It was worth the wait.
All-new from end-to-end, the 2015 Mustang hits all the classic pony car points while making itself more attractive to a worldwide audience. The fact that, for the first time in its 50-year life, Ford designed the Mustang to be exported means a whole lot of next-level features and refinement. But has it stayed true to its all-American roots?
Rest assured, the new Mustang is as American as a Wal-Mart apple pie. For starters, there’s not an engine in the stable with less than 300 horses on tap – even the optional four-cylinder – and there’s still a naturally aspirated V8 under the hood of the GT. Power goes straight to the rear wheels through a standard manual gearbox or an optional an automatic (because ‘Murica). And the new Mustang passes the Rip Van Winkle test, immediately recognizable as nothing but a Mustang, even if you’ve been asleep for the last 20 years.
Acknowledging the past without wallowing in it
The Mustang’s styling is the first thing that grabs your attention, as it should. Despite some early concerns that the new model would end up looking like a Fusion coupe, perhaps wearing a bit too much of the Aston-like corporate mug, the production face actually draws heavily on the large grilles of later first-gen ‘Stangs. Likewise, Ford returned to a fastback roofline and lowered it for the new model. The taillights retain three individual lamps per corner (complete with sequential turn signals) nestled between a full-width, recessed black panel.
If all those details sound like the makings of a throwback design, you’d be mostly wrong. While there’s history in certain individual elements, they’re applied to an overall form that actually looks fresh and quite contemporary. Modern sheetmetal surfacing and features like the slim HID headlights keep the new Mustang from galloping down the tired path of true retro design.
The same holds for the interior. Familiar indicators like the dual-cowl dashboard and large circular gauges carry the torch, but the surfaces and material selections are entirely with the times. As if to remind us that the Mustang has always been a product of the Jet Age, the cockpit switchgear looks like it may have been lifted (at least conceptually) from, well, an aircraft cockpit, with flat toggle switches, large instruments and round vents.
Ready for the world
The interior, in fact, is the next thing that grabs your attention. If we’re being honest, the Mustang has never been known for its cockpit refinement. Materials in the past were good enough – just – if not quite world-class, but with the Mustang now headed to Asia and Europe (including a right-hand drive version) things inside were in need of improvement. This critique wasn’t unique to Ford by any means, especially in the last few years as buyers’ expectations for interior quality have evolved rapidly. The new Mustang should quiet all but the most pedantic dashstrokers.
The plastics that make up the door panels, console and dashboard are soft to the touch and have a consistent hide-like grain. At least until the owner hits it with Armor All, there are no shiny spots to be found either, except for the chrome-trimmed bits. Those may still be plastic, but Ford made sure to use real aluminum on the broad trim panels, insisting anything that looks like aluminum is the real deal.
The standard seats are in keeping with the American tradition – deeply bolstered but with lots of cushioning. For those who prefer a little firmer seat, there is a stand-alone option for genuine Recaro seats that should make the most hard-assed German driver feel right at home.
More important than cabin trimmings, however, is the new chassis. For the first time in its history, the Mustang lineup will feature a fully independent rear suspension, leaving behind the traditional live axle. The new setup uses a compact multi-link arrangement with coil springs and separate dampers to optimize rear wheel placement on the road for maximum traction. While the suspension greatly improves driver’s ability to manage power on bumps and during transitions, the real benefit can be felt from all the other seats as well. By essentially decoupling the two rear wheels’ lateral movements, ride quality is downright supple.
The new rear suspension changed things so dramatically that it meant all the development done on previous Mustang front suspensions was now null and void. A new double-pivot front suspension, still using MacPherson struts, was developed to deal with the new conditions. All told, the new Mustang looks more like a BMW or Mercedes from underneath, with handling and ride performance to match.
Brakes were another area that needed attention for certain international markets, such as the Land of the Autobahn. On all models, the standard brakes were upgraded to larger discs, both front and rear. The V6 and 2.3 EcoBoost get 12.6-inch front discs with twin-piston aluminum calipers, while the GT gets 13.9-inch discs and four-piston fixed calipers. Optional Performance Packages, available on the EcoBoost and GT models, offer bigger brakes still, with the EcoBoost getting the GT’s standard hardware and the GT benefitting from 15-inch six-piston Brembos.
