Test Car Specifications
Model: 2025 Ford Mustang GT
Price: £57,275 (as tested)
Engine: 5.0-litre V8 petrol
Transmission: six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power: 446hp
Torque: 540Nm
Emissions: 274g/km
Economy: 23.4mpg
0-62mph: 5.3 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Boot space: 408 litres
Styling
Immediately, it’s obvious that the new Mustang is indeed a Mustang. The proportions, the stance and the details are all clearly related to its predecessor, but there’s an air of added performance to the new model. Even in this relatively basic GT trim – this isn’t the Dark Horse model, or anything – it gets an angry front grille, a black vent on the bonnet and some aggressive intakes. It’s as though it’s been driven through a branch of Halfords while Gaz was on duty. To be honest, we think the old model was easier on the eye, but those who like the idea of muscle cars being, well, muscly, will likely love the Mustang’s new look.
Interior
If we aren't sold on the Mustang's exterior, then the interior is even less convincing. Nobody expects the Ford to be salubrious, but there are some very American plastics on show in there, and some awkward exposed screws. Generally, it doesn't quite have the polish you expect from a European sports coupe.
It does have the tech you expect, though. There's a massive central touchscreen and a big digital instrument display, too, with Ford's latest software loaded up. In truth, the Mustang's touchscreen isn't the best execution of Ford's tech, with a few awkward menus and oddly positioned functions. But it works well enough, the responses are sharp and the graphics look the part.
The instrument cluster is more of a triumph, thanks to the much easier navigation and the clarity of the screen, but it still isn't as remarkable as the Audi Virtual Cockpit or even BMW's latest equivalent system.
The biggest problem, though, is the handbrake, which is a very strange arrangement indeed. Instead of being a button or a mechanical lever, the Mustang's handbrake is something between the two. It looks as though it's in the down position all the time, but you can pull it back to apply the handbrake and push it down to release it. But as it's spring-loaded, it isn't always obvious which one you've done. Apparently, it's designed to make handbrake turns easier, but it just feels awkward to us.
Practicality
Practicality is unlikely to be any customer’s main motivation for choosing a Mustang, and the big Ford is a bit of a mixed bag on that front. The 408-litre boot isn’t actually that small – it offers more space than you’ll get from a Volkswagen Golf’s luggage bay, and nobody calls that cramped – but the boot lid doesn’t leave that much access to the space, and a BMW 4 Series offers a bit more overall capacity. The BMW offers more rear cabin space, too, although neither the BMW nor the Ford is exactly commodious back there. You’ll have to be something of a contortionist to squeeze yourself in there, and no adult is going to be comfortable when they get there. That said, though, if you treat the Mustang as a two-seater and use the back seats as a big parcel shelf with seatbelts, you’ll find it more than roomy enough for weekends away and week-long road trips.
Performance
As befits a Mustang, the GT comes with a 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine. There’s no mild-hybrid technology, no turbocharger and no trickery of any kind – just heaps of displacement and wastefulness. Yes, it sounds lovely whether it’s being thrashed or it’s at idle, but it’s hardly what you’d call economical. You might get economy in the high 20s on a long motorway run, but around town, you’ll be lucky to see much more than 20mpg.
And it isn’t all that powerful, either. Sure, 446hp is as much as you really need, but it’s almost 100hp down on the BMW M4 Competition, which only has a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder engine. Albeit one with turbo assistance. As a result, with Ford’s slick six-speed manual gearbox between the seats, the Mustang takes 5.3 seconds to get from 0-62mph, leaving it trailing behind the VW Golf R.
The Mustang GT, then, is not really much of a performance car, but we don’t care one bit. The noise of that V8 is fabulous, and it gives the car significantly more character than most of its rivals. Pop the exhaust in Sport mode and you can sit and listen to that engine all day. It’s that brilliant.
Ride & Handling
Given the Mustang’s engine is better suited to long drives and moderate-to-high speeds, rather than flat-out thrashing, it’s no surprise to find the chassis is similarly inclined. Ford makes a lot of noise about making the Mustang more Europe–friendly, and giving it better brakes and suspension, but it’s still a muscle car at heart.
It will corner if you ask it to, and the steering isn’t that bad, but the body control is a little wayward and that really erodes trust in the car’s capabilities. There’s nothing wrong with the amount of grip on offer – there’s plenty of that – but you can feel the car shift and heave as the weight transfers, and it does so in a troublingly staggered way. It makes you feel as though the back is going to slide long before it actually does.
The ride, however, really isn’t too shabby, especially when compared with the BMW M4 Competition – a car that saw the dictionary definition of firm and thought “that really isn’t stiff enough for me.” Sure, the Mustang doesn’t always deal with the potholes that plague British roads all that well, but it’s quite relaxed on the motorway and it’s easy enough to while away the hours in. Apart from the endless fuel stops, obviously.
Value
Mustang prices start at £55,725, which makes the new model noticeably more expensive than its predecessors, but you get the 5.0-litre V8 as standard these days, and you'll struggle to find a six- or eight-cylinder coupe much cheaper. The BMW M440i xDrive, for example, comes in at almost £64,000 before options. And that isn't even a full-fat M4 Competition.
The Mustang we drove, meanwhile, cost £57,275 including some choice options, such as red brake callipers and the more upmarket paint job, but all cars get 19-inch alloys, a 13.2-inch touchscreen and a Bang & Olufsen sound system. There's wireless phone charging, heated and ventilated seats and a rear-view camera, too, not to mention the heated steering wheel, rear parking sensors and keyless entry and start.
Verdict
The Mustang is a legend, and though the new model is imperfect, it is at least a worthy continuation of the story. There are those who will love the noise, the brutality and the image, but unless you're hooked on those aspects, the Mustang is, objectively, not that brilliant a sports car. For those more interested in handling and poise, other coupes will do the job much better, but the Mustang has more heritage, and it's somehow more of the people. If you love a Mustang, this will do nothing to put you off.
