Video: 2015 Ford Mustang GT Review

A base V6, a turbocharged four cylinder, and what we have here, the 435 horsepower V8 Mustang GT. Now the car is physically more rounded for 2015, but with all of this new technology aimed to increase the refinement and sophistication, has the Mustang lost its edge? The new looks are lower and wider than before. The rear track actually has an additional two inches of width. And upfront, each of the three engines has its unique grill for its own cooling properties. I'm a big fan of how the GT's grill looks. The new fastback shape blends into perhaps one of the most controversial styling decisions of the new Mustang, and that's the rear end. I wasn't a big fan of it at the auto shows or in photos. It kind of has a puckered look to it, but now that you see it in front of your house and in the wild, it's actually grown on me. And that's helped by the awesome rear tail light package, the sequential LED tail lights. And they're just blindingly bright. One thing I can do without, though, is the wheel package. You know, black wheels have been very popular for a while now. I'd rather see a gunmetal or even just an unpainted look. At the heart of the GT is a 5.0 liter V8 that makes 435 horsepower this year. That's 15 more than last year, thanks to a new cylinder head and intake manifold design. Now while power is up, so is weight, from all of the new technologies and convenience features like the independent rear suspension and everything that makes the car a lot more refined than 2014. With the extra weight and more power, fuel economy is also down a little bit in highway numbers, but not enough to affect the combined number for this manual transmission GT. The Mustang is all grown up on the inside. This is a $46,000 car and you know what? It feels like a $46,000 car. There are very nice interior touches, like the stitched dashboard and these very cool toggle switches that control the various driving modes and steering and stability. One of my favorite new features that they've kind of modified a little bit is the manual transmission shifter. On the six speed manual transmission in this GT, there's a new shift linkage and it creates a much more positive, precise feel in the shifter. And that pairs with something I don't really like too much. And that's the clutch pedal. It's really heavy for a GT and it doesn't feel that heavy at first, but it wears on you very quickly. And I'm also not a fan of these optional Recaro seats. They have all of their grip in the midsection, but there's not a lot of back support. There's no power function and there's no heated seats, either. It was 38 degrees today. When I got outside, I wanted heated seats. When you're not fighting the clutch pedal in traffic, the Mustang otherwise has the same broodish charm as it always had, but with the new level of sophistication in how it rides thanks to the new independent rear suspension and stiffer chassis. The old car would skip and jump over the rough roads, whereas the 2015 rides very smooth and has a very controlled ride, even over the roughest roads. The Mustang has a new front and rear suspension in this performance package car. It's a lot of fun on the track. It's one of the most entertaining and confident driving Mustangs I've had on the track in recent years, but it's not exactly perfect. You'll surely see more performance packages in the future, but this car is a little less than desirable as far as body motion control. The nose pitches back and forth. And it's a little wallowy when you're really getting aggressive. But at its limits, the car is more predictable and controllable than ever. Now speaking of that performance package, it's $2,500 and has a ton of equipment. You get the brake system from the previous 2014 Mustang GT 500, six piston calipers, as well as 19 inch wheels, wider tires in the back, plus you have retune springs, new shocks in the back, thicker sway bars and a bunch of other equipment. The GT with performance package was benchmarked to Ford's previous Boss 302. And they say the 2015 GT with performance package is faster than the Boss 302 in their testing. The 2014 Mustang, you could squeeze an adult in the back, but it's even harder now with the more aggressive roof line. The trunk, though, it remains the same size and we've had two sets of golf clubs back here. Overall, the Mustang has a lot more sophistication. It's much more modern than it was before. And that's exactly what it needed to compete with not only the Challenger and Camaro, but with any $45,000 sports car. And it does that without losing its signature Mustang charm. (rock music) (engine revving)