S550 Mustang GT - LONG post with plenty of pictures
Discussion
This is going to be a very long post, so I suggest you grab a cup of coffee and a biscuit before you get started…
Back in August 2019, I sold my 2010 987.2 Boxster S:
And bought this absolute beast:
A 1999 Daewoo Nubira 2.0 CDX which you can see my reads car thread for here if you're interested (which you understandably won't be).
The £500 Nubira served me well whilst I began the hunt for the perfect Ford Mustang…
After originally searching for a ‘Race Red’ example, I quickly fell in love with the rarer ‘Grabber Blue’ and had decided that red simply wouldn’t suffice – limiting my choice somewhat…
I was seriously messed around by a well-known national dealer network when I found what I thought to be the perfect Mustang for my budget – but shocking customer service and suspect car history put me off. Luckily, a Mustang6G forum member sent me a link to another example that fit my requirements. It was £4,000 over my budget and £7,000 more than I initially wanted to spend but at 18 months old, just 1,085 miles on the clock, being located just 3 miles from my home and sold by a main dealer I thought I might as well have a look…
As you’d expect at that mileage, the car was pristine, and I knew that if I were to pass this car up and go back to looking at the cheaper end of the market, I’d regret it. I had to have it. I spoke numbers with the salesman and managed to get almost a grand off – I was prepared to pay full price so was happy with the small discount. The Mustang is my girlfriends dream car too, so using many thousands of pounds of our house deposit to cover me exceeding my ‘absolute max budget’ went down better than you’d expect!
Though the car was immaculate, I still had a friend go and check it over to be sure. I knew that his meticulous checking would find any possible problem or concern no matter how minor but as expected, he gave me the all clear and agreed the car was essentially ‘as new’.
After a few days with no sleep due to sheer excitement, on Tuesday 15th October 2019 I picked up my new (to me) S550 Mustang GT Shadow Edition finished in Grabber Blue with Black faded stripes…
For those who don’t know, the Mustang comes in 2 flavours. There is the EcoBoost which has a 2.3 Turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and then there is the GT which has Ford’s 5.0 V8 Coyote engine with around 416bhp and 391 ib-ft of torque. Being a ‘Shadow Edition’, my car has a few styling differences over the standard GT which include unique 19” black alloys, fading go-faster stripes (which add approximately 83bhp) and black Mustang/5.0 badging which are usually chrome on the standard GT.
In truth, I wasn’t looking specifically for a Shadow Edition but overall, I do like the unique styling, particularly the black badging which I genuinely think makes a big difference to the looks.
The S550 Mustang is very well spec’d as standard but mine also has the ‘Custom Pack 2’ option which (I think) means mine has every toy available for its year.
Having been spoilt by the excellent PDK gearbox in my 987, I opted for a manual to avoid any possible disappointment by the 6-speed auto box offered on the pre-facelift cars. The other reason for going manual was that, given where the industry is going, this may be my only opportunity to have a manual, RWD, V8 with an LSD.
So, without further ado, here are my first impressions on the S550 Mustang GT…
Looks are always going to be subjective, but I absolutely love how the Mustang looks. The exterior is a fantastic blend of modern and retro styling. The front end looks mean and aggressive, the wheel arches are suitably flared, and the body has some great lines.
The rear end looks excellent too, with the rear lights being a modern take on the original 60s car.
The same can also be said for the side profile and fastback roofline.
This is a very bold statement but I genuinely think that the S550 Mustang is one of the nicest looking modern production cars, there is so much attention to detail and it really does feel like the designers have tried their best to make a great modern looking car whilst also staying true to the Mustangs roots.
I wasn’t overly keen on the stripes at first and before I bought it was thinking about immediately removing them, but I have really come to love them. I really don’t think the car would be quite the same without them and I feel that they really compliment the stunning Grabber Blue paint nicely.
My only gripes with the exterior is that it doesn’t have the quad tailpipes that the facelift versions have (though I prefer the pre-face car in every other way) and also the shut lines are awful, it’s actually quite shocking that Ford let their cars leave the factory like that. All the cars I viewed were the same so it’s just something you must accept if you want one of these.
A lot of the more interesting cars I’ve had owned had uninteresting looking engine bays, so to open the bonnet of the Mustang and see the massive V8 really does feel quite special to me. There’s nowhere near as much plastic covering the engine up as I expected, just that massive V8 lump dominating the space.
Similarly to the exterior, the interior is a blend of old and new and there are some little details the car has which I absolutely love.
The 3 spoke steering wheel looks great and feels nice in the hand, with an oversized Mustang logo in the centre reminding you that this isn’t just a regular Ford, though a lot of the switchgear makes you think the opposite.
If I’m honest, all the buttons on the wheel do ruin the look somewhat. Whilst I like the functionality they offer; I really don’t like how cluttered steering wheel buttons tend to look. Ergonomically, they’re perfectly useable but a few of the buttons feel a bit awkward to press, not quite being within thumbs reach when you’re holding onto the wheel. Another complaint I have is that there is no pause button on the wheel for audio – where the audio controls are located, there is vol +/- and skip back/forward and an ‘m’ button in the centre, this changes the source and isn’t mappable. Not once have I ever felt inclined to change source while driving – but I do tend to pause quite a lot, so I have to use the touch screen for that.
The circular Rev counter and Speedometer look nice too, nothing to out of the ordinary but a detail I love is the that the speedo shows your ‘Ground Speed’ which is a nice subtle addition to the aviation theme the cockpit has, as well as a nod to the P51 Mustang fighter plane from WW2.
The digital display on the dash also looks nice too, being full colour and a decent resolution.
The display is split into 5 categories: Engine info, Tripcomp./fuel, Track Apps, Driver Assist and Settings.
