Tuesday 18th April 2017

Ford Mustang GT: PH Fleet

A month in and with the honeymoon period certainly over, the Mustang continues to impress actually

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Understandably, the Mustang has been rather in demand during its first month with us. It's one of those cars you want to have a go in, right? Pleasingly though, while this has been the case, there also appears to be more to the Mustang than simply the initial glitz.

Oh damn, do we have the wrong colour?

Video man Mitch was the first custodian I reluctantly had to surrender the keys to, his road testing instinct finely honed after the Duster epic. He reported back "an overarching sense of fun and ridiculousness" thanks mainly to that engine, but also said the traction control was "ludicrous" in the way it struggles to contain the power. In the car's defence it's fairly benign when it does move, although the threshold's lenience can be surprising when so many other systems are as draconian as they are.

Mitch did have a few grievances though, which I certainly share. None of the steering modes are great, rendering a choice between them rather redundant. The cupholders are in a terrible position, meaning you have to reach awkwardly around your Salted Toffee Macadamia Frappuccino to change gear. With the handbrake not moved from LHD either the problem is two-fold. Hardly the end of the world, but irritating nonetheless if you travel with a drink. Changing a radio station can be a lot of work too, though that's an accusation that can be levelled at many cars now.

The Mustang has a lot of endearing traits that I'm beginning to appreciate as well. The display in between the dials doesn't reset when you turn the car off, meaning the newly discovered oil temp gauge can stay there permanently. The Bluetooth and voice recognition have worked flawlessly so far, which does still elude many other systems. And the fuel filler - of course I'm familiar with that - requires the minimum of faff, with a simple cap and Ford's Easy Fuel neck. As if you might mistake it for a diesel...

Someone forgot the estate car memo

Fuel consumption at the moment is hovering around the 24mpg mark, which is entirely acceptable I think. Around town it's below 20, on the motorway it's nearly 30. There's not a cheap way to run eight cylinders!

Previously I had no issue with the Mustang's ride, simply accepting it as a little tough around town. Having driven an Alpina recently though, which was more supple despite less tyre profile and bigger wheels, the Mustang's relative lack of sophistication was exposed. It's not terrible, but there are better.

It levels out pretty well at speed though, and the Mustang is a supreme motorway car. As proven yesterday, when I pottered up the A1 for breakfast at an OK Diner. Just because it made some sense, and it's nice to drive on roads that aren't horrendously crowded. For two hours there and two hours back it was super relaxing, heated seat on and CarPlay cycling through podcasts. And Alan Partridge's Nomad, to provide some lighter listening. For those of you who have read it, you should know that the Mustang sounds to have a horn borrowed from the rest of the Ford range...

Seemed the right thing to do...

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of vicarious Mustang ownership at the moment though, beyond the noise, the look, the hooligan nature and those lovely seats, is people's response to it. Despite not a single external Mustang badge, people just know what it is. They point, they wave, they chat at petrol stations; indeed a young gent who may well have been born in this century said I had a "cool car bruv", which was most pleasing. Isn't it nice though, in an age where cars are often vilified, that a big old slice of US muscle can still make people smile?

It makes the person behind the wheel smile too, because it offers so much enjoyment at low commitment levels. It's the antithesis of so much on sale today, including the Focus RS in fact. What it's like at the limit we hope to find out this month with a track outing. Pray for the tyres...

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2017 Ford Mustang GT
On fleet since: March 2017
Mileage: 5,229 (delivered on 3,251)
List price new: £36,345 (£38,525 as tested comprising £595 for Lightning Blue paint, £795 for Shaker Pro premium audio system with navigation, £495 for Climate controlled seats and £295 for reverse parking sensors) 
Last month at a glance: Mustang continues its charm offensive!

Previous reports:
Who has that fuel card again? Hello Mustang!

[lee_erm]

"The Mustang's relative lack of sophistication was exposed"

Which part of the Mustang chassis is it which isn't sophisticated? They ride better than a big Audis in my experience; I've never heard an Audi chassis described as unsophisticated.

[Vroom101]

lee_erm said:

"The Mustang's relative lack of sophistication was exposed"

Which part of the Mustang chassis is it which isn't sophisticated? They ride better than a big Audis in my experience; I've never heard an Audi chassis described as unsophisticated.

In the article he was comparing it to an Alpina. To be fair to the Mustang, most things on the road have unsophisticated suspension compared to an Alpina - they are acknowledged​ as being masters of the dark art.

[Biggriff]

Don't pray for the tyres on your track day. They are the weakest link on the car. With a bit stickier rubber the car is transformed. It's genuinely night and day difference.

[DM525i]

There was a time in my car liking history when I would have never considered an American car to be any good at all. But now if I were to buy something with a big engine I would definitely consider one of these. Who needs sophisticated when unsophisticated will do, it will probably mean cheaper running cost over time which means more money for few and coffee to put in the annoying cup holders. I love this type of car, well done America.

[Hairymonster]

I'd have one of these like a shot

[unpc]

I'd agree with everything in that write up. I have an Alpina and the GT so I know what you mean. It hasn't got that last level of sophistication but I still love it. The traction on cold tyres is laughable. I can break traction on tickover...

