Video: 2024 Ford Mustang Review: Stomping Into the Future

(upbeat music) So we're starting off in an EcoBoost Mustang. This is a premium convertible version, and we've been driving now for a bit on the canyon roads outside of Los Angeles. So we're starting to get a feel for the new Mustang, and it's pretty interesting to look at the Mustang first just kind of when you walk around it and then get behind the wheel because there's kind of a clear difference. It has this really menacing aggressive look with the new styling on the 2024 model. But when you get in and start to drive it, you really notice how much refinement Ford has brought to the driving experience with this version. It comes through in a number of different ways. There's the steering, which is really precise, really lets you place the Mustang where you want on these narrow roads, and it's a pretty light effort in terms of what it takes to turn the wheel, not much at all. And this model does not have the MagneRide system, but it stays relatively flat in corners even when you're kind of pushing it harder. So it's a nice balance between reasonable comfort for a sporty car. You definitely do feel the pavement when it turns rough in spots, but it's not abusive or too harsh by any means. Another way refinement comes through is really the brake tuning. It's got a nice pedal feel, really easy to dial in the amount of braking that you want. Now this being the EcoBoost, it has the turbocharged 2.3 liter four cylinder. It works with 10-speed automatic transmission. There's been a lot of updates to the engine for this model year, and it delivers strong performance. It's a light engine up front, so the nose doesn't feel overly heavy, which is nice when you're navigating all these winding roads. I noticed a few times when it was working with the 10-speed it's paired to a few stumbles, but most of the time when you have it in the sport drive mode, the transmission was also in the right gear, which is good, 'cause this version, it doesn't give you the ability to control which gear you want besides just driving low. In terms of some convertible commentary on it, you know, it's a pretty quick acting top, about 10 seconds to power up and easy to latch with a central handle right above the rear view mirror. And it's nice, it doesn't intrude on trunk space when it's lowered either. So in addition to driving the EcoBoost Mustang on the street, we also took it on a pretty sizable autocross course Ford had set up and also got to try out the electronic drift brake that is available with the car. And the autocross highlighted some of the same things we noticed on the street drives, kind of that nice steering feel, the strong brakes, definitely some more body roll as you're really tossing it around on the autocross, but it felt pretty controllable overall. The drift experience was pretty fun. I'd never done any drifting so complete newbie to that, but it was fairly easy to pick up on with some coaching how to use the electronic drift brake that comes with the performance pack that's available for the Mustang and really lets you make the rear of the car swing around and have a nice drift going. The thing I wonder about is where you're gonna use it besides kind of an empty parking lot, which is sure to attract attention immediately if you're using it there. And I mean, you could always use it I guess coming outta cars and coffee. But we've seen those videos, how that turns out. So a cool feature, maybe limited use in day-to-day life. So we're in the GT now, and this is a coupe with the six-speed manual with the V8, and moving to the V8, you obviously are gonna get that more muscle car experience that was lacking in the EcoBoost. While the EcoBoost has good power, it doesn't have the sounds of the V8 and the sounds in this one can be amplified or minimized depending on how you have the active exhaust set up. It's just a great sounding car when you're kind of running it through on these winding roads. It also makes great power as you'd expect from this big engine. Lots of torque on demand and it works with a six-speed manual that has short throws that have kind of that mechanical engagement that you like, and the clutch pedal isn't so heavy that you're gonna tire out your leg just slogging through highway traffic. Some neat features you get, you can turn on and off a rev match feature for downshifting to kind of match engine speed with the gear. There's also launch control and a line lock feature as well as you can use the drift brake, which we talked about before with the EcoBoost. One thing I would've liked to see with this though would be more difference in the steering tuning. There's different settings, there's comfort, normal, and sport, but there's not a real noticeable difference to me just shifting between them. There's light effort mostly overall. It's not really a weighty feel to the wheel. And it could also do with more feedback, just kind of a better sense of what the tires are experiencing at the road. I would've liked to see more from that. This model has the MagneRide adaptive suspension that also changes its behavior depending on what drive mode you're in. And in sport, it has no trouble really reining in body motions even when pushing hard through winding roads, and at the same time, switch it back to normal kind of when you're commuting, more leisurely driving, it won't beat you up in that sense. It's firm, you're gonna feel what's happening, like what you're going over, whether the roads are in rougher shape or there's kind of cracks in the pavement. But even though it's firm, it doesn't go to harsh, which is nice. So a livable setup in the normal mode. This model has the optional Recaro seats, and I like how the big bolsters really hold you in place. They hug me pretty tightly, which is good when you're kind of running through these curvy roads. The downside though is that you're always kind of bumping into the bolster when you're downshifting, kind of hitting it with the back of your arm, or even steering, kind of making a tight turn, you're rubbing against the bolster there. So that's kind of a downside for day-to-day driving. But these would be the ones you'd choose if you're taking your Mustang on the track or something where you're driving more aggressively. So Ford wants the new Mustang to appeal to younger buyers, and one of the ways they're going about trying to get the interest of younger buyers are adding more tech features and screens to it. And you can see them in this vehicle we have here. There's a 12.4-inch digital instrument panel and a 13.2-inch touchscreen that's running Ford's SYNC 4 system. But there's also a gaming engine that's really powering the technology here and the result is really nice-looking displays. And Ford uses screens, whereas some automakers, they have the ability with a digital screen, they don't make use of it. But with Ford you can see it. When you shift modes, you get different instrument panel views. You can also customize it using the center screen, the different colors that are available. You can customize the gauges. One of the things that I think is pretty cool is you can pick Ford Fox body Mustang gauge clusters from the eighties and nineties. If you want that to be your cluster, it's kind of a throwback look that's pretty neat. Also, you have wireless Apple CarPlay, and it looks really good. If we come over to it here, you can see screen graphics are really nice. You can fill up the whole screen if you want to, which is a cool feature you can't always do in some systems. So they've done a nice job with these screens. One thing they've also brought into the screens are the climate controls. So they persist at the bottom and are pretty easy to use, but if you want like a physical control, you're not gonna get it anymore because it's all migrated up into the screen. In terms of interior quality, Ford's made some improvements to this area. Like, the center console used to be kind of a really hard plastic piece. Has kind of a nicer finish now. Nicer like soft touch finishes on the doors. One thing though that is a little confusing is lots of this fake carbon fiber look plastic that's on the doors, the center console, part of the dash. It seems like it would've been good if they had spent a little bit more money, either made it look a little more like carbon fiber or go with some trim that was not trying to imitate carbon fiber. So overall, a nice update to the screen technology in the Mustang. It helps keep it current with the rest of the Ford lineup and what we're seeing across the industry right now in terms of big screens dominating dashboards. The 2024 Ford Mustang should be arriving at dealers by the end of this summer. And if you want to read more about it, be sure to check out our coverage on cars.com.