Ford Mustang GT

The iconic Mustang—with its classic pony-car looks and hunkered-down stance—preserves a legacy that defines American motoring. A 300-hp 3.7-liter V-6, a 310-hp 2.3-liter turbo four-cylinder, and a 435-hp 5.0-liter V-8 are all offered with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. An independent rear suspension improves its ride and provides better cornering. In either coupe or convertible form, the Mustang appeals without compromising its heritage. For 2015, the GT model made our 10Best list

Last week at our Performance Car of the Year testing, we had a 2015 Mustang GT in our high-horsepower posse. It was...quite popular. Without further ado, here is a collection of our impressions, plus our official test data.

And fret not, there's more to come. Jason Cammisa is at the official launch right now, driving the full lineup of cars. He'll have additional reporting once his seat time is complete.

Much to the aggravation of Web Director Alex Nunez, I'm just not a Mustang kind of guy. Yeah, I wanted a Fox-body 5.0 back in high school when they lived in new-car showrooms and I had never driven one. I'd find out later on that the intoxicating sound and butch looks weren't enough to make up for how poorly it actually drove. The first time I drove something German and nimble, my pony-car fantasies subsided.

The last-gen Mustang was a boatload of fun—especially in Boss 302 form—and a few friends bought them with my honest blessings. That said, I can't deny that much of my praise was given with a "…for a Mustang" disclaimer.
The first thing you'll think when you sit in the new car is the same thing you thought when you saw the outside: whoopdie-doo, it's a Mustang. Inside, it looks like a Mustang, feels like a Mustang, sounds like a Mustang, and smells like a Mustang. I was immediately disappointed. You know, because that sorta thing just isn't my sorta thing.
It all changed the instant the wheels began to turn. It's no exaggeration to say that the new car has kept everything I loved about the last car (that awesome 5.0-liter V-8) and vanquished everything I didn't.
The Mustang is no longer aloof. It's no longer distant, recalcitrant, or wooden. You start moving, and it feels like a compact car. The V-8 revs like a four-cylinder. Rather than denying them completely, the shifter encourages quick shifts. The clutch's takeup is right where, when, and how you expect it to be. The steering is quick enough to be lively, relaxed enough not to be neurotic.
There's power everywhere. And then there's that new independent rear suspension. At long last, an independent rear. What that means, mostly, is that there's finally a Mustang that rides well without being simultaneously harsh and floaty. And it puts power down like a champ—no longer just in a straight line, but on corner exit, too.
Power slides are (duh) a stab of the right foot away – and they're incredibly easy to manage. The Mustang has become an American, V-8-powered, rear-wheel-drive VW GTI in that its limits are obscenely accessible. It encourages you to touch them. Repeatedly.
On a road loop with blind corners and variable pavement, I practically lit the GT's brakes on fire. Not because the enormous Brembos were undersize or received too little cooling air. I was driving like a maniac, flat-out where I could see straight ahead, sideways where I couldn't. I was once again a teenager with a smile on my face and a license that could (and probably should) be revoked at any instant.
The 5.0 is torque everywhere and now makes 435 hp. That's more than double what the old pushrod 302 made when I wanted one. The only thing this engine doesn't make enough of is noise. It's too quiet. For a Mustang.
I drove the new Mustang from Ann Arbor, MI to the Hocking Hills in Ohio for the initial road-test portion Performance Car of the Year testing, and after pointing it straight and hanging my hands off the wheel for four hours my first thought was "okay, they just built a new version of the old Mustang." It had the same feel: larger than you remember, soft, bouncy, eager and throaty V-8 engine. But once we got it on the twisty, undulating back roads in Ohio, a very different car emerged.
This is still a Mustang, but oh man is it a superlative version. The harder you push, the smaller the car feels. The suspension soaks up road noise without bouncing you from lane to lane, and it's a breeze to sling it into a corner and sort everything out with the pedals instead of the wheel. You know exactly what the chassis is doing at all times; there's a connectedness and communication that just makes you want to push it harder and faster, grinning the whole time.
And they fixed the small things: the pedal placement is perfect for heel-and-toe; the shifter is snappy and direct; the once vague, muddy steering is replaced by firm, nicely weighted and communicative feel; and the interior is truly attractive, with beautifully designed gauges set in what looks like engine-turned aluminum.
On the track it's an equal riot, though in back-to-back comparisons with some of the European competition, it did feel a bit sloppier, slower, and less locked-in. But it's a small quibble when you consider the price difference between those cars and this one. This is a truly capable, incredibly enjoyable, dynamically compelling car that has upped its aesthetic game to boot. And it still feels like a Mustang! In some ways that's the most amazing part. The new global Mustang will be the best ambassador possible for what an American muscle car should be, and now is.

I have an '06 Mustang GT convertible. I love that car, even though it feels like it was smashed together with a nail gun compared with the post-'09 editions. And now it might be time to part ways with it, because the 2015 Mustang GT is pretty special.
In Ohio's Hocking Hills, where we took our 2014 Performance Car of the Year candidates for real-world drive impressions, it was comfortable, fast, involving, predictable, and composed. The car has matured—a lot. It's not just 5.0 muscle and tire smoke; there's real agility to exploit. Mind you, I drove the GT in a group that also included the Porsche 911 GT3, the Lexus RC F, and the Italian-superhero Ferrari 458 Speciale. It confidently, casually held its own in that heady company.
I'd take it over the BMW M235i without a second thought. The Mustang, you see, is livelier and more engaging, gleefully invalidating many import-car arguments. That's a handy thing, since it's now being sold where the import cars actually come from. All I thought when I was behind the wheel was that if the regular GT is this good, the Shelby GT350 will have rivals smashing office furniture next year.
Oh, and the line lock? It ruins tires exactly as advertised. Ford didn't just build a better pony car, they went and built a great car, period.
Still needs a set of Magnaflows, though.

 What was a revelation on the street disappoints on the track. The Mustang GT is soft and wallows. OK, good front-to-rear balance, I can convince the tail to wag and impressed how well the brakes held up, that's been a Mustang weakness in the past, but in this group, I feel like I'm driving mom's Taurus.
On the track this Mustang is clearly better than its GT predecessors, with some of the aplomb and steering response that distinguishes the outgoing Boss 302. But it's on the road that it comes alive, the rear suspension gripping when you need it to but always just a throttle adjustment away from a micrometer precise rotation, the motion of the body so well controlled despite the weight, the trustworthy feedback from all four corners. This is the best mustang ever, the best ponycar ever, a mutant with DNA from the Fox 5.0 and the BMW e46 in seemingly equal measure.