Engine info shows you information such as your Air/Fuel ratio, Cylinder head temperature, Oil Pressure and other information of that ilk and you can even expand one of these options to display as a digital gauge on the screen.
Tripcomp./fuel is, as you’d expect, where you go to see all your trip information and fuel economy. There are 2x different trips – something I like is it shows you the time-driven for each trip, so I know exactly how many hours I’ve been behind the wheel in my car which I personally find interesting - this is another feature that nods to the aviation theme, with plane engines being measured in hours rather than distance. You can also see things like your average speed, current MPG and MPG over the last 30 mins of driving.
Track Apps is where all the more PH-worthy stuff can be found, there is an onboard accelerometer, a lap timer, an acceleration timer, a braking timer, launch control and line lock. If you didn’t know, line lock will lock the front brakes and allow you to floor the throttle and do a nice big burnout, warming your tyres off before a drag race. It’s a ridiculously cool feature that I am desperate to use but only when my tyres need replacing!
The driver-assist screen is where you enable or disable certain features such as hill start assist and the rear-view camera.
Lastly, settings obviously have a bunch of things you can configure. The only option of interest here is MyColour which allows you to choose what colour you want the ambient lighting. The ambient lighting in this car is worth talking about. You can choose 2 different types of lighting – the gauge cluster and everything else. So, you could have red dials, but blue mood lighting if you want. There are several colours to choose from, but you can also create your own colour, allowing you to have exactly the colour you want. The gauge cluster looks brilliant, but I do feel that the rest of the interior lighting leaves a lot to be desired.
There doesn’t seem to be that much of it – though what is there is nice, there is lighting in the footwells, in the cup holder and in the door handles but my favourite place would be the Mustang plaque on the door sill which looks superb in all of the dozen or so preset colours or whatever custom shade you make.
The centre console is quite nicely designed too, the infotainment screen is integrated into the dash and positioned well - not lazily stuck on top of the dash like a lot of more premium brands. I’m looking at you, Mercedes.
All the dials and buttons look fine and are positioned fairly well. I like the silver/aluminium (read: plastic) rocker buttons for temperature and the toggle switches at the bottom look very cool and unique, these are for things such as driving mode, traction control, steering adjustment and hazards. I can’t say the same for the start/stop button though, which looks a bit cheap to me – it would look nicer if it was all red in my opinion.
The touch screen functions well enough, using Ford’s SYNC 3 system.
You can manage audio, climate, phone and navigation through SYNC and if you don’t like the touch screen you can also use physical buttons instead. Apple Car Play and Android Auto are also available, which is what I tend to use over Ford’s system, but the only complaint is that it will only function via cable, not via Wi-Fi – odd as the car will actually connect to Wi-Fi networks for SYNC and map updates. The car has 2 USB ports too, one built into the centre console and the other in the armrest storage compartment.
The car has a rear-view camera as standard – presumably because rear cameras are a legal requirement in the US. The picture quality is good but not great, I like how you can actually see the GT logo in the camera (albeit upside down) but I don’t like how at night if you are reversing and braking, the red glow makes it quite hard to see. My car also has the optional rear parking sensors. Front sensors were not available which is a shame.
It's worth noting that the rear camera is significantly better quality than it appears in the picture below.
My GT is fitted with the optional Shaker audio system which includes a subwoofer in the boot. It’s a decent sound system, probably the best I’ve had in a car but I’m sure that serious Audiophiles wouldn’t be as impressed.
The dash design is also nice too, the ‘brushed aluminium’ panel looks nice to my eyes, though it’s actually just plastic and there is a plaque on the dash on the passenger side to commemorate the Mustangs 50th anniversary which is another nice touch. The rest of the dash is covered in ‘plasti-leather’ which, again, is pleasant enough.
The boot is pretty well sized and the rear seats fold down which is great, the only issue here is that the access hatch for the boot is a bit of an awkward shape and you might have problems getting something in the boot even if the boot itself is big enough.
Speaking of rear seats, the S550 has very comfortable rear seats. As you’d expect, leg room isn’t terrific but it’s perfectly acceptable for children – it’s good enough for adults too… If they’re short, at least. The problem with the rear seats is the long, swooping roofline. I’m bang on 6 feet and there just isn’t room for my head in the back. My girlfriend is 5ft 1” and she fits perfectly. This probably isn’t the car for you unless your backseat passengers are children or midgets. Or midget children.
My car also has the option heated/cooled seats. If I’m honest, this car doesn’t have particularly impressive heated seats. They’re ok but don’t seem to get that hot – I like my heated seats to set my bum on fire, these just make it slightly warm. The cooled seats are pretty good though. Interestingly, you can hear them running if you listen carefully.
I am extremely lucky to have regular use of some very nice metal and have driven a decent selection of premium cars from brand new 7 Series and Panamera’s to Cayenne’s and X5’s – with the odd Ferrari, M and AMG sprinkled in between. The Mustangs interior obviously isn’t as nice as those cars and I wouldn’t ever try and say it is, but it really isn’t that bad as reviews seem to suggest. It’s honestly feels not much worse than a standard 3 series or similar in terms of build quality and in my opinion has a much more interesting design and layout than similar cars. What is bad though, is the RHD conversion. Ford have put minimal effort into making the switch from left to right hand drive. The handbrake is on the passenger side which itself isn’t a problem – the problem is caused by the cupholders being next to the handbrake on the driver side. Whenever your cup holders are doing their job, you must reach either around or over them in order to change gear because the cups get right in the way. I do feel like it gives the car a bit of charm though – the cumbersome and lazy conversion kind of plays into the muscle car image, don’t you think?
As you’ve probably figured, overall, I love how the Mustang looks, both inside and out. But, I hear you ask, how does it drive?
