2024 Ford Mustang GT: The American Dream Car

Picture it; Los Angeles, 2024, and there’s a brand new era of a storied two-door coupe (aka an precise coupe) that comes normal with a 6-speed guide transmission and a vicious five-liter V8 underneath the hood. “Why, Erin,” I hear you say, as your weary gaze lifts to the clearing skies after your drowsy drive into work through your anemic PHEV. “Such a thing is not possible.”

I say, open your eyes, little one, and gaze on the attainable dream that’s the Ford Mustang GT. Power and character in a package deal accessible to a minimum of those that have made all of it the way in which to center class.

It’s a automotive that actually made one in every of my goals come true: to drive Angeles Crest Highway. While I’ve been to L.A. a great deal of occasions, I haven’t had many alternatives to drive the historic and legendary freeway myself.

Full Disclosure: Ford flew me out to Los Angeles and put me up in a lodge with the intention to give myself and fellow visitor journalists a totally gassed up Mustang GT Performance Convertible for a morning of blazing up and down the Angeles Crest Highway.

The Mustang GT is a step above the EcoBoost in efficiency and worth. Swapping out the two.3-liter, 315-horsepower EcoBoost engine for a mighty Coyote 5.0-liter V8, the GT achieves 486 hp and 415 lb-ft of torque — essentially the most highly effective Coyote engine but. And let me inform you; the sound this new canine makes when howling down a closed stone tunnel is actually particular. The car I drove was top-of-the-line and absolutely loaded; a Ford Mustang GT Convertible, the MSRP for which begins at $52,515.

With the GT, you get a extra aggressive, open grille than the EcoBoost to permit for extra air circulation. New hood vents and a redesigned entrance splitter additionally go a great distance in direction of letting everybody know simply what sort of pony confirmed up for the rodeo.

The Performance Pack in each the EcoBoost and the GT contains track-ready goodies like a Torsen restricted slip differential, wider rear wheels and tires, and Brembro brakes. The GT comes with a number of particular choices, nonetheless, like brake ducts for much more enhanced cooling, non-compulsory RECARO seats and energetic exhaust. The GT additionally will get 19-inch wheels normal, in addition to actual leather-based seats and non-compulsory 20-inch alloy wheels.

The GT comes with the identical fully up to date digital cockpit as we described in our EcoBoost evaluation, however right here’s a rundown; two curved screens tilted in direction of the motive force make up the 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster and the 13.2-inch heart stack. Both are run on the online game creation software program Unreal Engine, and supply stunning animated graphics, intuitive touchscreen for much less important techniques with loads of coloration and format choices to make your Mustang your individual. Ford’s superior driver help system, Ford 360, can be an possibility that gives you the most effective Level 2 self-driving techniques available on the market.

Ford says 27 % of GT patrons are going to go for the guide transmission. While these are nonetheless solely a contented few, it’s a heartening take fee. The GT is a driver’s automotive in any case and it wouldn’t do to not row your individual gears. You can anticipate loads of low-rev torque within the first few gears with the transmission actually hitting the candy spot for dealing with round third or 4th, however even fifth gear had loads of pull. The MagneRide energetic suspension additionally shined brighter within the GT, with Sport mode firming and tightening each side of the drive from suspension to steering. It’s definitely the uncommon American sports activities coupe that may nonetheless hold you in your toes.

I hadn’t been in a guide transmission for a number of years for a myriad of causes, so I used to be a tad nervous to get behind the wheel of a reasonably highly effective beast and head down a freeway most identified for it’s legendary twists, turns and steep drops. But the clutch was so responsive, the rev matching so lifeless on and the shifting so easy that I used to be again in that saddle very quickly. I wasn’t taking the turns fairly like an area (I’m not about to take a tumble down the facet of the San Gabriel Mountains over delight) however I did hit a confidence and pace I didn’t anticipate.

It’s not possible to not have enjoyable revving a V8 up excessive and shifting quick. Selecting between drive modes through buttons of the steering wheels resulted in a easy but noticeable transition from regular to sport. It felt snug and fully intuitive. When I bought caught behind some slower visitors, my typical cool shifted. Who have been these Kia Soul drivers in my approach? I needed to go, go, go. And that’s what this automotive does for you.

My co-driver was a local to southern California and intensely conversant in the Crest. He had way more success in throwing the GT into the curves and pushing the engine via the transient straight aways. Even throughout laborious driving nonetheless, myself and my co-driver have been comfortably held in place. That brings me to a different side of the Mustang GT — it’s so accessible. It’s an incredible first-time sports activities automotive purchaser. It’s snug and operates like a daily automotive, solely with unimaginable energy and efficiency proper at your fingertips. You won’t all the time drive it like a deviant who wants their driver’s license expunged, however the possibility is all the time there. If I had a number of extra days to grasp the freeway, who is aware of what sort of unimaginable kicks may have been had. Again, our journey was extremely easy and quiet, even within the convertible.

Mustang fandom represents extra than simply enthusiasm for a sure model; it’s a life-long seek for the American dream of someway getting higher yearly whereas preserve custom. Even the oldsters constructing Mustangs out in Flat Rock, Michigan are sometimes homeowners and fanatics of the model. It’s an reasonably priced thrill, and only for a little bit extra scratch, you possibly can have much more thrills. Let’s face it, nothing fairly compares to the growl of an actual V8 and 6 speeds of risk at your fingertips. Well, presumably the Ford Mustang Dark Horse. But that’s a evaluation for one more day.