Back in early 1960s, Ford started releasing prototype photos of a new sporty car that was going to be both affordable and fun to drive. As a young car enthusiast even then, I was smitten with all the hype. When Ford debuted the Mustang at the 1964 World’s Fair, I just thought it was one of the best looking cars ever.
Today’s Mustang still gives me that little bit of excitement I had as a youth, as Ford has done quite a good job making this Mustang look something like its original model. But Ford is not resting on just good looks to sell this muscle car, it has much more than just good looks as I discovered on my short stay with the car.
My test car, a convertible, was surprisingly a fairly roomy car with some usable trunk space out back. The top folded down in such a way that the generous trunk came in real handy when I found myself taking a load of motorcycle parts off to the mechanic. One interesting feature on the hood was the functioning louvers which let heat out of the engine compartment, important in a high performance car.
Power for the Mustang comes from a 5L double overhead cam V8 with a very adequate 420hp and your beckon command. My test car had the very easy to use 6-speed manual transmission, which I can say is one of the smoothest in the business. As you would expect, power from the V8 is almost instantaneous but very controllable making handling very good on wet or dry pavement. Even though this was a convertible, it had no squeaks or rattles associated with this type of car.
Tires are a 235/50WR18.0 both front and rear, which as I mentioned are good in wet weather. As a word of note, I wouldn’t run these in real cold weather as performance tires don’t work well and winter tires do a much better job.
One real unique feature of the Mustang is the projection of the Mustang horse logo as a light on the ground when the car is unlocked. This projection sort of lights your way to the door of the vehicle. Once the doors are opened the sill plate lights up as well again, an impressive feature that everyone just loved.
Very comfortable are the words I like to use when describing the Mustang’s interior. Ford has done a great job of making the car look retro but very functional. The seats looked like something out of a 70s Mustang which I thought would be uncomfortable but they were very comfortable. Like most cars, this back seat room is limited but you can fit adults for short trips as long as the driver hasn’t pushed the seat back too far.
Other features include the gauges, which are big and easy-to-read at a glance; the digital centre dash included extra information that I found easy to extract and not too distracting; and the sound system was fairly easy-to-use as well with no real surprises.
After my short time in the Mustang, I would have to say I liked it a lot. It is a performance car that is easy-to-use on a day-to-day commute to work or just going shopping. It is not often my wife is impressed with the cars I bring home, but this time she was. In fact depending on where and when she starts her new job, she just might buy one herself.
By Glen Konorowski