The Mustang GT accelerates from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds so while it is virtually identical to my old PDK 987, it doesn’t feel quite as quick. As well as being nearly 300kg heavier than the Boxster, you also sit higher, have more sound deadening and have a metal roof so I can’t say I’m surprised. Despite not feeling as quite as quick, it certainly feels a lot more powerful and the Coyote motor is an absolute peach. The 5.0 V8 feels very brutish, angry and the sheer amount of torque makes acceleration in any gear feel absolutely effortless. I’ve been in 5th gear at 10mph and pulled away without even a hint of juddering, it just picks up speed – yet the engine is far from lazy and is surprisingly enjoyable to work. When you start reaching for the higher end of the rev range it really is a fun motor to rev. It will reach 7,000rpm where the entire gauge cluster turns bright red but not much really happens beyond 6,500rpm so I tend to shift around then. The mid-range acceleration feels much more impressive than the 987 and it does get you into license-losing territory quite quickly.
Speaking of shifting, as much as genuinely loved the PDK box, it is nice to be back in a manual and the Mustang has a surprisingly nice gearbox mated to its wonderful engine. The clutch is heavy, and the shifter feels very mechanical – almost agricultural in a way – but a good way. It really is a very old-school feeling car and I don’t mean that as a negative at all, it really is a lovely change compared to how most modern cars drive, you can’t rush it too much but it just feels right as you slide it into gear – que the cliché about cocking a well-oiled rifle. It doesn’t feel quite as good as the MK1 MX5 (the best feeling shift I’ve personally felt) but it’s not far off. The gear ratios are pretty much spot on and all give a good surge of power – except for 6th which is very much a cruising gear. As I’ve already said, even high gears at very low speed just pull without issue. I do end up skipping gears quite often, so I don’t end up working the engine as much as I’d like… It’s just something the Mustang does so well – it’s fun to work but also fun to be lazy in.
The V8 sounds brilliant too, burbling into life and making a truly wonderful noise that really makes that inner 10-year-old snigger. At lower revs, it's not overly loud but put your foot down and it begins to sing louder and louder as you climb through the revs and as you approach the redline it’s impossible not to smile.
As wonderful as it does sound, it is just that little bit quiet if I am honest. There is barely any exhaust noise, everything you hear is engine noise. Nice at motorway speeds or when backing out of the driveway at unsociable hours but not so nice when you want to just be a hooligan and tick everyone off. I’ll look at aftermarket exhausts when I can justify the financial outlay, but I don’t think a new exhaust is necessarily essential. The car sounds brilliant out of the box – it would just sound better a little louder, in the same way that your car is probably fast enough, but you wouldn’t say no to another 100bhp.
Lots of feedback, a perfectly balanced chassis and go-kart handling are not phrases I’d use to describe the Mustang. Though given its size, it’s not a bad steer. You get a choice of 3 modes for the electric steering. Normal, Comfort and Sport. Comfort makes the steering incredibly light; Sport makes it heavy and Normal is somewhere in between. You do notice the difference between all 3, none of which give any real sense of feedback at all, meaning there is literally no reason to switch between the modes, so I just leave it on normal. I doubt anyone buying a Mustang is looking for Caterham-like steering feel though, so I do cut it a bit of slack is this department.
While it doesn’t have any feel, it does grip well, hustling its weight through corners and perfectly happy to change direction again and again. The suspension is firm as you’d expect but the rear is a little too firm and crashy and on the dreadful P-Zero tyres it has the back end does like to kick out in the wet if you so much as sniff the throttle, though it’s easy enough to pull back in. There isn’t too much body roll either and it does keep fairly flat and composed for its size too. I was expecting it to be dreadful when cornering and I’m actually disappointed how competent it actually is in the bends – if feeling a little cumbersome at times. It’s not going to keep up with much on a tight B-road, it’s just too big and wide to confidently push on that kind of road but I’m sure it could hold its own on some bigger roads with long, swooping bends and I honestly think I could put in some decent laps on track. Maybe I’ll organise a trip to Brands hatch in the future... I’ll definitely be opting for PS4’s when it’s time for new rubber though, the P-Zero tyres were bizarre choice from Ford to put on this car.
I’ve not really had a chance to properly test the brakes yet. They are very heavily assisted and extremely sharp which I don’t love. You just don’t really get a sense of feel. They stop the car quickly enough, but the heavy assistance gives the illusion that the brakes are better than they actually are – it’s something I’ve found with all modern Fords that I’ve driven.
The Mustang drives pretty much as you’d expect for the most part – but it really is more than the sum of its parts. Like I said earlier, it really does feel very old school and special to me. What it lacks in precision and finesse it more than makes up for in fun. The Mustang is a bit rough around the edges but crucially it has the character and charm that the German rivals I test drove missed. At regular road speeds it feels special, fun and unique and I do feel like I’m the last of a dying breed in it.
Running costs aren’t too bad either. In the (just under) 3,000 miles I've done so far, I’ve averaged just under 26mpg and that is a mix of motorway, town and more spirited driving. On a run it gets high 30s sitting at 65mph with Cruise on – I had a 39.8 mpg average over a 120-mile trip the other week and cruising at 60mph with no incline, I’ve averaged over 40 which is unbelievable! VED is just £145 per year and servicing is around £300 with the intervals being every 12 months or 10,000 miles so it’s cheap to run relative to the performance on offer. I’m 27, so you’d expect that I’m being fleeced for insurance but it’s quite reasonable at around £500 with 10 years no claims and living in a ‘C’ grade postcode. For reference, it’s only about £20 more than the Boxster S I had before.
