Ford has effectively modernized the Mustang with few naysayers complaining about going too far, its loyal fans made up of serious

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

traditionalists that would take offense to their beloved pony car turning into a poor man’s BMW 4 Series or worse, something along the lines of a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. These are both great cars in their own rights, but a Mustang, the pony car that started them all, should never bow down and change to meet the expectations of the import crowd.

The reality is a stunningly stylish muscle car that received its fair share of smiles and accompanying thumbs up during my weeklong drive, from folks who were more than just infants when the Mustang hit the road in 1964 (I was merely a year old and therefore don’t remember the event very well), so it appears the blue oval gang got the redesign just right.

A

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

reworked Shelby-style grille follows the car’s sporting tradition, while a pair of narrow headlight clusters look anything but classic despite paying tribute to trademark Mustang taillights via three diagonal LED slashes in their frontal sections. Its domed and vented hood is held high, with ample room underneath to house my test car’s 5.0-litre V8, creating a blunt profile that slopes forward for dramatic and aerodynamic effect. Sharply creased and sculpted bodylines define the new model’s profile, while the rear section is pure Mustang, albeit totally unlike anything Ford has done with this car yet, those three near vertical stripes of sequential light aside. They’re more slanted than upright, like the driving lights up front, while the rear diffuser could be pulled from a Japanese sport compact just as easily as an M-badged mid-sizer from Munich.

Inside,

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

the new Mustang is more Hermes than hermitage, the old Fox-bodied Mustang more like the latter humble abode albeit this new one possibly pulling creative inspiration from St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, but really we should drop the “m” nonsense and respect the heritage even in this new much more upscale design. Despite quality that’s miles better than any previous Mustang interior, in some ways surpassing premium models like Audi’s A5/S5 Cabriolet, especially when it comes to switchgear, it once again could only be something American in style and feel. All the same the various uniquely shaped, surfaced and coloured buttons, knobs and toggles fit together tightly with impressive damping and a quality

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

feel. The design and detailing of the centre stack controls are wonderful, with a retro look that pays respect to something from the past, I’m not sure what, but I like it.

Large metallic radio dials sit below the MyFord Touch infotainment display, the latter set up in its usual user-friendly quadrant layout, the former a central cluster of buttons for shortcut navigation to main audio functions including tone. The bulging HVAC controls are my favourite design details, replete with three-way heatable and cooling seat switches, metallic sliding toggles for the dual temperature control, etcetera, while the industry’s most colourful start/stop button

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

us housed next to a row of chromed toggles just below, the left for the hazards, the second one for killing the traction control, the third for changing steering feel from Normal to Sport or Comfort, and the fourth for setting the driving mode from Normal to Sport, Sport +, Track or Snow/Wet.

These functions appropriately show up on the high-resolution colour multifunction display ahead of the driver, which can also be modulated for other features via the left top steering wheel controls. The main menu offers gauge mode, with distance to empty, tire pressure, gauge detail such as the air fuel ratio, boost/vacuum, cylinder head temp, inlet air temp, oil pressure, oil temp, and voltage; a trip fuel section

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

that shows a cluster of four little digital screens with a running stopwatch, distance to empty, trip odometer and average L/100km readout; a Track Apps section that offers an accelerometer, acceleration timer, brake performance, line lock, launch control, and view/clear results; a driver assist section that features auto engine off, blindspot collision warning, cross traffic alert, adaptive or regular cruise control, hill start assist, and rear parking aid adjustments; a settings section with alarm, easy entry/exit (which I turned off as it doesn’t help to have your driver’s seat pulled all the way back for easy entry when it won’t move forward until ignition and you need to first depress the clutch to start the car), lighting for turning off the auto lamp delay, locks, oil life reset, tire mobility

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

kit, and windows wiper controls; and My Colour to change gauge colour, ambient lighting or set a colour, MyKey, and display set up.

I could bore you with more details if you like, such as all the features available with each one of the Mustang’s eight trim levels, but for now I’ll only mention a short list of items specific to this $48,399 GT Premium Convertible. First off, all Mustangs get the usual list of standard features for cars that start in the mid-$20s, the base Fastback well priced at $25,349 and Convertible at $30,349, plus $1,650 for freight and pre-delivery prep plus the option of $1,500 for a six-speed

Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press

auto. A few highlights from the standard list that get pulled up to my tester’s heights include auto on/off HID headlamps with LED accents, fog lamps, LED taillights, wide-angle “spotter” blind spot side mirrors, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, proximity-sensing passive access with the aforementioned colourful pushbutton ignition, plus a leather-wrapped steering wheel, shifter and parking brake handle, not to mention the cool Track Apps feature, as well as a tilt and telescopic steering column, cruise control, filtered A/C, Sync voice-activated controls, a rearview camera, AM/FM/CD audio with dual USBs, a capless fuel filler, and all the usual active and passive safety gear.

