Mustang

Vehicle: 2011 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe Pony Pkg with Interior Upgrade Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$25961

Performance: Although the updated Mustang V6 doesn’t come with Ford’s impressive Ecoboost twin-turbo V6, its power delivery didn’t disappointed us for one single bit. In fact, its a delightful surprise that even without Ecoboost. The Mustang V6 is able to deliver such a stunning performance in base trim. As with the upgraded V8 GT, both of these engines receive Ford’s advanced Ti-VCT or what Ford called Twin Independent Variable Camshart timing. That is able to improve the engine output while improving the fuel economy. In V6 guise, the Mustang delivers 305 ponies and 280 lb/ft of torque. That means plenty of low-end grunt when driven off-the-line, both the mid and upper ranges are equally impressive. In terms of acceleration, this V6 equals last year’s V8. The seat-of-the-pants feel suggests the same story. This V6 is not only powerful, its also extremely refined and smooth. At the same time, delivering superb engine note that is music to every driving enthuisast’s ears. No wonder Ford has to upgrade the V8 with the same Ti-VCT technology in order to produce 415hp and 309 lb/ft of torque, or those die-hard V8 Mustang fans would feel very pissed off. On top of that, the 6-speed manual has perfect gear ratios. That’s despite it still suffers from Mustang’s low throw and slight rubbery gates. The clutch, however, its light and progressive.

Handling: With the introduction of the new Mustang, Ford has proved itself that muscle car doesn’t mean only going straight line. Thanks to a stiff chassis and a superb calibrated suspension, the Mustang V6 hangs itself like a magnet on the road. The suspension is comfortably compliant which means it rides firmly without being harsh on all the rough pavements. Its European firm but far from being harsh. The body motions are well-controlled. When pushed the Mustang into a corner, the suspension takes a set and begin to settle itself in nicely. Steering provides good feel and feedback with enough precision. Just like its rear-wheel-drive 50/50 perfect weight distribution, the entire car feels very balanced and agile when hustled around corners. When mated to Ford’s AdvanceTrac with ESC, which is an uninstrusive type that doesn’t step in unnecessarily. It all wraps up Mustang’s sophiscated dynamic package.

Brakes: With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, the new Mustang no longer has the spongy pedal feel as the Mustang of a decade or so ago. The stopping distance is short, while pedal always feels reassuring and confidence-inspiring. Add to the ABS which only acts necessarily. The Mustang is as good as it gets.

Interior: Just like the rest of the vehicle, Mustang’s inside feels as sophiscated as its driving experience. Previous Mustang interiors were cheap and nasty, the new Mustang feels classy and sophiscated. Thanks to the use of quality plastic and leather materials in the cabin. Those leather seats provide decent thigh and back support, although we would prefer more side support when cornering.

Conclusion: A drive in the Mustang V6 has proved why Ford is the only American carmaker without getting any government bailout. When they launched the Mustang last year, its already acclaimed as the best muscle car in the business. With the introduction of two upgraded powertrains, its able to use Mustang’s chassis more wisely. As for the V6, its so powerful and refined that one could possibly make those who bought a V8 last year as the most regretful event in his or her lives.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2011 Ford Mustang V6
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Performance: 4.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4.5/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Vehicle: 2010 Ford Mustang GT Coupe with Premier Trim w/ Color Accent Pkg, GT Track Pkg 1 and Security Pkg
Price as tested: CDN$39799

Performance: Ford has lots on riding with the all-new Mustang, does the new version deliver what it promises? We will find out after this test drive.

The subject of our tester is the uplevel GT Coupe, which is motivated by a wonderful V8 engine under the hood. This SOHC V8 has 4.6 liters of displacement and 32-valves, which is far more sophiscated than any Mustang V8s in the past with pushrod variant. This latest engine has 315 ponies and 325 lb/ft of torque at driver’s disposal. As one expects from an American muscle car, the amount of torque is amazing. 325 lb/ft of torque delivers at 4250 rpm. Drop the anchor and the Mustang flies off-the-line with authority. It also does it with a healthy mid and top range thanks to its 325 hp rating. The throttle response is quick without usual American muscle car’s nasty trait, which is overly sensitive. The 5-speed manual gearbox has nice throw and clean gates, with a light and progressive clutch that provide decent feedback. An addition of a 6th gear would help Mustang significantly, especially on highway cruising. That’s primarily because it revs rather buzzy on the highway even with its sports car status.

Handling: A good sports car has to build on a good fundamantal. The new Mustang has achieved that aplentry. There is a strong and solid chassis for suspension components to hang its heads. Despite the fact that Mustang still suspends with coil springs and Panhard Rod at the rear, its handling is remarkably civilized. While the tail remains very actively slip out when pushed hard through corners, its very easy to control whenever a driver lifts off throttle for correction. The entire car has a very nimble and sure-footness feel that are unfound in Mustangs of the past. The biggest delightful surprise is how sophiscated the new Mustang feel. While the old ones feel cruel and rough around the edges, the new one feels refined and solid. That is something we are not expecting from an American muscle car. It also shows how much the automotive technology has come along in the last decade. The stability control has acted accordingly for enthuisast to have some oversteer fun before steps in. Last but not least, the steering provides excellent feel and feedback. The steering weight and precision are something we are not expecting to find in a Mustang. It has the sort of responsiveness and feedback that ones reserved for Porsche. Dynamically speaking, Ford has done a great job with the new Mustang.

