The old Mustang, a modified, stiffened, and welded version
of the 1979 Fox platform, was about as stiff as wet rope,
but this new all-steel Mustang body and
chassis unit is a claimed 31 percent stiffer than the recently
departed SN95 Mustang, which should improve ride quality,
noise, and handling.
It doesn't look it, but the new Mustang has a wheelbase
that is a full six inches longer than the outgoing model,
and that makes all the difference. The ride has smoothed
out, and the remaining harshness is of a completely different
order. The new rear suspension uses coil springs and a lightweight
three-link design with a Panhard bar and other locators
to keep things constant.
The new 4.0-liter V-6 engine has more technical sophistication
than any previous Ford V-6. It is a very solid performer
in urban, exurban, and suburban duties, and the ratios in
the automatic seem well matched to the available torque.
When the automatic transmission gets into overdrive fifth
gear, the engine goes quietly into economy mode until called
upon for a lane change, a pass, or an uphill charge.
But it's still a large-displacement V-6 and it sounds more
muscular at full throttle than any previous Ford V-6 engine.
The V-6 Deluxe is the most popular model; Ford says
that for every three GTs sold, it will sell seven of the
V-6 versions. At this low price, we were particularly impressed
with its power, torque, acceleration, and general road manners,
including its pretty, rorty exhaust note. Interestingly,
while it has 90 horsepower and 80 foot-pounds less grunt
than the V-8 and rides on smaller tires, the V-6 seems slightly
more eager to turn and more agile than the nose-heavy GT
V-8 (the GT weighs about 150 pounds more, and almost all
of it is on the front tires).
The Mustang is relatively heavy, and the brakes are
a whopping 15 percent larger than the old brakes; they really
work well in high-speed highway driving situations, as we
found out on our test drive in Los Angeles. If you want
ABS, you will automatically get, and pay for, traction control,
which has a dash-mounted off switch for special situations,
like racing, for instance.
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The GT is a 300-horsepower, five-speed pavement-ripper
for about $25,000. The new three-valve V-8 engine features
both variable camshaft timing and electronic
throttle control, with a new set of smarter, faster-acting
engine electronic controls. It will run 0-60 mph in about
5.5 seconds, it will outbrake a large number of sporty cars
with its big new brakes, and it handles better on canyon
roads that any previous Mustang except the Cobra, with a
minimum of body roll and a large portion of tire grip.
It looks mean, and it drives mean, with 320 pound-feet
of torque, a slick shifter, a brawny, loud exhaust note,
and one of the world's largest aftermarket networks, including
Ford's in-house parts company, Ford Racing Technology, for
those who want even higher performance.
