“First drive, Ford Mustang.” I’ve been waiting to write those words since attending the major transglobal television reveal of the Mustang in Sydney exactly two years ago.
The good news is that I finally took the first drive today, the bad news is that the total distance covered was 10 kilometres and a minder from Ford Australia was keeping a close eye on me from the passenger seat.
Ah well, Ford has promised me a proper drive as part of the media launch of the Mustang midway through January next year.
Ford Australia invited we journos to the 50th anniversary celebration of its huge Ford Proving Ground in the You Yangs – and dangled the large carrot of initial drives in a pair of Mustangs, one coupe and one convertible in front of us.
Our test Mustangs were both 2.3-litre EcoBoost models with six-speed automatic transmissions. An ultra modern powerplant the EcoBoost is a turbocharged unit producing 300 horsepower (227 kW in Australian terms).
First impressions? Ford’s new Mustang looks just so right, a brilliant combination of the original 1960s’ shape and early 21st century sleekness. The Mustang is like the Jeep Wrangler, Porsche 911, Fiat 500 and VW Beetle in that enthusiasts won’t let the designers interfere too much with the original shape – love that attitude.
Driving was done on one of the short ride and handling loops at the Ford Proving Ground. The EcoBoost engine has plenty of grunt, 430 Newton metres of torque between 2500 and 3500 revs, and turbo lag isn’t too bad. Once you’re past that initial stage it has plenty of pulling power.
The sound is nothing to get excited about, which is typical of all turbo engines as the turbo muffles the sound. However, the engineers have managed to get reasonably good intake and exhaust aural outputs. We will comment on this later when we have done a normal road test.
Steering feel is nicely weighted with just the right heft for keen drivers of high-performance machines. The four-cylinder EcoBoost engine is nice and short and sits well back under the long bonnet. It pretty well straddles the front axle area so provides excellent balance.
The result is excellent turn-in and good response to the steering wheel, or throttle or both.
It’s impossible to comment properly on ride comfort after a tiny drive like this, but like all good proving ground roads this one had some dips and bumps to test vehicles. The suspension certainly settled nicely after these irregularities and we can see it working well on country roads in Australia.
A traditional Ford 5.0-litre V8 with 420 horsepower (about 313 kW) is also coming downunder.
It’s good to see the new Mustang will be also be sold with a six-speed manual gearbox, though to be honest the automatic is likely to be the big seller.
We will carry out our proper test drives around January 19 next year and report on them immediately. However, if you’re halfway interested in getting into a Mustang move quickly because delivery dates are approaching the first months of 2017…
The full range of the 2016 Ford Mustang is:
2.3-litre EcoBoost Fastback: $44,990 (manual), $47,490 (automatic)
2.3-litre EcoBoost Convertible: $53,990 (automatic)
GT 5.0-litre V8 Fastback: $54,990 (manual), $57,490 (automatic)
GT 5.0-litre V8 Convertible: $63,990 (automatic)
Note: These prices do not include government or dealer delivery charges. Contact your local Ford dealer for driveaway prices.
