The Ford Mustang is an iconic car with a fascinating and an unbroken production history. One fun story of its past told less frequently is how Ford chose to advertise the car prior to its release.  On April 16, 1964, Ford placed advertisements on all three major networks – ABC, NBC, CBS – at 9:30pm so everyone watching TV in the U.S. knew the Mustang was going on sale. The following day, people besieged Ford Dealerships and by day’s end Americans placed 22,000 orders for this new two door coupe, thus guaranteeing the Mustang’s success.

The 2019 Ford Mustang GT, now in its sixth generation, having been introduced in 2015 and refreshed in 2018, is the first Mustang to have been conceived as a car for global markets. Currently sold in over 140 countries, about one third of all Mustang’s are now shipped overseas. China absorbs 25% of all Mustangs, Germany picks up over 10,000 units a year, Bulgaria becomes home for approximately twenty cars each year. The list goes on.

During the car’s development, Ford thought their turbocharged four cylinder would serve these markets. But orders have consistently been for the full fat V8 model, with the average price for international transactions being $54,000. So, it is clear there is a global market for American V8 coupes to tear down the German autobahn or cruise through the streets of Shanghai.

The Mustang coupe reviewed here is the standard GT. So, in addition to its five liter V8 and Getrag 6-speed manual, the car had the standard brake system, fixed springs and dampers, cloth seats, and standard exhaust. Two options were installed: the Sync3 infotainment system and the a safety system providing blind spot protection, lane assistance, and collision monitoring.

The Mustang GT is powered by Ford’s five liter V8, affectionately known as the Coyote. Official power figures are 460 hp at 7,000 rpm and 420 lb of torque at 4,600 rpm. The engine block is aluminum. Seat of the pants performance measurements leads me to think its around 500 hp. Given the car’s weight, the Mustang is too quick for Ford’s quoted numbers. And I was driving the traditional 6-speed, which is slower than the 10-speed automatic.

The Getrag 6-speed manual is an excellent gateway to Coyote V8 up front. Each gear was precise and spread out enough for choices to become intuitive in short order. 1st gear on this example was a bit tight moving to 2nd, but I’m sure it will open up with a bit more use and mileage. My test car had about 2,600 miles on the clock. The clutch is good, but like the Camaro 1LE is test drove earlier in the year the friction zone was at the upper end of its travel and lacked a bit of feel at the top. I prefer when clutch plates bond in the middle of the clutch arc and provide more communication. With a bit of time, I got used to the setup.

The GT runs on 18 inch Pirelli Nero all seasons that provide solid grip in wet and dry conditions and the standard brakes are 14 inch disks up front with four pistons and 13 inch single piston disks on the rear. Braking performance was very good, with excellent feel and pedal modulation.

The standard fixed dampers and springs were a surprise for their compliance, control throughout the stroke, and overall sophistication. Backroads in Virginia aren’t known for being glass smooth and the GT soaked up uneven tarmac and pavement undulations remarkably well for a car of this weight and size. Ford engineers need to be applauded for tuning the standard GT with chassis polish. In the past, upgrading to the V8 wasn’t enough. Buyers needed to check off additional boxes to achieve something resembling chassis dynamism. This is no longer true and the change is most welcome. Ordering and speccing the base V8 is no longer an exercise in explaining away shortcomings.

My test car had the traditional speedometer and tachometer, with a digital center area for other information. Everything was easy to see in a variety of lighting conditions at a glance and the fonts and colors complimented displays elsewhere in the cabin.

The center console stack in the GT is also a simple affair with a good sized screen and easy to read fonts and solid backlighting. Sections below for controlling radio settings, cabin temperature, and a few of the electronics available fell readily to hand. Some might fuss about the lack of options, but the simplicity of the controls was welcome in a world where it can take way too long to change a setting – even while stationary. All of it worked flawlessly during my day with the car.

The steering wheel is wrapped in nice leather and a bit of padding underneath.  This three spoke number had a very nice feel to it. Wheel thickness is tradition for normal hands and the wheel circumference is also not too big. Steering effort and feel at low speeds is quite good. When the speed increases the steering loads up to become quite firm, but at a loss of some road feel. The feeling is numb rather than fake. Drivers can compensate because the car communicates elsewhere. But the steering feel could be better.

The overall design focus and layout is a very nice mix of the old and new. Tradition going back to the beginning of the Mustang has been respected and preserved, while making sure the car has current technology applications. The Sync3 system is easy to use, quick to change settings, and isn’t complicated.

One big disappointment is the quality of the interior. There are too many cheap, hard looking plastics throughout the cabin, with unconvincing attempts to simulate other materials – aluminum, leather, and chrome. Given the car’s price range – starting in the high 20’s – I’ve seen much better plastics in vehicles at the same price point. And considering the Mustang GT can be specced to over $50,000, the lack of more premium cabin materials is frustrating. Some will respond but stating it’s a pony car, and cheap bits are to be expected. After all, Ford spent “all” of the money on the motor and chassis. But why tolerate something that’s easy to resolve and wouldn’t cost a lot to upgrade? Ford did chose to swath almost everything in matte black, so the shortcomings are slightly less glaring.

Styling decisions are always subjective, but I think the Ford Mustang is a handsome looking coupe – particularly in the shade of blue found on the car I drove. The hood and roof bump outs look purposeful, the front lights have interesting details, and the rear lights remain traditional. The “5.0” label is prominently displayed on the front quarter panels and the standard quad exhaust system has an authoritative bark.

The value question is interesting. At list price, before options, the Mustang GT is about $37,000. But Ford dealerships in my area and elsewhere are discounting them by $7,000 before negotiation. At approximately $30,000, the GT is a great deal providing eight cylinder power, a manual transmission or 10-speed automatic, and very solid build quality.

In sum, the S550 Mustang GT surprised me with its sophistication and chassis dynamics. Its Coyote V8 is very potent, but it never overwhelms the car and the GT’s poise in base form is impressive. The car still has pony car attributes. However, like some pricey jeans that have been scuffed up a bit prior to being put on sale, the Mustang feels like the engineers at Ford developed a sophisticated platform and then dialed it back just enough to satisfy the faithful. The Mustang sounds and feels very American and there is no doubt where it was conceived. But now its high revving motor has three different voices and revs comfortably beyond 7,000 rpm, where earlier versions sang only one tune and it all fizzled much earlier. Combined with suspension dynamics for American road, a ridged chassis, and decent visibility and ergonomics, there is a lot to recommend with the S550.

Turo Rental Information:
https://turo.com/us/en-us/car-rental/ashburn-va/ford/mustang/699008

Happy Driving