I do a 40-mile round trip each day where I sit at 60mph with Cruise Control on. I should have just bought a Diesel 4 banger. But that’s not what being a Petrolhead about is it? There is nothing quite like hearing that V8 burble into life on a frosty morning and hearing it snarl and bark as you back out of the driveway.
I’ve seen quite a few owners on PH saying that the car was a disappointment or unexciting.
If you are used to forced induction engines or modern sports cars then I can see how you would be disappointed but if you see the Mustang for what it is – an old-school, big, crude pony car then you’re going to have a good time.
It has enough toys inside to keep you amused at the red light and it has enough power to keep you amused at the green light.
It is undeniably cool, it looks the absolute business, it has a magnificent engine and is, for all intents and purposes, a properly fast muscle car. What’s not to love?
I’d highly recommend a Mustang for those looking to scratch that N/A V8 itch while you still have the chance, just go into it with your eyes open and remember what exactly the car is.
You can’t have too many photos – so I’ll finish off with a few more...
Back in August 2019, I sold my 2010 987.2 Boxster S:
And bought this absolute beast:
A 1999 Daewoo Nubira 2.0 CDX which you can see my reads car thread for here if you're interested (which you understandably won't be).
The £500 Nubira served me well whilst I began the hunt for the perfect Ford Mustang…
After originally searching for a ‘Race Red’ example, I quickly fell in love with the rarer ‘Grabber Blue’ and had decided that red simply wouldn’t suffice – limiting my choice somewhat…
I was seriously messed around by a well-known national dealer network when I found what I thought to be the perfect Mustang for my budget – but shocking customer service and suspect car history put me off. Luckily, a Mustang6G forum member sent me a link to another example that fit my requirements. It was £4,000 over my budget and £7,000 more than I initially wanted to spend but at 18 months old, just 1,085 miles on the clock, being located just 3 miles from my home and sold by a main dealer I thought I might as well have a look…
As you’d expect at that mileage, the car was pristine, and I knew that if I were to pass this car up and go back to looking at the cheaper end of the market, I’d regret it. I had to have it. I spoke numbers with the salesman and managed to get almost a grand off – I was prepared to pay full price so was happy with the small discount. The Mustang is my girlfriends dream car too, so using many thousands of pounds of our house deposit to cover me exceeding my ‘absolute max budget’ went down better than you’d expect!
Though the car was immaculate, I still had a friend go and check it over to be sure. I knew that his meticulous checking would find any possible problem or concern no matter how minor but as expected, he gave me the all clear and agreed the car was essentially ‘as new’.
After a few days with no sleep due to sheer excitement, on Tuesday 15th October 2019 I picked up my new (to me) S550 Mustang GT Shadow Edition finished in Grabber Blue with Black faded stripes…
For those who don’t know, the Mustang comes in 2 flavours. There is the EcoBoost which has a 2.3 Turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and then there is the GT which has Ford’s 5.0 V8 Coyote engine with around 416bhp and 391 ib-ft of torque. Being a ‘Shadow Edition’, my car has a few styling differences over the standard GT which include unique 19” black alloys, fading go-faster stripes (which add approximately 83bhp) and black Mustang/5.0 badging which are usually chrome on the standard GT.
In truth, I wasn’t looking specifically for a Shadow Edition but overall, I do like the unique styling, particularly the black badging which I genuinely think makes a big difference to the looks.
The S550 Mustang is very well spec’d as standard but mine also has the ‘Custom Pack 2’ option which (I think) means mine has every toy available for its year.
Having been spoilt by the excellent PDK gearbox in my 987, I opted for a manual to avoid any possible disappointment by the 6-speed auto box offered on the pre-facelift cars. The other reason for going manual was that, given where the industry is going, this may be my only opportunity to have a manual, RWD, V8 with an LSD.
So, without further ado, here are my first impressions on the S550 Mustang GT…
Looks are always going to be subjective, but I absolutely love how the Mustang looks. The exterior is a fantastic blend of modern and retro styling. The front end looks mean and aggressive, the wheel arches are suitably flared, and the body has some great lines.
The rear end looks excellent too, with the rear lights being a modern take on the original 60s car.
The same can also be said for the side profile and fastback roofline.
This is a very bold statement but I genuinely think that the S550 Mustang is one of the nicest looking modern production cars, there is so much attention to detail and it really does feel like the designers have tried their best to make a great modern looking car whilst also staying true to the Mustangs roots.
I wasn’t overly keen on the stripes at first and before I bought it was thinking about immediately removing them, but I have really come to love them. I really don’t think the car would be quite the same without them and I feel that they really compliment the stunning Grabber Blue paint nicely.
My only gripes with the exterior is that it doesn’t have the quad tailpipes that the facelift versions have (though I prefer the pre-face car in every other way) and also the shut lines are awful, it’s actually quite shocking that Ford let their cars leave the factory like that. All the cars I viewed were the same so it’s just something you must accept if you want one of these.
A lot of the more interesting cars I’ve had owned had uninteresting looking engine bays, so to open the bonnet of the Mustang and see the massive V8 really does feel quite special to me. There’s nowhere near as much plastic covering the engine up as I expected, just that massive V8 lump dominating the space.
Similarly to the exterior, the interior is a blend of old and new and there are some little details the car has which I absolutely love.
The 3 spoke steering wheel looks great and feels nice in the hand, with an oversized Mustang logo in the centre reminding you that this isn’t just a regular Ford, though a lot of the switchgear makes you think the opposite.
If I’m honest, all the buttons on the wheel do ruin the look somewhat. Whilst I like the functionality they offer; I really don’t like how cluttered steering wheel buttons tend to look. Ergonomically, they’re perfectly useable but a few of the buttons feel a bit awkward to press, not quite being within thumbs reach when you’re holding onto the wheel. Another complaint I have is that there is no pause button on the wheel for audio – where the audio controls are located, there is vol +/- and skip back/forward and an ‘m’ button in the centre, this changes the source and isn’t mappable. Not once have I ever felt inclined to change source while driving – but I do tend to pause quite a lot, so I have to use the touch screen for that.
