The Mustang GT boasts 486 horsepower and 418 lb-ft of torque.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
The Mustang was revealed at the 1964 New York World’s Fair at Ford’s massive pavilion called the Wonder Rotunda. Visitors could see and interact with the Mustang in a variety of settings. Walt Disney even created a Magic Skyway ride where visitors were ferried along a track in convertible Mustangs past scenes depicting dinosaurs, cave men and the “city of tomorrow.” Millions of people saw Ford’s new sports car at the World’s Fair and in the first year of sales, the company sold 418,000 of them. A year later, that number had grown to a million.
The Mustang continues to be a sales success 60 years on, though not quite at the level of the iconic first generation. It’s been America’s best-selling sports car the entire time, and the best-selling sports car globally for the past 10 years.
The Mustang was marketed as a sports car for everyone. Whether a customer wanted a Mustang to be luxurious or sporty, it could be equipped to suit their needs. It had mass appeal and it was affordable.
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Most of this is still true today, as demonstrated by the seventh-generation Mustang I recently got to drive.
My bright blue GT tester is a middle-of-the-road model. It has the Coyote V8 engine, which now makes 486 horsepower and comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission. You can also pay extra for a 10-speed automatic. If you can drive a stick shift, don’t choose this option.
The GT is one of a handful of cars available with a V8 engine and a manual transmission.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
Inside, it has cloth seats and dual screens instead of one. If you want leather and the fancier screen, you have to pay extra for the GT Premium.
The important thing is that the Mustang I’m driving has the Performance package, which means it gets a bunch of handling-enhancing goodies like better brakes, a stiffer suspension, shorter gearing and 19-inch wheels. The GT is more of an enthusiast’s Mustang, but there’s an even higher-performance model now called the Dark Horse. It gets 500 horsepower and a stronger focus on track dynamics.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Mustang Ecoboost starts at $40,025 and its turbocharged four-cylinder makes 315 horsepower, which is still plenty. It’s also available as a convertible, and you can add fun options like stripes or coloured wheels, or choose from a long list of factory accessories.
The first-generation Mustangs (1964-73) were a sales phenomenon but they weren’t very good sports cars. They were based on the Ford Falcon, an economy car, and mostly everything inside was borrowed from the corporate parts bin. But customers didn’t seem to care. It looked amazing and it was cheap. The Mustang made the American Dream more attainable.
The new GT starts at $54,675 and it’s one of a handful of cars you can get with a V8 and a manual transmission. With almost 500 horsepower, it’s still a performance bargain, but given our changing world, it’s a little surprising the Mustang still exists today. The Dodge Challenger recently went out of production and GM is cancelling the Camaro again. The world has seemingly moved on from old-school muscle cars, but the Mustang soldiers on.
The GT comes with the five-litre Coyote V8 engine.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
A recent article reported the Subaru WRX outsold the Mustang in Canada by 265 units. The WRX is technically a sports sedan and not a sports car in the traditional sense, but it has a 275-horsepower engine, an electronic all-wheel-drive system and handles like it’s glued to the pavement. You can also drive it all year, something you might not want to do with a Mustang. But as affordable sports cars dwindle, enthusiasts are looking elsewhere for fun-to-drive cars, such as the WRX or Golf GTI.
The Mustang evolved from its economy car roots into a capable sports car. Improvements such as an independent rear suspension helped it keep up with more expensive metal on the track. The new Mustang isn’t a clean-sheet design and is more of an evolution over the last one, but they’ve improved it just enough and, like it or not, the new tech inside is a big leap over its predecessor.
The legendary Coyote V8 rips to 7,500 rpm and sounds like rolling thunder. The engine takes over everything; it’s the main draw of the experience. Idling in traffic, crawling around a parking lot or ripping it up an on-ramp, the sound is always present and it’s real. The active valve exhaust is worth every penny here, especially because you also get a quiet mode so you don’t wake up your neighbours every morning.
Even with the performance pack, the Mustang rides well with a good balance between suspension compliance and body control. In the corners, there’s lots of grip from the meaty summer tires, but early throttle application on corner exits will cause the tail to slide out in typical Mustang fashion.
The front seats of the Mustang are supportive and comfortable.Kunal D'souza/The Globe and Mail
It can be an intimidating car to drive quickly, partly because you’re always aware of the beastly engine rumbling away in front of you but also because the steering is vague and overboosted. You play a bit of a guessing game when you enter a corner and you have to learn to trust the car because it is capable, just not very confidence inspiring.
The Chevrolet Camaro, which is being discontinued this year, is a better sports car with superior handling, but it suffers from poor packaging, poor visibility and a dated interior. It’s undoubtedly the enthusiast’s pick, but that tends to limit its audience.
The Mustang’s success centres on its likeability and Ford’s ability to promote it. It’s a motoring icon and the last muscle car standing, and we hope Ford keeps it around forever.
Tech specs
2024 Ford Mustang GT
- Base price / as-tested: $48,500 /$60,395 plus freight, predelivery inspection, fees and taxes
- Engine: Five-litre V8
- Horsepower / torque (lb-ft): 486 / 418
- Transmission / drive: Six-speed manual / rear-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (litres per 100 kilometres): 16.6 city; 10.2 highway; 13.8 combined
- Alternatives: Chevrolet Camaro (until it’s discontinued), Subaru WRX, Honda Civic Type R, BMW M2 or M4
Looks
The Mustang has classic fastback proportions and is instantly recognizable anywhere. Looks have been tweaked, the grille is larger and the reverse-wedge crease in the trunk is a cool stroke of design.
Interior
All Mustangs get dual screens that look tacked on, but Ford’s infotainment system has great graphics and is easy to use. Front seats are supportive and comfortable while the back should be reserved for kids or cargo.
Performance
The Coyote V8 drowns you in its baritone song and envelops all the senses. Acceleration is swift and the chassis is buttoned down but the steering needs more feel.
Technology
You can do neat (read: gimmicky) stuff like rev the engine from the key fob and drive around with a virtual set of Fox Body or Classic Mustang gauges on the driver’s display. The Fox body gauges were especially nostalgic for me and I pretty much used them the entire time. The manual has automatic rev-matching and you can schedule the car to start in quiet mode, so you don’t irritate your neighbours at 6 a.m.
Cargo
The Mustang has a 382-litre trunk, which is large for a sports car, and if you need more space, you always have the back seats.
The verdict
The Mustang GT is still one of the best sports car deals on the planet.
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