Growing up in England in the 1980s and 1990s, you didn't see too many Ford Mustangs. It's almost certainly that air of unobtainable exotica that started my own personal love of American muscle cars. But on a recent visit back home, I spied a Mustang parked in the small village where my family still reside. It's perhaps a mark of the depth to which the latest generations have become commonplace, although that's nothing compared to its popularity in the UAE.
Last year, The National's most-read road test online was, you guessed it, the Mustang – specifically, the 5.0L V8 incarnation. Our writer back then was handed a striking yellow example; however, my test car for the 2017 update doesn't look quite as imperious in silver.
You have to look a little closer than in some previous model years to spy the telltale signs that this is indeed the full-fat Mustang, rather than a V6 or four-cylinder EcoBoost variant: the GT badging is subtle, and although it still boasts a “5.0” on both front flanks, they’re also small enough not to shout too loudly about its status. One feature I had been looking forward to trying was the Mustang’s heralded Line Lock, but unfortunately my test car is the lower of the two trim options for the V8, which as well as lacking that tyre-shredding luxury means cloth, rather than leather, seats.
In the UAE, the EcoBoost Mustang apparently scores top specs and the V6 lower, as standard. Which also accounts for why my infotainment screen is about the size of a credit card, with no touchscreen capabilities. It’s fiddly to operate and, all told, a bit frustrating.
There are a few other interior doubts that would certainly nag away at me were I to replace my own 2012 V6 with this car. An assortment of air-conditioning vents, for example, turn the dash into a bit of a design hotchpotch that even a plate above the glovebox, trumpeting the Mustang’s half-century-plus history and its Pony Car logo, can’t quite rescue. The angular and really-not-all-that-sizeable wing mirrors are a bit style over substance.
But from a practical point of view, the steering wheel controls include everything where you need them and, most crucially, that steering wheel, when coupled with some right-foot action, connects you to an eight-cylinder growl that you will never get tired of. And that’s even without pulling the gearstick towards you another notch into Sport (albeit with occasional difficulties selecting gears from standstill thanks to the proximity and slightly wonky labelling of reverse, neutral and drive).
Lift that bulged bonnet – well, I say “bulged”, but nowadays, in the more-angular Mustang, it’s more like creased – and it’s refreshing to actually be able to see the outlines of cylinders, with the largest “5.0” branding of all reserved for the main unit itself. And when it boots out its full 421hp and 530Nm of torque via 19-inch Pirellis, it can still be a cheeky handful to control. It’s worth noting that those figures are actually slightly down on the outgoing model year, by 20hp and 12Nm respectively, but the new engine does boast an upgraded valve train and cylinder heads, and Ford says that various factors combine to improve fuel efficiency. Conversely, if you’re not so bothered about the frequency of your petrol-station stop-offs and just want to give the ’Stang a good old-fashioned blast, there are flappy shift paddles.
I’m still not totally sold on the sixth generation’s exterior looks. The nose is sharkish; the fastback is rakish and sleek, but I can’t quite help feel it has lost a little of the character that drove the Mustang since its vital fifth-generation reboot with the 2005 model year (the less said the better about the eyesores that comprised the previous two generations). The six-part rear lights, which double as sequential indicator lights, are still a delight, mind you, and the car’s overall stance is lower and wider, with the roof height reduced. That doubtless helps to cement the fact that, compared to my own Mustang, this beast corners like it isn’t about to quibble with the laws of gravity and fly off into the stratosphere.
It could be argued that I’m the wrong person to be reviewing a Mustang, as an existing owner. But my love for the most iconic of American muscle cars is tempered by being its biggest critic when it comes to the minutiae of the car. What it all boils down to, though, is should you buy the 2017 model above any other recent predecessor? Whatever your personal view on the styling evolution, the answer is pretty much: yes. Get the top-spec V8, though, or forever regret your skinflint tendencies.
aworkman@thenational.ae
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