The circular Rev counter and Speedometer look nice too, nothing to out of the ordinary but a detail I love is the that the speedo shows your ‘Ground Speed’ which is a nice subtle addition to the aviation theme the cockpit has, as well as a nod to the P51 Mustang fighter plane from WW2.
The digital display on the dash also looks nice too, being full colour and a decent resolution.
The display is split into 5 categories: Engine info, Tripcomp./fuel, Track Apps, Driver Assist and Settings.
Engine info shows you information such as your Air/Fuel ratio, Cylinder head temperature, Oil Pressure and other information of that ilk and you can even expand one of these options to display as a digital gauge on the screen.
Tripcomp./fuel is, as you’d expect, where you go to see all your trip information and fuel economy. There are 2x different trips – something I like is it shows you the time-driven for each trip, so I know exactly how many hours I’ve been behind the wheel in my car which I personally find interesting - this is another feature that nods to the aviation theme, with plane engines being measured in hours rather than distance. You can also see things like your average speed, current MPG and MPG over the last 30 mins of driving.
Track Apps is where all the more PH-worthy stuff can be found, there is an onboard accelerometer, a lap timer, an acceleration timer, a braking timer, launch control and line lock. If you didn’t know, line lock will lock the front brakes and allow you to floor the throttle and do a nice big burnout, warming your tyres off before a drag race. It’s a ridiculously cool feature that I am desperate to use but only when my tyres need replacing!
The driver-assist screen is where you enable or disable certain features such as hill start assist and the rear-view camera.
Lastly, settings obviously have a bunch of things you can configure. The only option of interest here is MyColour which allows you to choose what colour you want the ambient lighting. The ambient lighting in this car is worth talking about. You can choose 2 different types of lighting – the gauge cluster and everything else. So, you could have red dials, but blue mood lighting if you want. There are several colours to choose from, but you can also create your own colour, allowing you to have exactly the colour you want. The gauge cluster looks brilliant, but I do feel that the rest of the interior lighting leaves a lot to be desired.
There doesn’t seem to be that much of it – though what is there is nice, there is lighting in the footwells, in the cup holder and in the door handles but my favourite place would be the Mustang plaque on the door sill which looks superb in all of the dozen or so preset colours or whatever custom shade you make.
The centre console is quite nicely designed too, the infotainment screen is integrated into the dash and positioned well - not lazily stuck on top of the dash like a lot of more premium brands. I’m looking at you, Mercedes.
All the dials and buttons look fine and are positioned fairly well. I like the silver/aluminium (read: plastic) rocker buttons for temperature and the toggle switches at the bottom look very cool and unique, these are for things such as driving mode, traction control, steering adjustment and hazards. I can’t say the same for the start/stop button though, which looks a bit cheap to me – it would look nicer if it was all red in my opinion.
The touch screen functions well enough, using Ford’s SYNC 3 system.
You can manage audio, climate, phone and navigation through SYNC and if you don’t like the touch screen you can also use physical buttons instead. Apple Car Play and Android Auto are also available, which is what I tend to use over Ford’s system, but the only complaint is that it will only function via cable, not via Wi-Fi – odd as the car will actually connect to Wi-Fi networks for SYNC and map updates. The car has 2 USB ports too, one built into the centre console and the other in the armrest storage compartment.
The car has a rear-view camera as standard – presumably because rear cameras are a legal requirement in the US. The picture quality is good but not great, I like how you can actually see the GT logo in the camera (albeit upside down) but I don’t like how at night if you are reversing and braking, the red glow makes it quite hard to see. My car also has the optional rear parking sensors. Front sensors were not available which is a shame.
It's worth noting that the rear camera is significantly better quality than it appears in the picture below.
My GT is fitted with the optional Shaker audio system which includes a subwoofer in the boot. It’s a decent sound system, probably the best I’ve had in a car but I’m sure that serious Audiophiles wouldn’t be as impressed.
The dash design is also nice too, the ‘brushed aluminium’ panel looks nice to my eyes, though it’s actually just plastic and there is a plaque on the dash on the passenger side to commemorate the Mustangs 50th anniversary which is another nice touch. The rest of the dash is covered in ‘plasti-leather’ which, again, is pleasant enough.
The boot is pretty well sized and the rear seats fold down which is great, the only issue here is that the access hatch for the boot is a bit of an awkward shape and you might have problems getting something in the boot even if the boot itself is big enough.
Speaking of rear seats, the S550 has very comfortable rear seats. As you’d expect, leg room isn’t terrific but it’s perfectly acceptable for children – it’s good enough for adults too… If they’re short, at least. The problem with the rear seats is the long, swooping roofline. I’m bang on 6 feet and there just isn’t room for my head in the back. My girlfriend is 5ft 1” and she fits perfectly. This probably isn’t the car for you unless your backseat passengers are children or midgets. Or midget children.
My car also has the option heated/cooled seats. If I’m honest, this car doesn’t have particularly impressive heated seats. They’re ok but don’t seem to get that hot – I like my heated seats to set my bum on fire, these just make it slightly warm. The cooled seats are pretty good though. Interestingly, you can hear them running if you listen carefully.