Brakes: With all-wheel discs and standard ABS, the Mustang’s brake feel and feedback have enough sophiscation to match with the rest of the vehicle. Gone is the mushy and numb brake feel of Mustang of yesteryear. In with the solid and firm pedal feel that are matching a performance car in this caliber. The ABS works exceptionally well, as it doesn’t act up at the wrong time.

Interior: The amount of cargo space is good enough for 2 persons on a weekend trip. Throw a couple of travel bags, you shouldn’t be mind the seriously high liftover.

The rear space is cramped especially when the front passengers moved the seats backward. My advice. Leave the Mustang as a 2-seater and leave the back as “dog seats”.

Since the introduction of the Flex, Ford’s interiors have come a long way. Gone are the nasty and cheap plastic materials, in with much classier materials that are soft to the touch. There are plenty of soft plastic around the top of the dashboard to the center console, while the tasteful aluminum trim has added some flash to the the interior. The leather sports seats provide excellent side and lower support when its time to play. Everything else from the stereo, climate control and Microsoft Sync system are all very ergonomically placed; as well as used. If there is one minor pet peeve, its the thick A-pillars. You can’t see both left and right at 45 degrees.

Conclusion: Ford has done a wonderful job on redesigning the Mustang. Its not only got much more sophiscated than before, it also has got grace and pace to match its nice exterior and classy interior.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 Ford Mustang
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Performance: 5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 4/5

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Vehicle: 2005 Ford Mustang GT Coupe with red leather sports bucket seats, interior upgrade pkg and interior accent pkg
Price as tested: CDN$35565

Performance: The new Mustang is powered by 2 engines. A DOHC 4.0L V6 with 210 ponies and 240 lb/ft of torque and the V8 in our tester, an OHV 4.6L 24-valver that bumps out a healthy 300 horses and 320 lb/ft of torque. After years of refining the pushrod technology, this V8 feels a lot more refined than before. With 320 lb/ft of torque available at 4500 rpm, there are plenty of torque available in the bottom end. Just like many pushrod units, this V8 still somewhat lacks the high rev punch when pushed into redline. The throttle response is very quick without being too abrupt. It also comes with a beautiful exhaust note that is typical of American pushrod V8 muscle car. Unlike all the muscle cars preceding this Mustang, it actually has a refined and sophiscated feel. While the 5-speed stick shift provides decent ratios and gates are well defined, it feels notchy when rowing through gears. The clutch feels heavier than its predecessors which means it has better feel. It feels progressive while the grabbing point is at the right place.

Handling: Instead of going for rear independent suspension, Ford decided to keep the panhard rod in order to please those drag racers. Despite that, Ford has done a really good job on improving Mustang’s dynamic qualities. With the newfound chassis that shares with Thunderbird, Lincoln LS and Jaguar S-Type, its torsional rigidty is 31% stiffer than its predecessor. Unlike its predecessor, there are no more chassis flex and rattles when going through bumps and rough pavements. The whole car feels solid and built right from the single bullet which I can never said that about previous Mustangs. The steering feels a lot sharper, responsive and precise when hustled through corners. Both the off and on-center feel are huge improvements. However, the turn-in still feels a bit too light for my liking. Another stubborn Ford tuning regarding this Mustang is the amount of understeer, it still has way too much understeer for a rear-driver. Yes, understeer is easier to control for unskilled drivers in a front driver. However, it prefers a bit more oversteer than understeer in this rear-driver although the target audience of Mustang prefers latter.

Brakes: Another area Ford has addressed is the pedal feel. Previous Mustang’s pedal feels mushy and easily fade after a couple of hard stops. Not so in the new Mustang. With 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, the pedal feels firm and easily modulated. The pedal effort feels just right when you hit the anchor.

Interior: Inside the new Mustang, everything are tastefully layout with a nice set of instrumentation gauges and decent ergonomics. The interior upgrade package includes in our tester offers 8 different colors for people who want to play around their car’s instrumentation colors. While its a nifty touch, I found this a grimmick. The seats are comfortable and provide decent support, however, it still feels too flat for a proper sports car. Other than the amount of hard plastic, my other complaint of Mustang’s interior is the handbrake lever. When the handbrake is up, its position feels awkward due to the height and size.

Conclusion: Despite of my criticisms, the 2005 Mustang is indeed the best Mustang ever. It finally got the chassis, refinement and quality it deserves. Ford is also smart enough to inject some sophiscation that lacks in all muscle cars. In short, a very nice package.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2005 FORD MUSTANG GT COUPE
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Performance: 4.75/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 4/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2/5
Value-for-money: 5/5

Overall rating: 4/5