{"id":167402,"date":"2019-08-20T12:50:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T16:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/?p=167402"},"modified":"2019-09-05T09:25:13","modified_gmt":"2019-09-05T13:25:13","slug":"2019-ford-mustang-gt-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp\/2019\/08\/2019-ford-mustang-gt-review\/","title":{"rendered":"2019 Ford Mustang GT Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ford\u2019s iconic pony car is one of the most recognizable vehicles\non the road with its long and rich history. It\u2019s the quintessential American\nmuscle car enjoyed by young and old alike. Ford lent me one for the week clad\nin bright Orange Fury Metallic so I was excited to see how it would double as\nmy daily driver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 the Mustang received a light refresh. At first, I wasn\u2019t sure if the new look was an improvement on the previous generation but it\u2019s grown on me. The hood and front grille are lower and the headlights were slightly inclined downward to match. It looks a bit more serious and ready for business which is what Ford was aiming for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last year also saw the release of a reworked 5.0-litre V8\nengine is packing more horsepower and torque than the previous version after\nhaving been thoroughly overhauled. The new output is 460 horsepower and 420 lb-feet\nof torque which was an increase of 25 and 20, respectively. A ten-speed\nautomatic transmission replaced the older six-speed auto but that\u2019s an option\nwhich will set you back $1500. It\u2019ll give you better quarter-mile time but it\u2019ll\nbe arguably less fun. Both transmissions have beefier clutches to be able to\nhandle the bump in power. The V8 also has double the number of fuel injectors\n(16) from the previous version. There are new manifolds and a reported head\namong other improvements. If you don\u2019t need a V8 you can opt for the\nfour-cylinder EcoBoost engine that was also used it the Focus RS. It makes 310\nhorsepower and a very respectable 350 pound-feet of torque. There is no more V6\noption for the Mustang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a 12-second quarter-mile vehicle in case you were wondering (according to online testimonials). It has the ability to push you back into your seat with strong acceleration that needs to be wielded with care. The sound from the performance exhaust is a staple of the GT and while in race mode you\u2019ll enjoy that beautiful rumble to its fullest extent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mustang\u2019s ability to hold its own at speed while\ncornering is quite good. There is an option for a MagneRide active damping\nsuspension which system uses sensors positioned around the vehicle to adjust\nthe suspension based on various inputs, including speed, steering angle, brake\npressure, lateral and longitudinal acceleration, engine torque, drive mode\nselection, and even outside air temperature. It\u2019s a new option with the\nPerformance Pack and standard with Performance Pack Level 2. High-performance\nMichelin Pilot Sport 4 S summer tires ensure the vehicle remains firmly glued\nto the pavement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on the interior, Ford has done a great job\nintegrating the latest technology for its driver display systems. An optional 12-inch\nall-digital cluster with an animated tachometer that changes depending on which\ndriving mode is selected. Sport mode also changes the sound of the vehicle by\nopening up the active exhaust for a louder sound. If that wasn\u2019t cool enough,\nyou can even program it to be quiet during certain hours so as not to wake the\nneighbors. Electronic line lock is standard on both V8 and EcoBoost-equipped\nmodels. The feature lets racers pre-warm their tires before the start of a race\nfor better grip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I really do enjoy Ford\u2019s Sync 3 infotainment system as it\u2019s\none of the most user-intuitive and least buggy systems on the market. Apple CarPlay\nand Android Auto are standard so you\u2019ll be able to connect your smartphone\nwithout issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might have guessed that the Mustang is a bit difficult to kart the kids around with. The Recaro racing seats do a great job holding you into place but are difficult to fold forward. It\u2019s nearly impossible to reach the passenger seat folding level from the driver seat in case you need to fold it forward for a child to enter or exit. When folded, the seats don\u2019t automatically slide forward like most manual seats so there are two functions to perform to get the kids out of the back. All that being said, nobody is buying the Mustang to do such things so all is forgiven. In terms of fit and finish in the Mustang cabin, I think Ford could do a better job. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mustang remains one of the best bang-for-the buck vehicles you can buy in terms of performance per dollar. If you don\u2019t care about the V8 motor, an EcoBoost four-cylinder engine is available on the base model (which starts below $30,000 by the way). Even the base GT 5.0 starts at just $35,449 right now after a delivery credit and employee pricing reductions. That\u2019s a heck of a deal for this much power. As optioned, the GT Premium trim test vehicle came out to $61,325 before transport or any pricing incentives. There will likely always be a market for an affordable muscle car and Ford has the formula nailed down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      Ford\u2019s iconic pony car is one of the most recognizable vehicles on the road with its long and rich history. It\u2019s the quintessential American muscle…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":167404,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-167402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-tests"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":167429,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167402\/revisions\/167429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montrealracing.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}