Logo
No matching results

Recent Articles

Popular Makes

Body Types

2017 Ford Mustang Road Test and Review

Aaron Gold
by Aaron Gold
July 2, 2017
6 min. Reading Time
2017 Ford Mustang mountain ・  Photo by Ford

2017 Ford Mustang mountain ・ Photo by Ford

Is it a car, or is it an institution? The Ford Mustang has been part of the American motoring scene for over half a century, and most people can recognize a Mustang even if they aren’t die-hard car fans. But does the car live up to the legend? I spent a week with a Mustang convertible, top down under the Michigan sun (yes, such a thing does exist, if only for a few months a year) to find out.

The Car Everyone Knows

I generally avoid the phrase “everyone knows,” but I’m pretty sure that everyone knows about the Ford Mustang. This is the car that started the pony car trend back in 1964, and while the competitors from GM (Chevrolet Camaro) and Chrysler (Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda) have come and gone, Ford has offered a Mustang every single year for the last 54 years. You couldn’t always buy a great Mustang, but you could always buy a Mustang.

One could argue that 2017 is one of the better years for the Mustang. Last redesigned in 2015, this year's Mustang includes more advanced hardware than its predecessors ever had. Some of the bits took way too long to make it under the Mustang’s skin — an independent rear suspension, for example — but they’re here now, and they make for a much better driving experience.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Admiring the Flanks

Before I delve into the greasy bits, let’s talk about the Mustang’s looks. This is officially the sixth-generation car, and its styling blends elements of several classic Mustangs. There’s a definite resemblance to the original Mustang of the 1960s; note the long hood, short trunk lid, and hooded taillights.

That said — and I may be in the minority here — I also see an unmistakable roundness that harks back to the fourth-generation (1994-2004) Mustang that millennials will no doubt remember from their childhood. This isn’t my favorite Mustang; I’m a child of boxy Mustangs of the '80s, and I think the slightly-squared-off fifth generation (2005-2014) retro-themed Mustang is more attractive, though the current car is still quite the looker.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Retro-Modern Interior

Inside, it's much of the same story: The fifth-generation car pioneered the retro look, and the current Mustang is a modernization of the theme. The dashboard is rather busy — most Ford designs are nowadays — but if you look around long enough, you’ll find everything in its proper place.

Ford has had complaints about its touch-screen stereo, but I found it easy to become familiar, and within a few miles I was able to everything I needed — change the station, fiddle with the air conditioner, set the cruise control — as if I’d owned the car for years. Kudos to Ford: Such easy familiarization is a sure sign of good design.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Classic Muscle Car View

One of the things I like best about the Mustang is the view out the windshield. The hood stretches out long and wide ahead of the driver, giving a very similar view to the one Mustang owners had back in the 1960s. It may sound like a little thing, but to my mind, this is a masterstroke: Most cars have hoods that drop out of sight to improve the vehicle’s aerodynamics. Ford did some fresh styling here, and the 1960s-style view helps to make driving the Mustang a truly unique experience.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Going Topless in the Mustang

As I mentioned earlier, my test Mustang was a convertible. (Not that I’m trying to rub that in by repeating it over and over… but did I mention that my test Mustang was a convertible?) As far as drop-tops go, it does a pretty good job. Ford has not yet eliminated the dreaded convertible top latch, but at least they’ve moved it to a spot where you’re not in danger of breaking fingernails (or whole fingers). Once the latch is opened, a single button lowers the top.

The mechanism works well enough, but it’d be nice to see Ford modernize it; the Camaro uses an entirely latch-free top design, and several other cars raise the windows automatically after you raise the top. And while some convertible tops can be raised and lowered at speeds up to 30 mph, the Mustang must be at a stand-still, or darn near close to it. Does that matter? It did to me when I got caught in a sudden shower and had to pull over into what I thought was a breakdown lane on a busy Chicago freeway. (Oops — it was a poorly-marked entrance lane. Good thing the Mustang is quick!)

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

There's limited back seat and trunk space (surprise, surprise).

Back seat space is never a strong point in sports coupes, and convertibles are even worse, so I can’t fault the Mustang for its tight back quarters. I did manage to stuff two fellow journalists back there for a ride to dinner, one short and one average-sized. They didn’t complain, but since the alternative was walking back to our hotel, I didn’t expect them to.

