Ford Mustang 2018 Review

Improving the breed

The 2018 Ford Mustang is the best iteration of the storied pony car yet.

That’s a big call. Surely we should at least deliberate until the end of the review before arriving a punchy, well-informed conclusion?

In that case, the watered down version is that this Mustang is definitely the most enjoyable.

It is also a car that begins living up to its true out-of-the-box potential.

It can corner, it sounds terrific, it’s laden with tech and it scores enough on-board safety equipment to earn an extra star in its much-publicised safety rating – so long as you can live with its inherent quirks.

Available in Australian showrooms from later this month, the Mustang is subject to price increases of up to $9000 across the range.

Entry into the Mustang portfolio now starts at $49,990 for the four-cylinder EcoBoost and $62,990 for the V8-powered GT manual.

There are gripes, both new and carry-over. But more than that, with the higher price tag, has the fang-dangled Mustang ditched its ‘sports car for the people’ origins?

We travelled to The Bend, a brand-new circuit at Tailem Bend in South Australia to seek an answer.

Fresh beginnings

The chief engineer of the Mustang, Carl Widmann, inadvertently snapshots the 2018 updates when he talks about its new ‘active exhaust system’.

Specifically, he reveals the reason for a new ‘quiet mode’ developed in part by a scenario that unfolds each morning from his Michigan home.

“One of my neighbours has Mustangs on either side of him, and one of them is mine. I live in old-school surburbia, so when I start the car it’s right next to his son’s bedroom window,” Widmann says with a cheeky grin.

“The Mustang is a community car, so the ‘quiet mode’ is about being more neighbourly. It works by saying ‘what time is it?’ and then it adjusts the exhaust depending on if you programed ‘quiet mode’ for a certain window of day,” he says.

In short, Ford engineers focussed on the Mustang’s existing niggles in this mid-life facelift, and then went about providing real-world solutions.

The active exhaust system also addresses complaints about a lack of theatre. In a similar vein, engineers integrated both port and direct injection and increased bore size (overall engine capacity is now 5038cc) to elicit higher 339kW and 556Nm outputs from the 5.0-litre V8 engine (a 33kW/26Nm increase).

The optional $3000 10-speed automatic rounds out major changes for those not interested in shifting the standard six-speed manual themselves.

Moreover, the car’s dynamic envelope is broadened with redeveloped electrically-assisted steering complemented by new shock absorbers and a new cross-axis joint in the rear.

The bigger on-road revelation is delivered with optional $2750 Magneride dampers offering different stiffness and compliance depending on driving mode, reacting to road surface changes as frequently as 1000 times per second.

There are styling changes front and rear, aimed at delivering a punchier, more dynamic façade than before – most of that detailed in our walkaround video.

Ford has shared some of the changes across its entry-level four-cylinder EcoBoost model, but we’ll share that experience another time.

Embracing your flaws

Jumping behind the wheel of the new ‘Stang brings refreshing change along with some familiar gripes.

The car’s new 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster is the first eye-catching piece to bristle from the dashboard. Offering umpteen personalisation menus along with performance tabs, it displays key information much more clearly than before and changes its layout dependent on which driving mode you are in.

It talks to a revised 8.0-inch centre screen now conveying Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with in-built sat-nav. The rear seats remain a child-only zone, but split-folding seats and a large boot endow the car with a good amount of day-to-day practicality.

The standard suite of safety is improved for 2018 with introduction of autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and other driver aids.

Yes, the official ANCAP safety rating now reads three stars out of five, mildly better than the old car’s two-star score.

But concerns over the score, specifically the car’s safety for rear seat occupants and whiplash protection, don’t appear to be deterring too many customers if you browse sales of Australian-delivered Mustangs – more than 9000 of them in 2017.

Softer materials now adorn the contact points, and the optional $3000 Recaro seats bring excellent comfort, support and bolstering to cover both highway stints and the occasional backroad lash. The standard seats are less figure-hugging but offer adequate comfort and support.

