2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost 2.3L First Ride (MotorTrend)

[ARS]

That guard is sweet. When are the full tests coming out?

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[Mriley]

Guard looks stunning in some lights and very iffy in others. It has a VERY dark metallic green tint to it. If you are considering it, I strongly suggest seeing it in person and in various light (daytime, cloudy, dusk, night, etc). The side shot it looks like a nice dark metallic grey. In the front shot, it literally looks metallic dark green.

Unfortunately they did not have Guard at NYIAS (where I saw the car in the flesh for the first time) but I've seen enough pictures to be confident that it is in my top 2 color choices right now. I actually don't mind that it looks gray in some lighting. I'm not specifically looking for a green car so the mix of gray/green/aqua hues works for me.

Anyhow, back to the review. I see Ford Racing there. Could these be one of the ones we heard about earlier (if I recall, a driver said Ford Racing would be getting 1 of 10 or so for testing)? There was a GT PP in there somewhere IIRC.... hopefully we see a review of that soon.

 

[J.Darcy]

Good to hear that the paddle shifters are responsive and execute shifts quickly, at least in track mode anyway.

Yep that answers my earlier question too. Nice that it sounds like they didn't just half ass throw it in there just to say they have paddle shifters. I can't wait to try this out.

 

[Josh Painter]

The Mustang Ecoboost (HATE that name!) sounds a lot more promising in the MT ride review than in the Hot Rod ride review. But I'm curious why Ford didn't supply a test car with the manual transmission. Can only conclude that the marketeers want to promote the idea of how much better the paddle shifters and rev matching are than the dynamics we've seen in automatic-equipped Mustangs in the past.

 

[Fox9350]

Based on the review and the comments below it, Ford should have supplied the Hot Rod guys a manual V8. They don't seem like the crowd that likes the styling, or the ecoboost 4 cyl.

 

[Grimace427]

Based on the review and the comments below it, Ford should have supplied the Hot Rod guys a manual V8. They don't seem like the crowd that likes the styling, or the ecoboost 4 cyl.

They didn't actually supply the Hot Rod guys with anything, they just got to ride along. The real reviews will have production models and the mags will actually drive them. For now this is just drumming up the hype/excitement.

 

[genericuser1]

Ford will bring in a lot of new buyers with the new styling and turbo 4. Add AWD as an option and they'd add a lot more. Also good for their CAFE numbers.

It will be interesting after a couple of years to see what the take rate is. I'm sure the early orders will favor the V-8 more than it normally would be.

 

[STex]

A lot to read in all the reviews. My newbie 2 questions:

What is the best guess for when those that have not preordered can test drive a GT? Sept?

Only one review I have seen mention outward vision. Is the 2015 going to be an improvement in outward vision? Current model good. And way better than the bunker/dangerous low outward vision of the Camaro.

 

[bwaugh06]

A lot to read in all the reviews. My newbie 2 questions:

What is the best guess for when those that have not preordered can test drive a GT? Sept?

Only one review I have seen mention outward vision. Is the 2015 going to be an improvement in outward vision? Current model good. And way better than the bunker/dangerous low outward vision of the Camaro.

It sure doesn't look like it in the Convertible which is a bummer, not a big difference though. The window has gotten smaller each generation. A backup camera is nice and all but it's not a replacement for good visibility.

 

[Tony Alonso]

What is the best guess for when those that have not preordered can test drive a GT? Sept?

Potentially early Oct (production in mid-Aug, quality hold for 4-6 weeks after they are being produced). If the quality hold is shorter, could get into mid-to-late Sep.

 

[13GTCSMustang]

Still pre-production cars. Look at the 1st picture very closely, especially at the headlights of both the Yellow and Guard cars. Different headlights. Notice that the Guard car has more pronounced LED bars than the yellow one and it has more chrome around it (at the reflector side of the headlight). Great article though. Can't wait to see a drive preview on all the 15 Mustangs.

 

[TampaBear67]

Still pre-production cars. Look at the 1st picture very closely, especially at the headlights of both the Yellow and Guard cars. Different headlights. Notice that the Guard car has more pronounced LED bars than the yellow one and it has more chrome around it (at the reflector side of the headlight). Great article though. Can't wait to see a drive preview on all the 15 Mustangs.

The Yellow car has the Halogen setup. The Guard has the HID setup.

 

[Grimace427]

The Yellow car has the Halogen setup. The Guard has the HID setup.

Which was his point. These are preproduction models. Everything seen so far says all models have HID standard.

 

[Rex Grant]

Since Ford is still avoiding discussion of weight, I think it's reasonable to assume that the '15 isn't going to shed many pounds. Too bad, although it will still be lighter than the current generation Camaro. But Chevy may have the last laugh. The alpha-platformed, next gen Camaro will almost certainly shed several hundred pounds.

 

[Fox9350]

They didn't actually supply the Hot Rod guys with anything, they just got to ride along. The real reviews will have production models and the mags will actually drive them. For now this is just drumming up the hype/excitement.

ah, then they shouldn't have invited the hotrod guys to test the ecoboost.

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