Trunk space is not as dire as it could be: Mustang coupes hold 13.5 cubic feet of luggage, and the convertible pares that down to 11.4 cubic feet. It’s tiny but usable: I had plenty of space for my overhead-bin-size carry-on suitcase, my backpack, and a few shopping bags. Forget about packing for a family of four, but there’s plenty of cargo space for a getaway* for two — or one.

* As in a getaway vacation, not a getaway from a bank robbery... though I suppose that depends on how much money you steal.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Improved Suspension

So let’s talk about those new mechanical bits. No question, the best improvement to the current-generation Mustang is the independent rear suspension. For the better part of 50 years, Mustangs have had solid rear axles — essentially a stick with a wheel on either end. (Actually, it’s a tube with shafts to drive the wheels, but let’s not get mired in details.) This technology dates from the time of the Model T, and the problem with it is that if one rear wheel hits a bump, it changes the angle between the other wheel and the road, thus reducing traction. If you’re zipping through a corner and encounter a bump, a car with solid axle feels like it’s skittering towards the outside of the curve. Such behavior is acceptable for pickup trucks (which use solid axles for their durability) but not for a performance car like the Mustang.

An independent rear suspension has separate attachment points for each wheel, so if one tire hits a bump, the other is completely unaffected. The result is that the car feels much more planted on curves, especially if the pavement is uneven. The modern iterations of the Mustang’s competitors (Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger) have had such a suspension for years, and the Mustang was long due to get it as well.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

A Modern Powerplant

Traditionally, Mustangs have offered V6 and V8 engines; that’s still the case, but there’s now a third option: the 2.3-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. With 310 horsepower and 320 lb-ft of torque, the 2.3 compares reasonably well with the 5.0-liter V8 found in the Mustang GT, which produces 435 horsepower and 400 lb-ft.

My tester had the four-cylinder engine along with a six-speed manual transmission. There’s certainly nothing I can fault about the powertrain: It’s very quick, with no noticeable turbo lag, and with the nearly-flat torque curve, you almost can’t pick a wrong gear. I took a back-road trip from Detroit to Chicago, and I must admit that I took great pleasure in passing slower-moving traffic on two-lane roads. The EcoBoost-powered Mustang is a rocket ship.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

...but I miss that Motown sound.

Unfortunately, the EcoBoost engine is missing one thing: the V8 soundtrack. Ford has gone to great lengths to amplify the Mustang’s engine note (and strangely enough, it sounds a lot like a souped-up Subaru). But there’s no substitute for the rumble of a Detroit-designed V8, and it so happens that the Mustang’s optional V8 is one of the best-sounding of the bunch. Was I buying a Mustang, I’d get the V8 for the soundtrack alone.

Of course, I’d be missing out on the EcoBoost’s superior fuel economy. I averaged 26.6 MPG, impressive considering that I had the top down most of the way and made liberal use of the engine’s passing power. (When I first stopped to fill up, I braced myself for the high cost of premium fuel, but surprise, surprise — the EcoBoost runs on cheap 87-octane gas. Go Ford!) Still, I’d be willing to put up with higher fuel bills to get that authentic V8 rumble.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford

Mustang Versus the Competition

How does the Mustang stack up to the other Detroit muscle cars? The Camaro is pretty hard to beat: It’s beautifully styled, a great handler, and has its great selection of engines, including turbo four, V6 and V8 power. I happen to think the Chevrolet's interior design is more cohesive, but the Camaro has limited visibility in its coupe form. I love them both, but the Mustang is easier to live with every day. 

Meanwhile, Dodge doesn’t offer a convertible version of the Challenger, which is a shame, and handling-wise it isn’t up to the Mustang’s standards; driving the Mustang fast is like wielding a scalpel, while the Challenger is more like swinging a hammer. But Dodge has the better engine lineup, with a choice of three V8s that include the 707-horsepower supercharged Hellcat engine. For raw muscle car feel, I prefer the 6.4-liter Challenger — but for a modern-day performance car, the Mustang is the way to go.

 Photo by Ford

Photo by Ford


`

Interested in Getting a New Car?

Used Cars Near You

No Data Available

Powered by Usedcars.com
©2024 AutoWeb, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Some content provided by and under copyright by Autodata, Inc. dba Chrome Data. © 1986-2024.