Los Angeles Register Review (GT & EcoBoost)

Ford's new 2015 Mustang is a winner

The 2015 Mustang looks a lot better in person than it does in pictures. Even Ford brass have experienced it. The Michigan automaker has hired six different teams of professional photographers to capture the new Mustang’s spirit. But just like the Native Americans who long ago rode the Mustang horses, photographs have failed to capture its soul.

No. The new Mustang is best appreciated up close, preferably with key in hand, which is precisely what Ford obliged in L.A. this week, having let the media gestate on the details of its sixth-generation redesign for a long nine months after its introduction in December. On Wednesday, Ford finally handed over the fobs for its pretty little pony, unbridling them for five-hour drives through Hollywood traffic, the 198 turns of Angeles Crest Highway and the picturesque Malibu Canyons.

Ponies are what the Ford Mustang is known for. And the new 2015 has a lot of them, both under the hood and hidden all over the car. Unlock the doors, and projection lamps under each side mirror throw the galloping logo onto the ground. Pop thehoodto remove the insulator, and an even larger pony is stamped into the aluminum. Several more are hidden, waiting to be discovered by Mustangers who’ll delight in Ford’s unique automotive scavenger hunt.

The most notable horses are, of course, the engines. Four, six or eight cylinders, it doesn’t matter. All three powertrains in the 2015 make at least 300 horsepower, with the midsize V-6 making the least, thus relegating it to the entry-level base model. The 2015 Ford Mustang starts at $24,425, including destination.

It’s telling that Ford didn’t even bother trotting out the V-6 for media this week, in apparent acknowledgment that fans of a 50th-anniversary classic were likely to gravitate toward its equally classic 5.0-liter V-8 and the engine that, when it grows up, is likely to replace it some day.

The most anticipated of the three engines is its smallest. Powered with an all-new, direct-injected 2.3-liter inline four-cylinder that marks Ford’s first use of a twin-scroll turbocharger, the so-called EcoBoost engine makes 310 horsepower and yields the best fuel economy of the bunch: up to 31 mpg highway.

In reality, during the time I drove the EcoBoost, it yielded about 22 mpg combined, which was still an impressive feat considering the level of abuse.

All of the 2015 Ford Mustangs are equipped with new technological goodies that inspire more than the usual amount of foot stomping.

For one, there’s the new drive mode system that lets drivers select between namby-pamby normal, pay-attention sport, slippage-stopping wet, and helmets-on track settings that impact the suspension. The steering wheel, which is smaller than the outgoing model for easier handling, can likewise be adjusted between normal, sport and squishy – aka comfort. The settings are all easily switched with aircraft-inspired metal toggles that change the driving character so dramatically as to make the Mustang feel like entirely different vehicles.

Most noticeable on the rear-wheel-drive Mustang is its new independent rear suspension, which necessitated a new double-ball joint front suspension, both of which can be stiffened or slacked at the flip of the toggle. Traction control can be entirely turned off. Maxing out its sport settings, the Mustang felt taut and agile while remaining comfortable and, for the most part, quiet.

The 2015 is already completely new. Not a single piece was carried over from the outgoing model, including the interior, which is uncluttered and spacious for the front-seat passengers. The rear of this two-door four-seater? Not so much.

Both the EcoBoost and GT versions I tested are available with performance packages that can upgrade the seats to bolstered leather Recaros.

The Mustang being Ford’s performance flagship, its EcoBoost engine just adds another line item to how performance is defined. The EcoBoost is designed with an easily accessed 320 ft.-lbs. of torque that kick in at low rpm and extend through most of the power band.

The V-8 GT, which I also drove for half a day and found even more thrilling, has been upgraded to deliver more horses than ever before (435) and a top speed of 155 mph.
It’s one glorious beast, but the V-8’s fuel consumption is more akin to a domesticated farm animal than a lean and mean ’Stang. During the time I drove it, the fuel economy averaged 13.6 mpg when pushed like a Kentucky Derby thoroughbred.

Both versions I tested were equipped with a six-speed stick shift that was easy to throw and a clutch pedal that was supple.

One of the Mustang’s most subtle but significant changes for stick shift fans is the position of the center console’s cupholders. Ford has pushed them toward the passenger, making room for drivers to throw the stick around without knocking elbows into their coffees. Another plus for the stick shift set: hill start assist that prevents the car from rolling backward when the the clutch is first pushed. The transmission is also available as a Select-Shift automatic with paddle shifters and rev matching.

Aesthetically, the Mustang exterior is a study in sophisticated aggression. The classic Mustang fastback is now lower, wider, more linear with understated curves that are more Mr. Olympia, less Muscle Beach. Its front is blunt nosed, its grille split in half. The aggressively sloped roofline looks as if the lid was g-forced toward its haunches, while its bulged, creased and scooped hood conveys speed. One of its most appealing style details is the triplicate headlights and tail lights that blink in a wavelike cadence and, on the rear end, are 3D.

A modern muscle car that nods to its storied past, the 2015 Ford Mustang was in development for four years, but it’s been 50 years in the making.

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TampaBear67 said:

Where are these people getting their Information? This is at least the 2nd Reviewer to state that the Drive Modes that are accessible from the Toggle Switches, adjusts the Suspension.

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TampaBear67 said:

Where are these people getting their Information? This is at least the 2nd Reviewer to state that the Drive Modes that are accessible from the Toggle Switches, adjusts the Suspension.

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Malikona said:

Yeah it's impossible to trust anything else they say after reading that. And they say that the Performance Pack is what enables upgrade to Recaros...is that true?

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ShawnDeath said:

13.6 mpg.......yuck

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ShawnDeath said:

13.6 mpg.......yuck

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JoeDogInKC said:

13.6 MPG resulted from absolutely thrashing it. The current model will do the same thing if you have the 5.0L. If you're WOT most of the time, as they likely were, you're going to see this too. I see about 19 MPG combined on my 2013 with plenty of heavy throttle applications to get to that number, per tank.

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blackfire12 said:

Yeah, recaros are a standalone upgrade but with these seats it sounds like they aren't even needed...

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