Ford release their new Mustang with an enhanced 5.0 litre V8 engine. There’s also a 2.3 litre engine, but more on that later.
The only way to balance all that 5.0 V8 power and get it all down without rattling out your kidneys all over our European roads was to develop the fantastic MagneRide suspension. MagneRide includes 4 driving modes and an active valve performance exhaust with the ‘Good Neighbour Mode’ which ensures you don’t wake up the neighbours….unless you want to.
As for the technology in the cabin, the Sat Nav was never happy to settle on any instructions and constantly changed its mind. Luckily as is common in most tech savvy cars these days, Google Maps is only a Bluetooth connection away. But is this good enough in a €55k (2.3 Ecoboost) car.
Outside, the lines are classic and well cut. The beef and muscle are in the right places, over the arches and bonnet, even the boot cut is perfect. But the brake lenses and indicators on the rear use clear plastics to cover them and it throws off the colour balance of the car, until the lights come on. Dark coloured brake lenses would really finish off the rear nicely.
The Manual is strangely not as slick as the automatic (all 10 gears), purists rage about Manual and in this car that should be the case. Amazingly the Auto makes the right changes at the correct time and before you’ve even thought about it, the auto has done it’s job and is whirring nicely into the next gear. It’s the same whether you’re taking it easy as well as spirited mountain driving. Which, lets be honest we can’t be on it all the time. Can we?
Reasons to buy the 2.3 EcoBoost:
It’s still fun and frugal but popular opinion dictates that you might regret not securing the 5.0 real deal V8 Mustang. But who are you to be dictated to? I can understand why so many 2.3’s are sold. It’s lighter and a more adept car, easy to drive for it’s size and you won’t spend all your time at the pumps. Even if we are currently experiencing an economic boom, it’s just good sense to be energy savvy. The direct fuel injection, twin independent variable camshaft produces 317 PS and 432 Nm of torque, with a top speed of 145mph and a 0-62mph time of 5.8 seconds. So it’s no slouch by any means.
The 5.0 is an obvious choice if you can afford to buy wholeheartedly into the Mustang brand. It has all of the character and charisma that the film suggests. From the minute you lower yourself into the leather seats, you are Frank Bullitt. The 2.3 is no less manly and it really just makes more sense in a small country like Ireland.
The interior is a fine place but could do with less ‘Ford saloon’ influence in the switches and dials designer touches. The Classic style sits well here but a few corners have been cut in the quality of the materials used.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gfye0ZStZc&w=560&h=315]