Styling
The new S650 seems to have a meaner, sleeker attitude than the S550 it replaces, although it's actually slightly taller and longer than the old Mustang, albeit no wider. However, Ford claims the new shape is much more aerodynamic now, while a design conceit at the rear - that deep, horizontal 'cut' through the back lights - makes the Mk7 look, when viewed in profile, like it is moving fast even when it is standing still. Various Mustang visual hallmarks are retained, such as the sloping roof on the coupe (hence its proper name of 'Fastback'), the triple-bladed light clusters at the rear (a look echoed in the layout of the front LED headlights and indicators), the lack of any obvious 'Blue Oval' Ford badges on the exterior, those muscular rear-haunch arches, and the fitment of quad exhaust pipes at the back, so it's a fine-looking car in 'regular' (for want of a better word) GT specification anyway.
As before, there are Fastback and
Convertible options for the Mustang S650, although this Dark Horse model is a coupe-only due to its track-focused bias, as customers will want as much structural rigidity as possible for circuit work - and it is further denoted by model-specific Dark Horse badging and graphics, its own set of 19-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero tyres, a more aggressive-looking front airdam complemented by those 'face mask' details under the headlights, larger tailpipe exits for its active exhaust system, and then (perhaps most obviously) the sizeable spoiler perched atop the bootlid. To these eyes, the deeply appealing Dark Horse is the aesthetic winner in the new Mustang's range, although the GT remains a great-looking thing as well.
Interior
Technophiles are gonna love it in here, traditionalists are probably not going to be so enamoured. Ford listened to customer research on how to improve the cabin of the S550 and, in response to that - as well as through a desire to attract a younger buying clientele to the Mustang's ranks - the result is a fascia which is heavily digitised. Two screens, a 12.4-inch item for the cluster and a larger 13.2-inch unit for the SYNC 4 infotainment, are melded together into one housing, which somewhat awkwardly has a baseline that drops down to the side of the steering column, in order to keep the top of the frame flat for its full width.
This 'fighter-jet' (Ford's words, not ours) focus means considerable changes to the switchgear, so the old rocker switches down on the console have gone, replaced by a press-pad of six shortcut buttons between the engine-start button and the volume control for the sound system, one of these being the galloping-horse-branded 'Mustang' menu selector for interesting model-specific set-up screens in the digital screens. However, the drive modes switch, or switches we should say more accurately, have moved up onto the steering wheel, which no longer has a round boss but an octagonal one, as well as a flat-bottomed rim. The cueball shifter for the six-speed manual is retained, although it's metallic in finish in the Dark Horse rather than white as it was before, and while that looks like a trad mechanical handbrake lever on the transmission tunnel, it isn't - it's in fact the control for the electronic parking brake and it operates in a weird fashion, as it returns to that central position no matter if the handbrake is on or off. However, it does also control the Drift Brake function, which can prompt the Mustang into big, oversteery slides if you select it through the infotainment.
Overall, material quality has improved and it's a very comfortable place to spend some time, especially as the front seats are suitably supportive - although you can upgrade these to Recaro items if you so wish. However, given that even the Transit Custom commercial vehicle now has pretty much the same central screen set-up as this, there's a feeling that the Mustang S650's cabin is perhaps not as special as it once was, seeing as it has abandoned the long-held double-cowl design of the fascia.
Practicality
For what is externally a big car, the Mustang is perhaps not the most practical of vehicles of this type. Accepting that it's a two-door coupe in this Dark Horse Fastback configuration, we're not expecting cavernous rear legroom, but there's still the suspicion that the Ford is a definite 2+2, rather than a full four-seater; adults probably wouldn't want to sit in the back of the Mustang for very long at all. The boot's a good size, though, at 381 litres, while there are a few useful stowage places up front and a reasonable glovebox to work with. But those cupholders on the centre console? We can tell you now, for right-hand-drive manual models, they are in entirely the wrong place for where your gear-shifting arm needs to be. That is, of course, assuming Ford doesn't 'hand' this central moulding for different global markets this time around, thus hopefully relocating the cupholders to the left of the handbrake.