I am extremely lucky to have regular use of some very nice metal and have driven a decent selection of premium cars from brand new 7 Series and Panamera’s to Cayenne’s and X5’s – with the odd Ferrari, M and AMG sprinkled in between. The Mustangs interior obviously isn’t as nice as those cars and I wouldn’t ever try and say it is, but it really isn’t that bad as reviews seem to suggest. It’s honestly feels not much worse than a standard 3 series or similar in terms of build quality and in my opinion has a much more interesting design and layout than similar cars. What is bad though, is the RHD conversion. Ford have put minimal effort into making the switch from left to right hand drive. The handbrake is on the passenger side which itself isn’t a problem – the problem is caused by the cupholders being next to the handbrake on the driver side. Whenever your cup holders are doing their job, you must reach either around or over them in order to change gear because the cups get right in the way. I do feel like it gives the car a bit of charm though – the cumbersome and lazy conversion kind of plays into the muscle car image, don’t you think?
As you’ve probably figured, overall, I love how the Mustang looks, both inside and out. But, I hear you ask, how does it drive?
The Mustang GT accelerates from 0-60 in 4.6 seconds so while it is virtually identical to my old PDK 987, it doesn’t feel quite as quick. As well as being nearly 300kg heavier than the Boxster, you also sit higher, have more sound deadening and have a metal roof so I can’t say I’m surprised. Despite not feeling as quite as quick, it certainly feels a lot more powerful and the Coyote motor is an absolute peach. The 5.0 V8 feels very brutish, angry and the sheer amount of torque makes acceleration in any gear feel absolutely effortless. I’ve been in 5th gear at 10mph and pulled away without even a hint of juddering, it just picks up speed – yet the engine is far from lazy and is surprisingly enjoyable to work. When you start reaching for the higher end of the rev range it really is a fun motor to rev. It will reach 7,000rpm where the entire gauge cluster turns bright red but not much really happens beyond 6,500rpm so I tend to shift around then. The mid-range acceleration feels much more impressive than the 987 and it does get you into license-losing territory quite quickly.
Speaking of shifting, as much as genuinely loved the PDK box, it is nice to be back in a manual and the Mustang has a surprisingly nice gearbox mated to its wonderful engine. The clutch is heavy, and the shifter feels very mechanical – almost agricultural in a way – but a good way. It really is a very old-school feeling car and I don’t mean that as a negative at all, it really is a lovely change compared to how most modern cars drive, you can’t rush it too much but it just feels right as you slide it into gear – que the cliché about cocking a well-oiled rifle. It doesn’t feel quite as good as the MK1 MX5 (the best feeling shift I’ve personally felt) but it’s not far off. The gear ratios are pretty much spot on and all give a good surge of power – except for 6th which is very much a cruising gear. As I’ve already said, even high gears at very low speed just pull without issue. I do end up skipping gears quite often, so I don’t end up working the engine as much as I’d like… It’s just something the Mustang does so well – it’s fun to work but also fun to be lazy in.
The V8 sounds brilliant too, burbling into life and making a truly wonderful noise that really makes that inner 10-year-old snigger. At lower revs, it's not overly loud but put your foot down and it begins to sing louder and louder as you climb through the revs and as you approach the redline it’s impossible not to smile.
As wonderful as it does sound, it is just that little bit quiet if I am honest. There is barely any exhaust noise, everything you hear is engine noise. Nice at motorway speeds or when backing out of the driveway at unsociable hours but not so nice when you want to just be a hooligan and tick everyone off. I’ll look at aftermarket exhausts when I can justify the financial outlay, but I don’t think a new exhaust is necessarily essential. The car sounds brilliant out of the box – it would just sound better a little louder, in the same way that your car is probably fast enough, but you wouldn’t say no to another 100bhp.
Lots of feedback, a perfectly balanced chassis and go-kart handling are not phrases I’d use to describe the Mustang. Though given its size, it’s not a bad steer. You get a choice of 3 modes for the electric steering. Normal, Comfort and Sport. Comfort makes the steering incredibly light; Sport makes it heavy and Normal is somewhere in between. You do notice the difference between all 3, none of which give any real sense of feedback at all, meaning there is literally no reason to switch between the modes, so I just leave it on normal. I doubt anyone buying a Mustang is looking for Caterham-like steering feel though, so I do cut it a bit of slack is this department.
While it doesn’t have any feel, it does grip well, hustling its weight through corners and perfectly happy to change direction again and again. The suspension is firm as you’d expect but the rear is a little too firm and crashy and on the dreadful P-Zero tyres it has the back end does like to kick out in the wet if you so much as sniff the throttle, though it’s easy enough to pull back in. There isn’t too much body roll either and it does keep fairly flat and composed for its size too. I was expecting it to be dreadful when cornering and I’m actually disappointed how competent it actually is in the bends – if feeling a little cumbersome at times. It’s not going to keep up with much on a tight B-road, it’s just too big and wide to confidently push on that kind of road but I’m sure it could hold its own on some bigger roads with long, swooping bends and I honestly think I could put in some decent laps on track. Maybe I’ll organise a trip to Brands hatch in the future... I’ll definitely be opting for PS4’s when it’s time for new rubber though, the P-Zero tyres were bizarre choice from Ford to put on this car.
I’ve not really had a chance to properly test the brakes yet. They are very heavily assisted and extremely sharp which I don’t love. You just don’t really get a sense of feel. They stop the car quickly enough, but the heavy assistance gives the illusion that the brakes are better than they actually are – it’s something I’ve found with all modern Fords that I’ve driven.
The Mustang drives pretty much as you’d expect for the most part – but it really is more than the sum of its parts. Like I said earlier, it really does feel very old school and special to me. What it lacks in precision and finesse it more than makes up for in fun. The Mustang is a bit rough around the edges but crucially it has the character and charm that the German rivals I test drove missed. At regular road speeds it feels special, fun and unique and I do feel like I’m the last of a dying breed in it.
