2010 Ford Mustang: First Drive
Before bailouts and bankruptcies stole the headlines, you’ll recall that Detroit’s muscle-car wars were off to a fresh start: The Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro dropped anchor in Ford Mustang territory, and Ford responded with a restyled 2010 ‘Stang. With weather in the Midwest still a few weeks short of reliable sports-car-testing conditions, I took to Southern California for a few days behind the wheel of a five-speed-manual Mustang GT coupe. The palm trees and sunshine never get old out here, but the traffic sure does.
The early word: Ford has Chevy and Dodge beat on interior quality, and the Mustang’s relative practicality bodes well for mass appeal. Like before, however, this pony car does best on smooth, straight pavement. Toss some challenging routes into the mix, and its architecture shows its age.
The 2005-09 Mustang looked commanding, and this year’s car, with styling elements reportedly cribbed from the ’67 and ’70 Mustangs, loses something in the execution. The hood encroaches on grille space and the tail looks pancaked forward, with taillights inspired by half-sucked Jolly Ranchers. Mine is but one view, of course. Some liked the look: On the Pacific Coast Highway, a dusty-haired surfer pulled alongside and asked: “Hey, is that the 2010?”
“Yes,” I replied.
“Sick,” he said. (By “sick,” I assume he meant “ill.” As opposed to, you know, ill.)
The Mustang GT’s 4.6-liter V-8, essentially last year’s three-valve engine with improved air induction, sees a slight bump in output to 315 hp and 325 pounds-feet of torque. It moves the car as effortlessly as before, with no less – but not noticeably more – overall oomph. The drivetrain winds out smoothly to its 6,500 rpm redline, accompanied by a throaty baritone exhaust note all the while. It’s nice in its own right, but distinct from the low-pitched roars in Chevy’s and Dodge’s pushrod V-8s.
Quick as it is, however, the Mustang GT could use another gear for the manual and, frankly, a larger V-8. Pushed hard on uphill mountain twisties, the car can’t dig itself out of corners as well as the torquier Camaro SS or Challenger R/T can. I ran entire canyon routes in 2nd and 3rd gear, and uphill corkscrews left me wanting for more guts between 1,500 and 3,000 rpm — turns out that’s critical territory when hammering out of a 20-mph corner in 2nd. More gears might mean a shorter 2nd — and less distance between 4th and 5th. On the highway, 60-to-70 mph passing means punching it in 4th or slowly moseying up to speed in 5th. There’s no middle ground. One caveat: My test car had a 3.55:1 final drive ratio; a sprightlier 3.71:1 ratio is optional, and it may address some of these issues.
The non-independent rear axle, something Ford chose over the fully independent setups the Camaro and Challenger employ, can lose its cool momentarily over highway bumps. In the canyons, undulating corners render skittish wheel hop and occasional moments of uninitiated understeer. Still, even with my tester’s 19-inch wheels and low-profile tires, overall steering precision is too vague for satisfying mid-corner corrections. Body roll is noticeable but not excessive, and the seats, though lightly bolstered, are grabby enough to hold you in. (Another caveat: Ford says the Track Package II, offered later this model year, will swap in suspension bits from the Mustang GT500. No doubt that will influence things.)
That’s the bad — and, really, it’s more the mediocre. The good, of course, centers around cabin quality. The dash looks much the same, but the materials are vastly improved. Soft-touch plastics, precise controls and high-rent leather were hardly the stuff of Mustangs past. Conversely, Ford’s available Shaker stereo is as good as ever. It cranks out crystal-clear sound at eardrum-throbbing decibels; I’ve sampled the Camaro’s and Challenger’s uplevel stereos, and Ford lays waste to both.
For overall practicality, the Mustang also comes up competitive. Blind-spot visibility is easily the best of the trio, and the trunk has a fairly low liftover height. The backseat ranks somewhere between the Camaro’s crawl space and the Challenger’s actual seats — usable in a pinch, but tight on legroom, even for kids.
Ford should find plenty of Mustang fans this time around. The car yields ride quality and at-the-limits performance to its competitors, but the larger issues of practicality and quality should overcome this. Stay tuned for a full review, as well as a formal Faceoff when we get the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger side by side this spring.
2010|Ford|Mustang