Performance
There's no
2.3 four-cylinder this time around, because take-up of it was so minuscule in the old S550 that it was dropped here quite some time ago, so Ford saw no reason to revive it for the Mk7. Thus, your only choice is the 5.0-litre Coyote V8, one of our favourite combustion engines still in production - and it has had a programme of revisions for the new car, chief of which is a dual air-intake set-up, rather than the single breather in the Mk6 Mustang.
Interestingly, while it makes 480-500hp over in its American homeland, over here in Europe it is strangled back by emissions regulations and petrol particulate filters, so it turns out it develops less horsepower than it did in some of the more extreme S550s, like the
Bullitt and the
Mach 1 - which both had 460hp. For the S650 family, it makes 446hp in the GT models, rising to 453hp as the Dark Horse, with all cars doling out 540Nm of torque (which is, at least, 11Nm more than the Bullitt and Mach 1 possessed).
Gearboxes are either a six-speed manual or a ten-speed automatic, and they are available on all three launch derivatives of the GT Fastback, the GT Convertible and the Dark Horse. However, the latter gets the same uprated Tremec transmission that the old Mach 1 used, a step above the Getrag of the GT and capable of both flat-upshifting and rev-matching on the downchanges. It also has an incredibly long sixth gear, for more fuel-efficient overdrive cruising at speed.
Enthusiasts will obviously want the three-pedal 'box for the most interaction in the latest Mustang, although it's the automatics which are quicker. No manual S650 can break the five-second barrier for 0-62mph, although both the auto GT Fastback (4.9 seconds) and the ten-speed Dark Horse (4.4 seconds) are capable of the feat. At least the manual Dark Horse is a tenth quicker to 62mph (5.2 seconds) than the GT Fastback, and it's also the only Mustang model of the six available which can go faster than 155mph flat out, hitting a reputed 163mph where possible.
Say what you like about key European competition being much quicker for the benchmark sprint, but none of them sound anything like as glorious as the Dark Horse. With the active exhaust system, this remains one of the automotive world's most mesmerising soundtracks, with lots of lovely low-range V8 burble to start with and then a soaring, roaring crescendo when you rev it right out. And that's the real joy of the Coyote - how hungry it is to go spinning up to its lofty 7,500rpm limit. It has such magnificent, linear, intoxicating reach to it, which means you need to reattune yourself to the Mustang and not inadvertently short-shift it at about 5,500rpm because that's where you think an American V8 ought to be all done and dusted. Keep your foot in and keep it pinned, and the way the Mustang Dark Horse hauls hard for the horizon will have you checking those on-paper power and performance figures many, many times, to make sure there's not a misprint. There is no doubt at all that S650 buyers will not criticise the noise and speed of the Coyote V8 drivetrain one bit.
And fuel economy? Well, we know from personal experience that these Tremec gearboxes can give back remarkable motorway economy of 30mpg and upwards if you're steady with them, but if you're enjoying the indelible charms of the Dark Horse? Figure on something like 16.7mpg. Or maybe even less. Ahem.
Ride & Handling
All S650 Mustangs are supposed to be sharper and more accurate to drive than the S550 models they replace, but the Dark Horse is obviously the one with the most overt dynamic focus. We've already talked about its Pirelli P Zero tyres, these being special track-biased rubber, and its additional 7hp over a GT, but it also has a Torsen limited-slip differential (LSD) on the rear axle whereas the GT cars make do with a standard LSD, while it's the only model in the range to get the MagneRide adaptive dampers from the factory. Even if you option these up on the regular GT cars, they still don't have the same level of tuning and acuity that the Dark Horse has in its Sport and Track modes.
And when it comes to handling, there's no doubt the new car is appreciably sharper than the old. It has splendid, fluid balance out on tighter roads, although admittedly its size means it is happier on more open, flowing routes with good sighting. Nevertheless, if anyone tries to tell you that the Mustang Dark Horse is all soft and flabby and way too 'Murican in the corners, they're having you on. It might not have the outright tenacity of something like a
BMW M4 or an
Audi RS 5, but let us tell you now it's not far off; not far off
at all.
