The Mustang nobody buys is the best one

Friday, 24 August 2018

New 2018 face makes the Mustang look meaner, but the tech makes it friendlier than ever.

**FORD MUSTANG GT FASTBACK

Base price:** $79,990

Powertrain and performance: 5.0-litre petrol V8, 339kW/556Nm, 6-speed manual, RWD, Combined economy 13.0 litres per 100km.

339kW and a magnificent sound. That is all you need to know, really.

Vital statistics: 4784mm long, 1381mm high, 2720mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 408 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels with 255/40 tyres front, 275/40 rear.

We like: Digital dash is brilliant. Looks angrier. The V8 is a fantastic engine that produces a magnificent noise.

We don't like: All the cheap hard plastics inside. The silly park brake placement. Poor crash test rating.

Is there anything more truly American than a V8-powered Mustang with a manual transmission? Aside from a Bald Eagle driving a massive pick up truck with fake testicles hanging off the towbar and Donald Trump dressed as Uncle Sam in the back - a manual Mustang is about as 'Murican as it gets.

And it's about as purely 'Mustang' as a Mustang gets too, with a V8 stick-shifter representing precisely what made the Mustang so great in the first place - honest simplicity that made a great base for wildly powerful muscle cars from the likes of Shelby, Rousch and Saleen, but was also a great basic package in its own right.

It looks retro-cool in here, but there are a lot of hard plastics. And the park brake hasn't made the transition to RHD.

So it's not a muscle car then?

Of course not. In fact, a whole class of car that was sporty, usable and everyday-friendly was essentially named for the Mustang after Ford squeezed it out in 1964 - the Pony Car.

* Ford Mustang GT: US open, expecting thunder

* Updated Ford Mustang safer, but still only three stars**

As a relatively affordable (it's relative) RWD V8 with a manual transmission, the Mustang GT is in a class of its own.

While power has increased over the years, the sheer user-friendliness of the Mustang has remained. So much so that sales of Mustangs with automatic transmissions vastly outnumber manual sales, with the manual accounting for a tiny 3 per cent of sales in New Zealand.

And while the new 10-speed auto is a truly sensational piece of kit, there is still a lot to be said for the six-speed manual.

Sure, it is a slightly clunky, not particularly slick shifter, but that hint of old-school recalcitrance actually adds to the Mustang's retro Pony Car appeal.

Old-school? So it's old-fashioned?

Only in its attitude.

But other parts of the Mustang are actually quite satisfyingly high-tech, like the brilliant digital dash and the active exhaust system that can switch between almost silent and earth-shattering with the push of a button.

Handling is acceptably fun in a big American car way too, but it is big - and feels it - so a measured approach to turning into a corner is far more satisfying.

But, of course, a Mustang is all about coming out of that corner in the most fun way possibly, and the manual Fastback is superbly good at that, with everything from a cheeky twitch of the rear as the power comes on to a full-blown smoky tyre-screamer.

That you would only ever do on a track, of course.

As you would also only ever put the active exhaust into it's magnificently bellowy Track mode actually at a track as well. And not at home at 6am just so your neighbours can enjoy it too.

Any other cars I should consider?

Not if you want an officially distributed manual, RWD V8 at a 'reasonable' price.