Move up to the GT Premium and leather-upholstered seats are both heated and cooled up front, while soft-touch door uppers enhance its quality feel, as do “Pony”

Photo: Ford

projection lights that illuminate the galloping Mustang logo on the ground while entering or exiting, plus illuminated sill plates, ambient lighting, aluminum foot pedals, a garage door opener, MyFord Touch infotainment with nine-speaker audio and amp, the selectable-effort steering and selectable drive modes I noted earlier, and stylish twinned five-spoke 18-inch alloys with black painted pockets.

You can upgrade GT Premium trim with navigation, rear parking sensors, 12-speaker Shaker Pro audio, driver’s side front memory for the seat and mirrors, radar cruise control with forward collision warning, plus blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, rain-sensing wipers, a 3.55:1 limited-slip rear differential, various alloy wheels and more. Mine featured much of this kit, making it look and feel thoroughly premium.

Over

Photo: Ford

and above these features, all of my tester’s interior detailing was excellent as noted before, but I didn’t go into detail. Along with those upgraded soft synthetic door uppers just mentioned, which did take a long time to arrive, the my tester included a soft-touch and contrast-stitched dash top, soft padded leather-like centre stack edges and sides that are nice on the knees if you’re of large stature, plus padded door inserts and armrests. All of the other plastics are good quality, while the brushed aluminum across the dash and down the sides of the IP is top-notch. Ditto for the beautifully formed sport steering wheel, shifter knob and boot, plus the handbrake, all leather-wrapped with exposed stitching as noted earlier, while the seats are fabulous with plenty of lower back and side bolster support. The only quality issue I found inside or out was the bottom cushion of the driver’s side rear seat that was separating from its mounts, while I was a bit disappointed to find out the convertible’s rear seatback can’t be folded down like the Fastback

Photo: Ford

model’s to increase the smaller trunk’s only moderately sized 323-litre (11.4 cubic-foot) capacity.

The powered cloth top was easy to drop, mind you, and in classic fashion it still incorporates a trusty handle to release and/or clamp it down. When stowed its self-sealing tonneau is appreciated, memories of wrestling with the snaps of ill fitting vinyl covers reminding of how fortunate sun worshipers are in today’s more advanced convertible world.

There’s

Photo: Ford

really no better way to experience travel on a warm sunny day than in an open-top car. Yes, probably too much has been written about the wind-in-the-hair experience, but when such is combined with the sonorous wonder of twin pipes filled with 5.0-litre V8 roar it elevates the soul, as does that 32-valve, DOHC engine’s rear-wheel production. It makes a very satisfying 435 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 400 lb-ft of torque at 4,250 rpm that will get you to 100 km/h in less than five seconds, but you’ll remember every millisecond of that experience. The shifter is tight and precise with a nice notchy short throw, the clutch take up positive yet not too heavy. Right about now I’m not concerning myself with the GT’s 15.8 L/100km city, 9.3 highway and 12.8 combined rating. No, this is all about momentary joy in spite of a world that tries to get us down every time we turn on the big screen, the Mustang’s multiple

Photo: Ford

displays contrarily relaying grin-inducing performance data to go along with thrill-a-second acceleration.

It slides a bit in Sport+ mode, but no worries here, this is the most stable Mustang ever, its new integral link independent rear suspension (IRS) keeping the GT flat during hard cornering while minimizing intrusion from irregular pavement, this not only improving the ride, but more importantly stopping the rear end from bunny hopping its way through bumpy curves. Ford used aluminum knuckles and H-arms in back to reduce unsprung mass, while the new Mustang’s engineers claim twice as much anti-squat capability and nearly 10 times the amount of anti-lift for improved pitch control when getting hard on the throttle or deep into the brakes. I concur, this is the most capable GT I’ve ever tested, and I’m driving a drop-top. I can’t imagine how unflappable the Fastback feels.

As for straight-line fans, Ford made the right decision to go IRS. While drag racers will complain that this new rear end design is heavier and not as conducive to point and shoot acceleration, those willing to amply pump up the under-hood power in order to seriously compete at the strip will do what’s necessary to retrofit a live axle between the rear wheels, whereas consumers who live with their Mustangs day in and day out now benefit from a better handling and safer suspension setup.

The new 2015 Mustang is a better car than its predecessors in every possible way, while

Photo: Ford

those who don’t need all that 5.0-litre muscle can opt for the base 3.7-litre V6, still good for 300 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, or the new 2.3-litre Ecoboost four-cylinder that makes a healthy 310 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque yet delivers fuel economy in the 10.6 city, 7.6 highway and 9.3 combined range, whereas adrenaline junkies that don’t give a damn about the price of high test unleaded can order the new Shelby GT350 with a 5.2-litre flat plane crank V8 good for 526 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque.

There’s a Mustang for every performance enthusiast’s taste and budget, my GT Premium Convertible tester perfectly suited to those who demand exhilarating speed and control yet don’t want to give up on the luxuries of life. It’s the first Mustang that can go head-on with European luxury brands and come out shining, and therefore will not only do very well here at home but should clean up abroad as well.
©(Copyright Canadian Auto Press)