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ID# 001435
2010 Ford Mustang - 2010 Ford Mustang 4.6 GT
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2010 Ford Mustang
9900 South Orange Blossom Trail Orlando, FL 32837 United States 800-790-7137 (Main Phone) | Price: | $26,929 | | Condition: | Used | | Mileage: | 13,809 | | Stock Number: | P7310 | | VIN Number: | 1ZVBP8CHXA5154253 | | Transmission: | 5-speed manual w/OD | | Engine Type: | 315-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 (regular gas) | | Exterior Color: | Silver | | Interior Color: | Gray | | Category: | Muscle Cars |
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Though regular 87-octane unleaded will suffice, Ford says the Mustang GT has adaptive drivetrain calibration to improve low- and mid-range torque when run on premium gas, though peak outputs remain the same with either fuel. I filled up with regular gas my first tank and premium my second. Indeed, acceleration from 2,500 to 4,000 rpm feels stronger on premium, but not by much. Below 2,500 rpm, I couldn't tell any difference. The bottom line: If you're carving up canyon roads or hitting the track, fill up on premium. Otherwise, save the dough and go with regular.
Four-wheel-disc antilock brakes are standard, with larger front discs on the Mustang GT. Performance brake pads are optional, while the Shelby GT500 gets even larger discs with four-piston Brembo front calipers. My test car had the base GT hardware, but the brake pedal elicited strong, linear response. Brake fade is noticeable, though not excessive, after repeated heavy use.
Ride & Handling
While the Camaro and Challenger have adopted four-wheel-independent suspensions, the Mustang retains a non-independent, solid rear axle. It shows: Accelerate over uneven surfaces, and the rear wheels skip noticeably. Bumpy pavement leaves the tail ever so slightly unglued, and on the highway there's a steady patter of uncontrolled up-and-down motions in back. The experience is far from trucklike, mind you; Ford may very well have taken the solid axle to its qualitative limits. But when I took the Camaro and Challenger out for comparative spins, the Mustang's limitations were obvious. The Challenger is unflappably settled, the Camaro less so, but still very good. In virtually all handling situations, the Mustang comes off as the least refined in the group.
Wind and ambient noise, something Ford says it worked to reduce this time around, is low, even at 70 mph. Highway road noise is noticeable, but even with my GT tester's 19-inch wheels and P245/45R19 all-season tires, it was less than in some sports cars I've recently tested. High-performance summer tires are optional, with even wider rubber on the GT500. Opting for them, however, may increase road noise, just as going with the lesser Mustang's 17- or 18-inch tires might decrease it.
The steering wheel in my test car didn't feel too well-assisted, as the steering did in the last Mustang GT I spent serious time in — a 2005 model. Turn-in precision is good, but even with the GT's hardier suspension, body roll is more noticeable than in the Challenger R/T or Camaro SS. It makes the Shelby GT500's suspension, with retuned shocks and beefier stabilizer bars, worth checking out. That setup will be optional later this year on the Mustang GT.
Thread your way through tight corners, and the Mustang resists understeer admirably well. Deactivate the car's electronic stability system, and the rear steps out easily. Reeling it back in is manageable enough — until you hit rough pavement, where oversteer shows up on its own. Oddly enough, those antics were a better fit for the last Mustang's demeanor. That car was more of an unpredictable brute, sending the tail wide with little warning and requiring a fair bit of countersteer to reel things back in. In today's Mustang, all of that rings a bit hollow: The car's refinement — in cabin quality, noise levels and overall packaging — makes the raw edges seem out of character.
The Inside
In the Fusion and now the Mustang, Ford's efforts to shore up interior quality are evident. The last Mustang's cabin was a mix of grainy textures and low-rent fixtures. Other than some cheap-looking upper door panels and a sloppy automatic gearshift, this year's cabin is far better. Soft-touch materials and low-gloss textures adorn the dash, clear down to knee level. Ford's so-called "poke-through" center controls exhibit few of the flimsy movements the earlier versions did.
I'm not as crazy about the seats. My Premium test car's power driver's seat had rich-feeling leather upholstery and ample adjustment range, but the lumbar support sat too high in my back, no matter how I adjusted it. The seat positions, too, are awkward. I felt either too close to the steering wheel or too far away to comfortably operate the clutch. The steering wheel tilts but doesn't telescope, as the Challenger's and Camaro's do. No doubt that would help with the wheel/clutch issue. The seats have grippy surfaces to help hold you in, but I could have used larger side bolsters. The GT500's sport seats have larger bolsters, though I haven't sat in them.
The two-person backseat has decent headroom and good thigh support, thanks to its low footwells. Knee room is minimal, however, and the front-seat release handles have an annoying habit of scraping your thighs as you exit. Cargo space, at 13.4 cubic feet, is midway between the Camaro (11.3 cubic feet) and Challenger (16.2). Sun lovers should note that the Mustang convertible cuts trunk volume to 9.6 cubic feet.
Sync Interface
Ford's Sync stereo interface, standard on Premium trims like my test car, continues to have a mind of its own. (I'm in the minority of auto writers who aren't sold on it, though.) It allows you to call out specific tracks, playlists or artists off your iPod, and it works most of the time. It can't catalog songs without metadata, however — that's most of your old Napster downloads — and sometimes it doesn't always play what you ask it to, metadata or no. At least the stereo itself sounds good: Ford's available Shaker system, available in 500- or 1,000-watt packages, delivers distortion-free sound even at ear-splitting decibels. I've sampled the optional stereos in the Camaro and Challenger, both by Boston Acoustics. The Mustang's lays waste to them.
Safety, Features & Pricing
As of this writing, the 2010 Mustang has not been crash-tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Standard safety features include an electronic stability system and seat-mounted side airbags with head extensions; click here to see the full list. Though side curtain airbags aren't offered — both the Camaro and Challenger include them — it'll be worth waiting for the crash tests to reveal their relative importance. The previous Mustang convertible, with seat-mounted side airbags only, performed well.
The V6 coupe starts at $20,995, about $1,200 short of the '09 Challenger and '10 Camaro. The Mustang GT starts at $27,995, about $2,200 short of the V-8 Camaro and Challenger. Fully loaded, a Mustang GT convertible tops out around $44,000.
The well-equipped Shelby GT500 starts at $46,325 for the coupe and $51,325 for the convertible.
Mustang in the Market
There's an elephant in the room, and it's the tenuous business situations surrounding GM and Chrysler, still unfolding as I write this. Absent one or both of its competitors, the Mustang has a far more certain road to success. Assuming both remain, however, I suspect the next few years of muscle-car wars will cast Ford's contender as an also-ran. The Camaro, particularly in V-6 form, is all about performance value. The Challenger is a well-settled cruiser. The Mustang has the best interior quality, but I'm not sure that alone carries enough weight.
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