Everybody loves this car it seems when I'm out in it.

[DPSFleet]

Great car in all respects except the body/trim build quality, panel gaps are atrocious (or rather like a 1970's uk Ford!). B.ack in the US of A ths is a no brainer though 'cos it's soooo cheap

[unpc]

DPSFleet said:

Great car in all respects except the body/trim build quality, panel gaps are atrocious (or rather like a 1970's uk Ford!). B.ack in the US of A ths is a no brainer though 'cos it's soooo cheap

It's pretty cheap here to be fair. This or a 420d for the same money....

[Bladedancer]

You've compared Alpina to the Mustang suspension-wise. How do they compare on price and power?

Other than this, prices seem to be creeping up, maybe due to low availability and/or long waits. Saw a new one (an auto at that) at Ford main dealer for 40k. A used one with a few thousand miles was 35k. From what the salesman said the wait time on these is considerable.

Other than that I have to say inside they are better than 2000s stuff like Monaro/GTO and the gear change is fantastic on these. They do look the part and sound nice too. Boot is surprisingly big but rear seats are token gesture.

[VeeFource]

That's great it has an oil temperature gauge. Why oh why isn't it a standard bit of kit on most cars, especially on performance versions? If you have a half hour commute then you could potentially be missing out on using the performance of up to around 20% of that time through playing it safe (given engines warm up at different rates depending on the type of driving).

[SturdyHSV]

So happy these are doing well in the UK, long may it continue and maybe one day direct competitors may even surface

Getting a bit of a stiff one over panel gaps is a new one on me, I shall have to re-evaluate my enjoyment of various vehicles with this in mind, especially as I'd really hate for the neighbours to think that my mass produced car was produced by a cheaper robot than their mass produced car.

[Turbobanana]

Slightly disappointing PH Fleet report: where's the writer's view of actually driving it?

Cars seem to have evolved to such an extent that there isn't a bad one left out there if trivial items like cup holders, radio tuning, Bluetooth connectivity and programmable steering are the main topic of conversation.

[Krikkit]

Not sure about comparing ride quality of a £36k car (with a V8!) and a £50k+ car like an Alpina, but an interesting write-up. Sounds like a very beguiling thing, can't wait until they're more sensibly priced.

[downthepub]

VeeFource said:

That's great it has an oil temperature gauge.

They've got an impressive amount of gauges and stats for number geeks, including:

• Air/Fuel Ratio
• Boost/Vacuum
• Cylinder Head Temperature
• Inlet Air Temperature
• Oil Pressure
• Oil Temperature
• Transmission Oil Temp
• Voltage

My favourite, for no particular reason, is Cylinder Head Temperature.

[SpamCan]

I had a poke around one being raced in Sportsman ET (albeit a US LHD import) at the weekend whilst I was at Santa Pod (several hours between qualifiers in Super-Pro; where I was crewing) very nice car, the interior is a world apart from the 2005-2009 model and a nice improvement on the 2010-2014 facelift. Though I prefer the external looks of my own 2006 Mustang, I will agree it’s a great looking car and I really strugge to see where the complaints can come from given what that car offers for £36k, as others have said, if you don’t like it you can always up the “quality” and swap the 5.0L V8 Mustang for a 2.0L I4 diesel 4 series for the same/similar money. Given enough budget for fuel and not being used as a company car I can’t see why the Mustang wouldn’t win (even in Ecoboost form) every time.

Gauges are great, one thing I cannot stand on most modern cars is the idiot lights that pass for gauges, or indeed idiot lights themselves. Though it seems Ford have looked at the sort of gauges people add to their cars when doing quite a bit of track work (be it circuit or drag strip); I added AFR (though I had to add a wideband O2 sensor – the current mustang comes with them as standard) transmission temperature and oil pressure (also gives an idea of the current oil temperature once you learn what it looks like in normal operation) for drag racing as the information was useful; of course I could have data logged it (bar the oil pressure as the 05-09 model does not have an oil pressure sender but a switch that grounds when the pressure is above 6psi) but data logging is banned unless your car can go 8.99 or quicker over the ¼ if you are competing in licenced competition, which is a bit crap but those are the rules.

[Lucky Eddie]

"Despite not a single external Mustang badge..." What's that on the grille, a parrot?

[Centurion07]

I would imagine they're referring to the tribar usually sat behind said parrot.

[great_kahn]

Turbobanana said:

Slightly disappointing PH Fleet report: where's the writer's view of actually driving it?

Cars seem to have evolved to such an extent that there isn't a bad one left out there if trivial items like cup holders, radio tuning, Bluetooth connectivity and programmable steering are the main topic of conversation.

Amen, should have let video man Mitch do the write up, his duster review was the best write up I've seen on here in a while.

[DPSFleet]

unpc said:

It's pretty cheap here to be fair. This or a 420d for the same money....

Yes I thought so but passed one in a shopping Mall this week and it had £45k on the screen, I am selling my lovely 2014 V6S F Type with 4k miles for that!

[Lukas239]

I feckin love the OK diners on the A1. Wish I had a mustang to roar up there with.