If we've got one gripe on the handling front, it's the steering, which is always a touch too light in every drive mode, presumably in an effort to mask the Dark Horse's not-inconsiderable 1,817kg bulk. It is at least accurate and fast, though, and when it comes to body control, the bite of the new six-pot Brembo brakes, the utter delight of hefting that six-speed Tremec through the gate to get the best of the majestic V8 up front, and the traction afforded by a sweetly sorted rear-drive chassis, cajoling the Mustang Dark Horse along a challenging route is a driving experience every bit as edifying and enjoyable as anything the European competition can serve up. If anything, it feels more organic and less grip-oriented than such rivals, with a strong sensation that you can adjust the attitude of the car far more on the beautifully calibrated throttle than you would ever need to with the Drift Brake gimmick. Honestly, the Dark Horse is sublime on the right roads; it must be pretty epic on track, we fancy.
The minor pay-off for this is a loss of some of the Mustang's erstwhile low-speed compliance. Where the old S550 was maybe a little fuzzier around the edges, even as something like a marvellous Mach 1 (and we have no idea why this writer would mention that particular car; no idea
whatsoever...), it meant it was a supreme grand tourer when the mood took you, with comfortable around-town manners.
The Dark Horse is... not so much, if we're honest. All Mustang S650s fitted with the MagneRide dampers have a clever pothole mitigation system, which measures throttle, steering, brakes and suspension and so on, and then ascertains if any of its wheels are about to drop into a massive gaping crater in the road surface. It can then 'hold' the affected alloy up to prevent it from damage, which is a most noble aspiration. Unfortunately, what it seems to have also given the Dark Horse is a rather brittle low-speed ride, especially on bumpier surfaces; perhaps a direct corollary of that pothole system failing to balance off passenger comfort with alloy-wheel protection to a suitable degree. We can't call it any other way - the S550 Mustang rode far more comfortably and quietly on craggy urban roads than the new S650 Dark Horse does.
That said, as with so many modern cars the Dark Horse's composure improves massively once speeds rise and the tarmac quality becomes less hopeless. Once you're up to and beyond 50mph, it's a genuinely fabulous, controlled level of ride comfort the car serves up, while the aerodynamic shape and a good degree of sound-deadening ensure the passenger compartment is a quiet place at motorway velocity. So aside from some occasional city-speeds crashing about the place, in general the ride and handling balance of the Dark Horse has to be considered a success.
Value
When you look back on it now, it seems ridiculous to even write it. But when the S550 V8
originally launched in the UK in 2015, it cost £32,995. Even by the end of the next year, this 421hp, 5.0-litre slab of Americana was only demanding £35,745 of your hard-earned to park it on your drive. Therefore, in the space of just nine years, the fact it is now £55,725 car, bare minimum, could be construed as a stick to beat the Mustang with. No longer is it a conspicuous bargain, which means you can't overlook its shortcomings like its shoddy interior finishings and its lacklustre chassis, and so on and so forth.
But that's what sneery European-car fans would say as they desperately look for some reason to justify hating on the Ford. The fact is, the interior finishing isn't shoddy and nor is the chassis of the S650 lacklustre, and for the performance, charisma, speed and style you're getting here, 55 grand doesn't seem extraordinary to us in the slightest. True, the Dark Horse - at £67,995 as a manual and another two grand for the automatic - is a little punchier, especially as you could argue the GT does 95 per cent of what it does for £12,270 less.
However, as equipment like the high-tech human-machine interface, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, a 12-speaker B&O sound system, a rear-view camera, and a whole host of advanced driver assist systems are, among more, included in the Mustang's ticket, we're prepared to say that the pricing structure of this seventh-gen legend seems reasonable to us.
Verdict
What the Ford Mustang, and specifically the Dark Horse manual, offers in this day and age could be viewed as a terrible anachronism: it's a V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive coupe with a manual gearbox. But then, where else can you get a V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive coupe with a manual gearbox these days? And the answer is 'nowhere'. Yet what makes the new S650 Mustang such a great car is not that it's the only one of its particular breed left - instead, it's that this is a thrilling, well-sorted and thoroughly fantastic big sports car to drive. The conclusion, then, is very simple. Get one, immediately. While you still can.
