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When you get to 50 years with a single model of car, you don't **** it up.
Because the whole world's watching.
Let's see how Ford handled the limelight.
As we get our first pretty deep drink of our 2015 six generation all new mustang.
Check this out.
Compared to the outgoing model.
The new car is lower.
About an inch and a quarter at the roof and almost three inches so at the rear deck.
It is wider and the rear wheels have been pushed out about three inches, That makes for sexy coke bottle hips.
Up front of course you've gotta have a long hood.
And you've got that [NOISE] shark bite mouth.
Coming to the rear you've got the fast back roof line.
They call this the unified DLO or daylight opening.
In other words they made the B pillar black so it kind of visually goes away.
That leads to the rear which is still a short deck.
And out around the transom you've got those signature three vertical bar sequential tail lights.
And they are very much tilted forward this time.
More than any other Mustang.
Now in terms of engineering and technology, there are a slew of firsts on this six generation Mustang.
They are at least firsts in terms of it every being on a mainstream mustang model.
A turbo engine, first since a limited production SVO in the early 80's.
Available four cylinder engine, first since the lamented Mustang two.
All the new Mustangs have independent rear suspension.
The automatic cars have paddles for the first time.
Mustang gets My Ford Touch for the first time.
And for the first time this car's being marketed heavily overseas.
Europe, Asia, 120 markets total.
Yet they didn't shrink it down to fit on tiny streets of ancient cities.
They went out there and said.
This is a Mustang.
Deal.
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And inside, the technology is familiar.
It's just new on a Mustang.
My Ford Touch, you could never get this in a Mustang before.
You can get it with or without navigation.
And to be fair, they've taken this highly maligned system and got it at least to good, if not excellent, in terms of its interface and touch response.
So it's no longer a black mark.
Notice some of the switch gears though.
It's not all touch in this car like some previous Fords.
Volume and tuning are metalized physical knobs.
Thank you.
Toggles are new in a Mustang.
They say it's an aircraft thing.
I say it's a traditional sports car thing.
This one here is new in a Mustang.
It lets you select one of three.
Steering feels, driving modes.
This guy gets it new for the first time.
A normal, a sport, a track or a foul weather mode.
A storage bin here with USB.
Belive it or not, Mustangs didn't have that before.
They've been able to thin things out.
I swear the cowl is lower cuz this thing used to feel like you were driving a tank before.
It's come down with the classic dual Mustang.
Particularly 67, 68 [UNKNOWN] here.
They put an air bag in the glove box lid.
They say they were able to lift this whole area up three inches, it kills a lot of claustrophobia.
Ditto for the way they've carved out the center console and pushed these speakers flush in the door panel.
Like they should be, but weren't.
Now when we got this car, I specifically asked Ford to give me the 2.3 liter in line four engine, and an automatic transmission.
Because that's where the heart of the technology lives in the new Mustang.
This guy is a twin scroll turbo, Ford's first, and it's also direct injection, that's part of the eco-boost technology, and highly variable valve timing.
We're looking at a six speed manual as your base gear box but as I mentioned I've got the six speed automatic which has paddles on the wheels for the first time in a Mustang.
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The numbers 310 horsepower, 320 pound feet of torque, rear wheel drive obviously, though Ford says their stability control is so good and so smart this will tackle foul weather pretty well.
The car weighs a little over 3,500 pounds in this 4 cylinder automatic.
The configuration.
That's about 200 pounds more than a previous V6 with the same transmission.
That weight gain is generally attributed to the adoption of a more complex, independent rear suspension.
We'll find out if the weight's worth it in a moment.
In a manual you're gonna get 22, 31.
With an automatic, you'll lose one on the city, pick up one on the highway.
So a lot of folks are gonna say, wow, how's the engine.
I'm gonna say wait a minute, first thing I noticed is actually the suspension.
Normally in a Mustang with a live, solid rear axle you're gonna come across one of these LA canyon roads like this with far from perfect pavement and you're gonna hit a little divot and the whole rear end's gonna do.
Irish jig and end up way out there somewhere.
But that didn't happen.
This car just stayed in place.
That's a miracle for a Mustang.
The [INAUDIBLE] quality is very nicely done.
Almost too soft to be honest.
It's a little kush.
I've been told our car has a base suspension, so look for a sportier upgrade if you buy one to level things out, but hopefully.
That engine.
Turbo lag is very minimal.
It's there.
It's a turbo.
It's kind of has to be.
But it's pretty well managed.
I gotta give him credit for that.
I do find myself running the gears though to dig it up out of its taller gears and make sure I've got all the response I want.
It's a little bit out of sorts with the way a Mustang is supposed to have immediate crack of the throttle response.
And one more thing I want to call your attention to this guy.
I, it's really nice cabin airiness.
The greenhouse as they say in the biz is, is pretty good.
It used to be in a Mustang you felt like you were buried in your coffin and had a steering wheel that they left you with.
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Okay after just one day with the new Mustang here's kinda my overall take on it.
First off the styling is to my eye a home run.
A great looking car.
And I think it'll remain that way five or ten years from now.
And folks won't be saying oh that looks so 2015!
That's the kiss of death.
In terms of engine underneath is Ecoboost 4 we have today.
Is gonna be my winner.
Even after I drive the 6 and the V8, we know those engines.
This one's impressing me for it's tech prowess, efficiency, and power.
Speaking of tech inside the car no longer has to make excuses for being years behind the industry, that's good.
And I think we have a real livable car here.
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Two key things, good ride quality, thank you independent rear suspension and a lightened up cabin with more airiness in it.
You don't feel like driving a tank anymore.
In sum, I think Ford's done their homework and done it right.
We'll get one of these in for a longer period though a little later to give you our further impressions.
