RE: Mustang Performance Pack launched with 330hp
Discussion
StuH said:
It’s not though is it. If you’re in the market for a blandino jap wagon I doubt a mustang would even get a mention. Surely those who crave a slice of Americana will want the full fat V8 apple pie
Not really sure what your slander is aimed at? And no it doesn't get a look in, because it is in the UK vastly more money.As for a slice of Americana, one could argue that the Mustang has somewhat lost that since moving on from the S197 platform.
It's still a lovely car no doubt. But the market place is very different in the USA.
30k 'performance' coupes/verts:
I'm sure there are more. But you can see the Mustang (as well as it's sibling pony cars) are priced and pitched at cars that are more familiar to the UK market.
In the UK we generally lack some offerings, but many of the above are available here and are still 30k to buy. The Mustang however is not. And in it's cheapest offering is significantly more money. That most people who would be considering cars such as the above, will simply not be looking at cars costing what the 2.3 Ecoboost does over here.
Gareth9702 said:
US websites report that the engine is made in Spain, and is a slightly lower-power version of the Focus engine. If true, it is neither made in the US nor the most powerful Ford 4 cylinder.
I thought the same thing but:"The 2.3 L EcoBoost engine is produced with the 2.0 L EcoBoost at the Valencia Engine Plant in Valencia, Spain. In March 2015 Ford announced the official production start of the all-new twin-scroll 2.0-liter and 2.3-liter EcoBoost engines for North America at its Cleveland Engine Plant in Ohio.[48]"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_EcoBoost_engine...
Spain made the RS engine (occasionally with the correct head gasket) whereas Ohio makes the Mustang variant.
300bhp/ton said:
As for a slice of Americana, one could argue that the Mustang has somewhat lost that since moving on from the S197 platform.
Yes, it has lost some of the hint of Cowboy Boots and Stetson that tends to accompany American cars over here, which can only be a good thing, there is still a hint of Yeehaw but its toned down so people who dont have a confederate flag on the wall in their house arent as put off.schmalex said:
The Mustang simply isn’t a good enough overall package to warrant buying the 4 pot over either its rivals or the v8.
My money wouldn’t be going on it.
Out of interest, what do you view as its rivals? It's quite a hard car to pigeonhole in thta regard.My money wouldn’t be going on it.
On a genuine new for new comparison (not new vs 3 year old M4) what would you consider a viable alternative?
It doesn't really have a natural rival, does it? You either want one or you don't.
My last choice was between the V8 Mustang and the Focus RS - I didn't even consider the Ecoboost Mustang, which might seem a little weird.
After some test drives it wasn't really a choice. Noise aside, the RS ran absolute rings around the Mustang (not very tight ones though, with that turning circle) and it's a decision I'm yet to regret.
It must however be said, the handling on the MY19 Mustang is supposed to be light-years ahead of the '17 I was considering at the time. It's hardly likely to be worse though as, after driving the Focus, the Mustang was more reminiscent of manoeuvering a fridge on a canoe.
My last choice was between the V8 Mustang and the Focus RS - I didn't even consider the Ecoboost Mustang, which might seem a little weird.
After some test drives it wasn't really a choice. Noise aside, the RS ran absolute rings around the Mustang (not very tight ones though, with that turning circle) and it's a decision I'm yet to regret.
It must however be said, the handling on the MY19 Mustang is supposed to be light-years ahead of the '17 I was considering at the time. It's hardly likely to be worse though as, after driving the Focus, the Mustang was more reminiscent of manoeuvering a fridge on a canoe.
Nexus Icon said:
It doesn't really have a natural rival, does it? You either want one or you don't.
My last choice was between the V8 Mustang and the Focus RS - I didn't even consider the Ecoboost Mustang, which might seem a little weird.
After some test drives it wasn't really a choice. Noise aside, the RS ran absolute rings around the Mustang (not very tight ones though, with that turning circle) and it's a decision I'm yet to regret.
It must however be said, the handling on the MY19 Mustang is supposed to be light-years ahead of the '17 I was considering at the time. It's hardly likely to be worse though as, after driving the Focus, the Mustang was more reminiscent of manoeuvering a fridge on a canoe.
I'm with you 100% on that. My last choice was between the V8 Mustang and the Focus RS - I didn't even consider the Ecoboost Mustang, which might seem a little weird.
After some test drives it wasn't really a choice. Noise aside, the RS ran absolute rings around the Mustang (not very tight ones though, with that turning circle) and it's a decision I'm yet to regret.
It must however be said, the handling on the MY19 Mustang is supposed to be light-years ahead of the '17 I was considering at the time. It's hardly likely to be worse though as, after driving the Focus, the Mustang was more reminiscent of manoeuvering a fridge on a canoe.