Finally, there’s no more turning a key, as all 2015 Mustangs now feature push-button start.
V6, I4 or V8
For the North American market, three engines will be offered, starting with the venerable 3.7-liter V6. This all-aluminum engine makes 300 hp at 6500 rpm and 280 lb-ft of torque at 4000, and is good for a combined 22 mpg (19 city/28 hwy) with an automatic. That virtually nothing was said about this engine at the launch event, combined with the fact that it won’t be offered to the rest of the world, tells us pretty much everything we need to know. Understressed and thoroughly conventional without turbos or direct injection, it will be the most carefree version to own, particularly if a different Tom, Dick or Harry is at the wheel every day. We suspect the best place to test drive one will be your local Hertz office.
The star of the lineup is the 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder. It’s not an entirely new engine, having been used in other Ford mid-size vehicles, but the Mustang version makes the most of its impressively modern technology. A small twin-scroll turbocharger is mounted directly to the exhaust manifold that is cast as an integral part of the cylinder head. With a 9.5:1 compression ratio, it produces a modest boost to the intake pressure to bolster torque in the lower rpm range, allowing the direct-injected engine to run on 87-octane pump gas. Running on 93-octance premium, output is heady at 310 hp at 5500 rpm (making it the highest hp-per-liter engine in the Ford lineup). Torque comes on thick across a wide rpm range, peaking at 320 lb-ft from 2500 to 4500 rpm.
Ford expects the EcoBoost to be its biggest seller, not only because of its all-around drivability, but also because of its economy. Despite its higher performance level, the EcoBoost also outperforms the V6 in fuel economy, with 21 city and 32 highway mpg (25 combined) with the optional six-speed automatic. The standard six-speed manual will trade 1 mpg more in town for 1 mpg less on the highway (22 city/31 hwy/26 combined), but is a far more engaging setup for spirited driving, even with the automatic’s standard paddle shifters.
The Mustang GT lives on with a true 5.0-liter (4951 cc) V8. An evolution of the previous Boss 302, the 32-valve all-aluminum engine makes 435 hp at 6500 rpm and 400 lb-ft at 4000. Stainless tubular headers help it deliver its signature small-block bark. It’s the thirstiest of the trio, of course, rated at 16 and 25 mpg (21 combined) with a manual, and 15 and 25 mpg (21 combined) with the option automatic. If past experience is any indicator, performance enthusiasts will continue to flock to the Getrag-built manual.
The Personal Car gets more personal
When the Mustang first arrived half a century ago, it was celebrated as a “personal car,” an expression of its owner’s personality as much as it was a means of getting from A to B. That never changed, and the 2015 Mustang is packed with features that help make each one more personalized.
These range from the seemingly simple, like user-selectable LED mood lighting for the interior, variable power steering assist with settings for comfort, normal and sport, plus selectable drive modes (normal, sport, sport + and track) that alter settings for ABS and traction control intervention.
Future Mustang collectors may one day whip out a vintage iPhone 5 to show off the new Mustang App. Or at least the home screen, since we’re not sure if any of the content will be accessible down the road. But for now anyway, the mobile app displays a quick-start guide to the 2015 model, as well as a racetrack locator, links to Mustang resources, a brief history of the Mustang, and an augmented reality tour of the car’s features. Gimmicky? Yes, but what the hell. It’s a fun way for fans of the car to connect with it on another level.
Our favorite personalization option is the Performance Package. Bigger brakes, better wheels and tires, stiffer suspension, extra gauges…need we say more? Let’s face it, the Mustang didn’t get to be so popular by only appealing to the hardcore enthusiast. In standard form, the Mustang is plenty sporty for most people. But Ford knows some of us demand more from the drive, and that’s exactly who the Performance Package is for.