Running costs aren’t too bad either. In the (just under) 3,000 miles I've done so far, I’ve averaged just under 26mpg and that is a mix of motorway, town and more spirited driving. On a run it gets high 30s sitting at 65mph with Cruise on – I had a 39.8 mpg average over a 120-mile trip the other week and cruising at 60mph with no incline, I’ve averaged over 40 which is unbelievable! VED is just £145 per year and servicing is around £300 with the intervals being every 12 months or 10,000 miles so it’s cheap to run relative to the performance on offer. I’m 27, so you’d expect that I’m being fleeced for insurance but it’s quite reasonable at around £500 with 10 years no claims and living in a ‘C’ grade postcode. For reference, it’s only about £20 more than the Boxster S I had before.
I do a 40-mile round trip each day where I sit at 60mph with Cruise Control on. I should have just bought a Diesel 4 banger. But that’s not what being a Petrolhead about is it? There is nothing quite like hearing that V8 burble into life on a frosty morning and hearing it snarl and bark as you back out of the driveway.
I’ve seen quite a few owners on PH saying that the car was a disappointment or unexciting.
If you are used to forced induction engines or modern sports cars then I can see how you would be disappointed but if you see the Mustang for what it is – an old-school, big, crude pony car then you’re going to have a good time.
It has enough toys inside to keep you amused at the red light and it has enough power to keep you amused at the green light.
It is undeniably cool, it looks the absolute business, it has a magnificent engine and is, for all intents and purposes, a properly fast muscle car. What’s not to love?
I’d highly recommend a Mustang for those looking to scratch that N/A V8 itch while you still have the chance, just go into it with your eyes open and remember what exactly the car is.
You can’t have too many photos – so I’ll finish off with a few more...
Very cool, been knocking about a few Fords dealerships the last few weekends so have had a poke around a fair few Mustangs - they're really quite nice and Ford trim levels in general across the range seem to have come on leaps and bounds.
I rented a Mustang in the US about 7 years ago now and it was quite awful in terms of build quality and interior quality. Glad to see they got on top of that before the UK release.
I rented a Mustang in the US about 7 years ago now and it was quite awful in terms of build quality and interior quality. Glad to see they got on top of that before the UK release.
Fonzey said:
Very cool, been knocking about a few Fords dealerships the last few weekends so have had a poke around a fair few Mustangs - they're really quite nice and Ford trim levels in general across the range seem to have come on leaps and bounds.
I rented a Mustang in the US about 7 years ago now and it was quite awful in terms of build quality and interior quality. Glad to see they got on top of that before the UK release.
It really has improved massively. You do get quite a few bits from the Ford parts bin in the Mustang but it's not necessairly a bad thing. I rented a Mustang in the US about 7 years ago now and it was quite awful in terms of build quality and interior quality. Glad to see they got on top of that before the UK release.
At the price the car was new compared to similar performance cars, I think they've done an excellent job with the interior.
Paul S4 said:
Very nice car... very PH !
I cannot believe that the VED is only £145....for a 5 litre V8 Petrol engine ....!!!
VED on mine, bought in 2016, was £550 but then they changed the rules and the new buyer paid a one off £2000 VED on the price of the car then £145 each subsequent year. Great if you buy S/H. I cannot believe that the VED is only £145....for a 5 litre V8 Petrol engine ....!!!
Oh and the car had to be under £40k.
I miss mine. Competition Orange, not seen another. But still, mine was £33k new and sold 2 years later for £30k.
Cheap motoring in a lovely V8.
Great write up, you've really captured the joy of owning one of these beauties.
While they are pretty good out of the box you don't have to spend much to make some noticeable improvements to the handling. Worth it if the car is a keeper.
Also, I guarantee the first time you hear another one with an aftermarket exhaust you'll totally change your mind about leaving yours with the stock system
While they are pretty good out of the box you don't have to spend much to make some noticeable improvements to the handling. Worth it if the car is a keeper.
Also, I guarantee the first time you hear another one with an aftermarket exhaust you'll totally change your mind about leaving yours with the stock system
As I am approaching the end of my fifth month with the Mustang, so I thought I'd provide a small update on ownership.
I've done just over 4,000 miles now and my overall average MPG has dropped to 25.9 - this is because I've been doing more short runs and fewer long runs recently. It's still a fairly impressive figure given the size of the engine.
I've got the car's second service booked for April 2nd with Ford, the cost should be around £255 which isn't too bad for a main dealer stamp and the S550 has only done just over 5,000 miles in total now so I doubt it'll need any further work doing to it. I do need to purchase some touch-up paint though, as I have come across a particularly annoying design flaw. When you lift the wipers up from the windscreen to wash them, the catch on the triangular bulges in the bonnet, causing me to scrape the tip of the bonnet to the point where there is bare aluminium on show. Quite irritating but not the end of the world.
I was lucky enough to get 3x Tyres from a fellow Mustang owner for free! 2 rear's and 1 front - all with 6mm or so of tread and all Pirelli P-Zeroes - that's around £600 or so of free rubber. I won't need new tyres for quite some time but it's quite comforting knowing that I won't have to worry about the cost. I did want to get PS4s when it was time for new tyres as the P Zeroes aren't great but at the end of the day, they were free so win-win in my book.
Other than that, there isn't too much to say.
Though I have loved every car I have owned in one way or another, this is the first car that I still can't stop looking at this long into ownership. At home, I'll often look at it out of the window and at work, I'll go out to see it at lunch. Whenever I lock it, I can't help but look back at it as I'm walking away.
I'm looking forward to spring where I can start enjoying the car more and working the engine more and hopefully taking it to some meets and shows. It'll be on display at Brands Hatch for American Speedfest so feel free to say hi if you see me there.
I've done just over 4,000 miles now and my overall average MPG has dropped to 25.9 - this is because I've been doing more short runs and fewer long runs recently. It's still a fairly impressive figure given the size of the engine.
