.
The latest package has been tweaked to remove some of the shortcomings of the earlier Mustangs, which only arrived when Ford in the USA finally committed to build right-hand drive cars at the factory.
So it has a big and clear digital dash display, big alloy wheels, a slick six-speed shifter – which even blips the engine for you on down-changes – and impressive finishing in the cabin.
The test car comes with 12-speaker sound, an impressive Sync-3 infotainment package, and is even fitted with heated and cooled front bucket seats.
The infotainment package is slick and easy to use, in contrast to some recent test cars from Europe, and the only downside to the cooled seats in our summer weather is the annoying buzz of the electric motor on the passenger’s side.
But the Mustang is all about driving.
It feels solid, rides well, and has good brakes.
In the past it has felt like a two-door version of the old Ford Falcon, with the emphasis on old, but the Mustang now has independent rear suspension, good steering feel and an excellent driving position.
It’s all about the engine these days, and the latest Ford V8 – called the Coyote – makes 339 kiloWatts from 5.0 litres. But it’s the 556 Newton-metres of torque that makes it easy and fun to drive.
You can lope along in third or fourth gear at 60km/h without any fuss, but the engine also thumps up to 7500 revs if you’re in the mood.
The ’theatre’ in the car includes a shift display with lights that illuminate as you get closer to the redline. As well as Mustang logos that are projected onto the ground when you open the doors at night.
The latest ’stang also has special off-road driving modes – track and drag race – that allow the car to be thrown around and flat-out thrashed. But ONLY on a racetrack.
They remove the safety net of the driving aims, especially stability control and that means they are not for youngsters or anyone who is not paying attention to the job of driving.
The job is easy in the Mustang but there is one giant downside. Fuel consumption.
At a time when fuel is within sniffing of $2.00 a litre, the thirst of the Mustang is not fun. Even driven lightly it struggles to better 12 litres/100km, and if you put your foot down it rapidly escalates towards 16 litres/100km.
No wonder there are plenty of people asking about the Mach-E . . .
But the modern Mustang is a good car, and a fun car, and ignites the same passions as for the performance versions of the Aussie Falcon.
It deserves a place in showrooms in 2021 because it is unique and enjoyable, even if it sometimes feels like a dinosaur skirting around the edges of the tar pits.
THE BASICS
Ford Mustang
Price: from $64,190
Engine: 5.0-litre petrol V8
Power: 339kW/556Nm
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Position: sports car
Plus: driving enjoyment, V8 engine
Minus: can be coarse, fuel economy
THE TICK: not for everyone
Score: 7.5/10
