Took A 2016 Ford Mustang For A Drive

[PranK]

Firstly the interior.

The seat position was good, i felt like I could get myself into any comfortable position, either up against the wheel for track use or further back and lower for cruising. The seats were quite supportive and felt nice. The steering wheel was a good size and the paddles were well positioned.

The screen in the middle looked nice and had quite a high resolution. The 4 rocker switches underneath were funny, they were for drive type (Normal, Sport+, Track, Wet/Snow), Steering type (Normal, Sport, Comfort), Traction Control Off and Hazard Lights.... I thought it was amusing that Hazard Lights were in with the drive/handling types, ie turn off TCS and you'll need the Hazards. The switches only rocked upwards and not downwards which irritated me.

The cup holders in the centre had light up red rings in them. They were a bit off, not quite what you'd expect in there.

I felt sorry for anybody that has to sit in the back of one of these when somebody my size is driving.

The plastic that made up the door cards was ghastly! It was very much the kind of plastic you'd expect to find in a 1998 Camry. Absolutely horrible. In my opinion this plastic brought the whole interior down.

On the way in or out of the car, you step of the 'Mustang' door sill that is illuminated red.

Outside the car, the puddle light is a Mustang logo. Looks great but I fear it is probably lacking in the useful department and would love to see people trying to avoid puddles with it.

I think the car looks awesome! I am not a staunch Mustang guy, I haven't liked almost all of the new models, they have looked underdone and plastic. This looks a smidge European but while retaining its muscle roots. The red is nicely aggressive also. The bonnet is seriously long and is constantly in your face when driving the car.

I didn't get an opportunity to really open it up but I did give it a few healthy squirts around the city. The sound of this car is intoxicating. I wanted to keep accelerating hard so I could hear it again. I'm not usually a V8 kinda guy, but this is really a nice soundtrack. What I find is a pity is the choices of driving type. I spent time in mainly Normal/Comfort and Sport+, the issue is that in Normal, the car is sluggish and unresponsive and I had to mash my foot through the firewall to get it to do anything, while in Sport+ it was horrible on edge and would lurch all over the place if you just moved your foot past the happy peddle. The lack of a middle ground between these was super frustrating and made it really hard to drive around the city.

In Sport+ when you mashed your foot, the rear would squat and it would take off really nicely with what I'd expect to be a smooth, gradual power curve.

Brakes are nice and pulled the car up easily but as I said I didn't get the car out of the city to give it a good run, same goes for the suspension, it was definitely not too hard and firm but I was far from pushing this car hard enough to try them out.

I think, for what it is its a great car and if we were in the US market and could get one for $30 - $40k it'd be a helluva option. But this car in Australia is $85,000 (as tested, $~63k in stock form)! Over $20k more than the GT350R available in the States (for $62k ish). This car has to compete with a lot of nice cars at that price and I just don't think it is worth it. Even a Commodore SS Redline is only $58k. I don't see how the Mustang would compete even at that price.

For more pics, check out the gallery.

[Mohsen]

how many people did you kill? 10?

[GTofuS-T]

No engine bay shots??

Totes should've tracked it

[PranK]

how many people did you kill? 10?

Who's asking?

[zebra]

Still thinking I should order one

But dont want the wait

[RBrennan25]

Still thinking I should order one

But dont want the wait

Order me one please

Want one of these so bad. Drove behind one on Friday night and the exhaust note is absolutely awesome

[GeeDog]

Did you have a good look at the panel fit & paint - Ford forums say they are shocking and the new one I looked at a few months ago was the same. very poor panel fit & alignment, and panel colours not quite matching. I thought about one for a few minutes before deciding that made in the US probably didn't give the quality I want.

[Shoota_77]

My boss bought a red convertible. I much prefer the look of the coupe. As Prank says the interior is HORRIBLE!! I was very underwhelmed when I hopped in. It just doesn't look finished off properly. They're good value for money but cheap at the same time. Switches are cheap and nasty. In this day and age it's unacceptable to be as bad as it is. Don't get me wrong I love the look of it but definitely not for me.

Give me $55k worth of updates on my GT-R any day rather than $70k on one of these!!!

[luke gtr]

So, when are you starting fau?

[NISSAN GTR]

Great review Christian

Agree Its well overpriced for the base model 63k , i would prefer the M3 V8 E92 for that money .

Did the Transmission shift down quick in sport+ ?

[PranK]

Great review Christian

Agree Its well overpriced for the base model 63k , i would prefer the M3 V8 E92 for that money .

Did the Transmission shift down quick in sport+ ?

The rev matching on paddle down shift was actually really good. I was down shifting a lot because the revs squirt sounded and felt really good.

[junkie]

you don't buy a mustang for its build quality

its an oldschool muscle car - you buy it for the looks, the sound and the cruising ability. anything else that it does well is simply a bonus

ive driven mustangs and camaros in the states and loved them. but no point comparing them to anything european

[JZP]

My boss got one of the first ones into the country (his wife works at a dealership).

Personally I like them. Bit 'kitsch' but cool too. Design seems to be completely different to focus/mondeo/fiesta school of thought.

I don't even mind the 4cylinder variant. Not far off v8 performance.

It's aching for an exhaust and fiddle with turbos. Reckon it'd make a good drift car. Can imagine a red bull logo on one.

[Shoota_77]

you don't buy a mustang for its build quality

its an oldschool muscle car - you buy it for the looks, the sound and the cruising ability. anything else that it does well is simply a bonus

ive driven mustangs and camaros in the states and loved them. but no point comparing them to anything european

You don't buy an OLD Mustang for build quality. It's 2016, this car has the fit and finish of a car 10 years ago. Not good enough. It's definitely got cool factor but not enough for me.

[RiseofBrutality]

I saw this car last night on Epping Rd near The Ranch, was that you driving Prank?

Looked awesome

[thewayweroll]

Took on one for a spin yesterday ,very cool car ,just didnt feel like 306kw ??

[Leroy Peterson]

anyone got any feedback from the 2.3L version? would definitely be my pick.

This, like the 86, you cant really be too picky on quality. you're paying for looks and fun and there will be compromises. its a RWD coupe for under $80,000: its never going to be perfect. The 90's are over. Modular cars and unprofitable car prices are all the rage.

[PranK]

I saw this car last night on Epping Rd near The Ranch, was that you driving Prank?

Looked awesome

Nope, I was in Pyrmont. They definitely have presence.

[niZmO_Man]

Design seems to be completely different to focus/mondeo/fiesta school of thought.

Yeah those cars sell more in Europe, Mustang is all 'Murican yee hawww. Bit too expensive though, better off with a WRX .

[JZP]

Yeah those cars sell more in Europe, Mustang is all 'Murican yee hawww. Bit too expensive though, better off with a WRX .

Saw a wrx in showroom recently. Great value for money, will consider closely when my focus ST is due for replacement.

Also noticed the turbo 2 litre they use in the WRX is the same base NA engine that is in the BRZ/86. Now they've strapped a turbo to that engine, I reckon the turbo will soon turn up in the BRZ (son of rajab help us).