I had my deposit down for a Mustang GT when they were first announced in RHD form, but when the Mk3 Focus RS come out, I switched to that.
As amazing as the noise and presence is in the Mustang, you just can't get away from the fact that it's a big thing and my Focus is such a hoot around the country lanes. 3 years in (an MOT in a weeks time!) and still makes me grin in the twisty bits.
CaptainSensib1e said:
schmalex said:
The Mustang simply isn’t a good enough overall package to warrant buying the 4 pot over either its rivals or the v8.
My money wouldn’t be going on it.
Out of interest, what do you view as its rivals? It's quite a hard car to pigeonhole in thta regard.My money wouldn’t be going on it.
On a genuine new for new comparison (not new vs 3 year old M4) what would you consider a viable alternative?
To my mind, the way Ford have priced it. It is just too expensive against anything remotely similar and not desirable enough for things priced near it, including the 5.0 V8 Mustang.
As many cars are bought on finance these days. The amount of deposit extra you'd need to buy a 2.3 Mustang over something like a GT86 or MX-5 might be 100% more to keep the monthly payments similar.
And note my post above. In the USA the MX-5 is actually more expensive to buy than a base model Mustang!!!
In fact the 2.3 Mustang in the UK is priced closer to a Cayman than it is to anything it's pitched against in the US market.
| USA Price | UK Price (converted to USD | UK Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mustang 2.3 | $26,000 | $50,000 | £38,000 |
| MX-5 | $28,000 | $31,000 | £24,000 |
| Cayman | $57,000 | $57,000 | £44,000 |
Basically it's seems Ford UK just wants to rip people off.
And while I'm a huge American car fan. If I had a budget that could get me a Cayman for about the same money or not far off. Then no, I wouldn't personally consider a 2.3 Stang at all. If I was looking at MX-5's and similar, it most certainly would be however.
CaptainSensib1e said:
schmalex said:
The Mustang simply isn’t a good enough overall package to warrant buying the 4 pot over either its rivals or the v8.
My money wouldn’t be going on it.
Out of interest, what do you view as its rivals? It's quite a hard car to pigeonhole in thta regard.My money wouldn’t be going on it.
On a genuine new for new comparison (not new vs 3 year old M4) what would you consider a viable alternative?
BMW 428 / 435i
Audi A5 40 TFSI
Lexus RC300h
My wife has a 5.0 Mustang. It's a lovely car because of the V8. It is, however, not a good enough car to warrant not having the V8 when compared to it's equivalents
I'm on my second Mustang now (both manual V8's), and I would never consider an MX-5, GT86 or anything else like that.
The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
Dr Interceptor said:
I'm on my second Mustang now (both manual V8's), and I would never consider an MX-5, GT86 or anything else like that.
The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
Looks ace in that colour! The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
schmalex said:
My wife has a 5.0 Mustang. It's a lovely car because of the V8. It is, however, not a good enough car to warrant not having the V8 when compared to it's equivalents
Is exactly what I was trying to say earlier in the thread. But you put it much better 
The 2.3l just makes no sense given the competition at that price.
Dr Interceptor said:
I'm on my second Mustang now (both manual V8's), and I would never consider an MX-5, GT86 or anything else like that.
The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
How is the handling compared to the pre-facelifted model? The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
Dr Interceptor said:
I'm on my second Mustang now (both manual V8's), and I would never consider an MX-5, GT86 or anything else like that.
The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
Stunning, you must have one of the first bmw 8 series. How much?The only direct rival would be a fast BMW 4-series, Audi S5, or similar. But they are in comparison fairly bland products, well built and well sorted yes, but bland when compared with:
In the past I'd agree that Mustangs needed a V8 because they were otherwise so crap there was no reason to get one.
Now, the I4 Mustang makes a splendid RWD manual sports coupe that is a far better car than its four cylinder German or Japanese rivals. I'd say its also better in many ways than the ageing 370Z.
Unfortunately, the Camaro and Challenger, while far from being crap, still aren't well-developed enough to choose a 4 or 6 cylinder version over their competition - they need V8s
Now, the I4 Mustang makes a splendid RWD manual sports coupe that is a far better car than its four cylinder German or Japanese rivals. I'd say its also better in many ways than the ageing 370Z.
Unfortunately, the Camaro and Challenger, while far from being crap, still aren't well-developed enough to choose a 4 or 6 cylinder version over their competition - they need V8s
I can't speak for the new engine but the existing 4 cylinder isn't a particularly impressive unit. It sounds dull and has the standard tedious turbo power delivery that means there's no real incentive to extend it past 4.5k RPM. They could at least have tried to give it a bit of character with some daft turbo noises or something.
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