I've got the car's second service booked for April 2nd with Ford, the cost should be around £255 which isn't too bad for a main dealer stamp and the S550 has only done just over 5,000 miles in total now so I doubt it'll need any further work doing to it. I do need to purchase some touch-up paint though, as I have come across a particularly annoying design flaw. When you lift the wipers up from the windscreen to wash them, the catch on the triangular bulges in the bonnet, causing me to scrape the tip of the bonnet to the point where there is bare aluminium on show. Quite irritating but not the end of the world.
I was lucky enough to get 3x Tyres from a fellow Mustang owner for free! 2 rear's and 1 front - all with 6mm or so of tread and all Pirelli P-Zeroes - that's around £600 or so of free rubber. I won't need new tyres for quite some time but it's quite comforting knowing that I won't have to worry about the cost. I did want to get PS4s when it was time for new tyres as the P Zeroes aren't great but at the end of the day, they were free so win-win in my book.
Other than that, there isn't too much to say.
Though I have loved every car I have owned in one way or another, this is the first car that I still can't stop looking at this long into ownership. At home, I'll often look at it out of the window and at work, I'll go out to see it at lunch. Whenever I lock it, I can't help but look back at it as I'm walking away.
I'm looking forward to spring where I can start enjoying the car more and working the engine more and hopefully taking it to some meets and shows. It'll be on display at Brands Hatch for American Speedfest so feel free to say hi if you see me there.
How things have changed since the last update.
I've only done another 600 or so miles in the last 10 weeks, now just over 7 months into my ownership.
I mostly work from home but do go into the office once a week or so. Going to the office feels like a treat as I get to take the S550 out for a spin.
I have taken advantage of the emptier roads and as a result my average fuel economy has decreased down to 25mpg.
Most of the time the car is tucked away in the garage.
The car was due it's 2nd year/20k service at the start of April, however, the dealer has pushed it back further and further. Currently it's booked in with Ford for next week. Given that it's still under warranty, I am a bit concerned that it wasn't serviced on time in case Ford use that as an excuse to invalid a potential claim, however, the dealership is insisting that due to the circumstances and the fact that the car has only done 5k it won't be a problem. We'll see if I ever have to claim.
I've also started to look into and consider exhaust modifications too, just to make the car a touch louder.
I wonder what the next couple of months will bring...
I've only done another 600 or so miles in the last 10 weeks, now just over 7 months into my ownership.
I mostly work from home but do go into the office once a week or so. Going to the office feels like a treat as I get to take the S550 out for a spin.
I have taken advantage of the emptier roads and as a result my average fuel economy has decreased down to 25mpg.
Most of the time the car is tucked away in the garage.
The car was due it's 2nd year/20k service at the start of April, however, the dealer has pushed it back further and further. Currently it's booked in with Ford for next week. Given that it's still under warranty, I am a bit concerned that it wasn't serviced on time in case Ford use that as an excuse to invalid a potential claim, however, the dealership is insisting that due to the circumstances and the fact that the car has only done 5k it won't be a problem. We'll see if I ever have to claim.
I've also started to look into and consider exhaust modifications too, just to make the car a touch louder.
I wonder what the next couple of months will bring...
Hired a rag top GT on a business trip to Miami earlier this year, after the working week a friend and I took it down to Key West and back.
Loved it, what a great machine, was perfect for the trip. We saw so many Mustangs on the way down but hardly any seemed to be the GT.
The U.S spec does seem to have a diff boot panel and exhaust set up, this one had 4 pipes not 2?
The one in the office had something different about it too, could be a cut n shut job
Loved it, what a great machine, was perfect for the trip. We saw so many Mustangs on the way down but hardly any seemed to be the GT.
The U.S spec does seem to have a diff boot panel and exhaust set up, this one had 4 pipes not 2?
The one in the office had something different about it too, could be a cut n shut job
Indeed, as already said the US-spec ones do have some styling differences - the GT Logo on the decklid as well as red taillights, both of which I'd like to one day modify my car to look like as I prefer the look.
The active quad exhaust is available on UK cars but only the facelift S550. This is the only part of the facelift car that I prefer to the older model I have.
I've been to the US half a dozen times since the S550 launched and they seem to be on nearly every street you drive down. Any street that doesn't have an S550 has an older Mustang!
I've never rented a Mustang stateside. Originally, I was planning to hold off on buying one as I had a 3000-mile road trip in February and the idea was to rent a Mustang for the trip and use it as a 3000-mile test drive and if I liked the car I'd buy one in the UK but due to a number of reasons I happened to start looking a little early and snapped up my car back in October and changed the road trip rental to a Cadillac Escalade - which was fantastic.
I've done a similar length road trip in a Corvette - with 9 other Corvettes with Petrolhead Nirvana a few years ago. A brilliant trip that I would love to do it again in an S550 GT.
The active quad exhaust is available on UK cars but only the facelift S550. This is the only part of the facelift car that I prefer to the older model I have.
I've been to the US half a dozen times since the S550 launched and they seem to be on nearly every street you drive down. Any street that doesn't have an S550 has an older Mustang!
I've never rented a Mustang stateside. Originally, I was planning to hold off on buying one as I had a 3000-mile road trip in February and the idea was to rent a Mustang for the trip and use it as a 3000-mile test drive and if I liked the car I'd buy one in the UK but due to a number of reasons I happened to start looking a little early and snapped up my car back in October and changed the road trip rental to a Cadillac Escalade - which was fantastic.
I've done a similar length road trip in a Corvette - with 9 other Corvettes with Petrolhead Nirvana a few years ago. A brilliant trip that I would love to do it again in an S550 GT.
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