On the road
We drove both the Mustang EcoBoost and the Mustang GT through the canyon roads north of Los Angeles and into Malibu, a set of roads often favored more by tuned Euro cars and sport bikes than American muscle. Nevertheless, the Mustang proved all the hype about its new suspension and brakes was more than mere marketing mumble. It was also a great place to play with all the variable settings, like steering and drive control.
Paired with the automatic transmission and lacking the Performance Package, the Mustang EcoBoost was an enjoyable all-around performer, though nothing particularly stood out about it. There was always power on hand, but the transmission robbed a bit of the fun from the 3524-pound coupe. Manual shifting sharpened up the experience a bit, allowing us work the powerband more effectively, and we were glad that the gearbox held the chosen gear between corners rather than upshifting for us.
Equipped as it was, the standard 17-inch wheels and 235/55 all-season tires played along the best they could but weren’t up to hard corners. The standard brakes served us just fine for our brief stint on Mulholland Highway, but the steering assist only felt right in sport mode for the twisty sections. We suspect most people will probably leave it in normal mode, which is quick and light, but left us wondering why anyone would ever need the comfort setting.
For an enthusiast driver with a long commute and a modest budget, the EcoBoost with a manual transmission and a Performance Package could offer a lot bang for the buck. The upgrade not only nets bigger brakes, but also a shorter (numerically) 3.55:1 final drive ratio for better acceleration; black-painted 19×9-inch wheels with 255/40 summer rubber; firmer springs, dampers and bushings; a K-brace that ties strut towers to the firewall; recalibrated ABS and stability control settings; plus a pair of dash-mounted gauges to monitor boost and oil pressure.
The Mustang GT was exactly the car we expected it to be, only better on the switchbacks than we could have predicted. The V8′s power and torque combination meant quick bursts between corners, and pulling hills was never an issue. Ours had the optional Performance Package, which is the only way we’d buy it.
By contrast to the EcoBoost’s all-season setup, the GT’s staggered 255/40-19 front and 275/40-19 rear high-performance summer tires were sticky and predictable. The staggered sizing gives the rear more grip than the front, especially under acceleration when weight is transferred rearward. More than once we noticed the nose seemed to get a little light when the pace picked up, pushing through corners a bit more than we would prefer.
The one feature we were unable to try (the local police were wise to our presence by the time we got around to it) was the drag racer’s Line Lock feature. As with a built dragster, the feature allows full lock on the front brakes while leaving the rears free to spin, ostensibly to get a little heat in your slicks just before you pre-stage for a bracket run. In reality, we suspect this feature will get more use on desolate country roads and empty industrial parks, immediately following the phrase, “Dude, is it clear?”
Regardless of engine, transmission or setup, the new Mustang feels lighter than its modest weight gain – between 6 and 78 pounds, depending on the model – compared to the last generation. Losing the live axle may have added most of that weight, some of which was offset by aluminum front fenders and hood, but the dynamic advantages are worth the penalty. The Mustang now tracks corners faithfully, undeterred by potholes or other sudden bumps in the pavement, which would have redirected its solid-axle relatives. There’s a sinuous nature to the ride quality now, making it so much easier to drive fast when you’re not fighting the car.
Leftlane’s bottom line
Ford has a winner on its hands. The new Mustang addresses pretty much all of the previous models’ ills without robbing it of its soul. And this is just the beginning. We can’t wait to see what Ford develops as the model matures.
2015 Ford Mustang (3.7L V6) – Base price $24,425 including $825 destination, 6-speed automatic $1195,
2015 Ford Mustang Eco Boost (2.3L I4/turbo) – Base price $25,995 including $825 destination, Premium Package Base price $29,995 including leather interior and $825 destination, 6-speed automatic $1195, Performance Package $1995, Recaro seats $1595
2015 Ford Mustang GT (5.0L V8) – Base price $32,925 including $825 destination, Premium Package Base price $36,925 including leather interior and $825 destination, 6-speed automatic $1195, Performance Package $2495, Leather Recaro seats $1595
Photos by Bryan Joslin
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