On closer inspection, familiar bugbears remains across the US-built interior, like the car’s handbrake being left on the wrong side of the centre console during the right-hand drive adaption, along with clunky centre switchgear and some shortcuts in the car’s final fit and finish.

A lower, remodelled bonnet has done away with the predecessor’s quant bonnet bulge, formerly flanked by ‘gun sight’ lines either edge.

But it all counts for very little once the 5.0-litre V8 wakes from its slumber, now with added vigour. Thumbing the starter button is like an anthemic prelude, the Mustang’s burbly exhaust settling into a hearty, lumpy idle.

One of the big changes is a new 10-speed automatic gearbox. Under the default ‘Normal’ setting, it strives to achieve the Mustang’s claimed 12.7L/100km fuel rating by pushing for a higher gear where possible, spinning the engine at 1700rpm at 100km/h in 10th.

In feather-light throttle applications, this appears on the money, underlined by smooth, decisive shifts and a much more intuitive vibe than the outgoing six-speed.

Equally, decisive, foot-to-the-floor blasts are catered for by mapping that allows the auto to spring from 10th to third in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, outside of those parameters, the automatic is acutely sensitive to throttle inputs at middling revs, often have two or three goes at pegging back ratios until it is happy – on a long incline where overtaking is required, for instance.

In any case, the new ‘box facilitates a 4.3-second 0-100km/h time with 50-millisecond upshifts, according to Ford, hurtling the ‘Stang onwards to a top speed of 249km/h.

The acceleration is best facilitated by a new Dragstrip mode function that engages faster gear changes and, with Magneride suspension fitted, reduces damping in the rear to allow the car hang more weight over its rear axle for improved traction.

More telling than performance times is the improved in-gear acceleration, made available by added mid-range zing.

The ‘Coyote’ V8 requires decent right-foot input to really reach its straps – peak torque arrives at 4600rpm, peak power at 7000rpm – but there is added enthusiasm and response when you do put your foot to the boards.

Then there’s the soundtrack, which is utterly addictive in Sport-plus and Racetrack modes, finally giving the Mustang the bark to match its underlying bite.

The added go-fast sheen is applied with much more dynamic polish; recalibrated electric steering offering added feel and response (despite carry-over lock-to-lock and rack ratios), and greater turn-in response, cornering grip and outright agility.

On Magneride dampers, the Mustang initially feels a little harsh in city conditions, its 19-inch alloys thudding over heavily pockmarked roads.

With speed, the ride smooths out and the damping really harnesses the Mustang’s circa 1750kg weight through the bends, doing away with the predecessor’s wallowing and pitching through quick changes in direction.

Likewise, the convertible is more honed through the corners than before. But whereas the Mustang coupe rides a line between muscle car and sports car, the drop-top hangs closer to the former with inherently more body shake and less torsional rigidity.

Track time

An exclamation mark on the Mustang’s added zeal arrives at Tailem Bend, the new multi-million circuit one hour’s drive east of Adelaide.

With a higher rev ceiling of 7500rpm -- up 500rpm -- the Mustang revels in middling and high-rev situations and the 10-speed automatic equally handles full-tilt blasts superbly, with sharp upshifts and well-timed downshifts into corners.

The V8’s heavy nose is a constant, forcing the car’s front-end to push wide through corners, particularly in the tight stuff. But dampers and much-improved Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres imbue the Mustang with greater turn-in response and cornering grip.

In all, the Mustang is much sharper than before. As it should be: the sticker price on our as-tested GT coupe reads $74,240 plus on-road costs.

That’s a considerable jump on the very first sixth-generation Mustangs to reach Australian shores in 2015.

But the price for progress is justified – this is the best out-of-the-box Mustang yet, and one that continues to sit in a largely unoccupied section of the market.

How much is the 2018 Ford Mustang GT?
Price: $62,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol
Output: 339kW/566Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.7-13.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 270g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Three-star ANCAP