It has been a while since I drove the Ford Mustang and it appears I may have missed something while I was away.
The Mustang GT has gone back to its famous 5.0 moniker when it comes to the litre size of the engine. Gone is the 4.6-litre V8 that put out 315 horsepower and in its place is a new 5-litre V8 cranking out a heart thumping 412 horses. That's almost 100 more horsepower than the old engine and torque is up by 75 lb-ft. These are crazy numbers when you consider not too long ago the 5.0 GT was making 225 horses and that was considered a beast of a car.
These numbers are generally associated with vehicles in the $70,000-plus range, so for a vehicle that is $30,000 less this is indeed a bit of a steal.
However, looking at the horsepower and the torque numbers, although they are great, they are not the most shocking numbers about this Mustang.
Look at the gas mileage. With 98 more horses and 75 more lb-ft of torque this monster gets better gas mileage than the 4.6-litre V8 in the 2010 model, which got 21 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.
It is bloody amazing. It is like having 315-lb, six-foot-five bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno sitting at your dinner table and watching him getting bigger while eating less.
This extra power in the Mustang makes all the difference. Not that 315 horsepower is anything to be sneezed at, but my neck still hurts from that Thor-like third gear. It appears that the gears get longer as you shift up. First is extra short, second is a bit longer, third is just right, anything after that - if you have a lead foot like me - and you will be running out of highway and points.
Third is the gear for any around town driving, yet it is situated just at the sweet spot of the power band that one jab of the right foot causes your eyeballs to enlarge, your hands to tighten slightly, as well as your butt cheeks, and your ears to open wide to allow that sweet aural pleasure that is the dual exhaust to sweep in.
The sound is wonderfully gratifying and even on a rainy day the windows will be open.
There are lots of cars with turbos and superchargers, some take more time than others to spool up to full power, some whine more than others and often put out decent power, but nothing compares to the sound and whiplash raw power can provide.
There is just something hair-tinglingly different about the sound and ferociousness of an engine with this much naturally-aspirated power
The six-speed manual transmission with a ball shifter has a slight stiffness to it making the Mustang shifts feel a little more like a race machine than a soft everyday vehicle. I have to say I liked it.
I just had to take the Mustang home to show my son, who at seven is more of a car nut than I will ever be. He got me a Top Gear DVD for Christmas and has watched it ten times more than me, each time whooping and cheering at the cars.
As I pulled into the driveway I blipped the throttle to announce my arrival to Emraj and his friend Brendan as they had their backs to me.
Sick, awesome was all Emraj could say. He must have repeated it four or five times, and I have to say I must agree.
This sick, awesome Mustang also came equipped with lots of creature comforts, after all it is no good having a great engine if you are never comfortable driving the vehicle. Leather covers the interior with heated seats and climate control. Ford's excellent voice-activated hard drive SYNC system by Microsoft, which controls the music and the phone is a must in any car these days, and just so you don't reverse over anyone at 100 mph, a reverse camera displays what is behind the Mustang on the rear-view mirror.
Sitting behind the wheel of the Mustang there is a constant feeling of what is available when you hammer the gas. It is not necessarily in the V8 rumble, as at lower speeds it is fairly quiet.
It is hard to discern where the exact feeling comes from, but it is there nonetheless. The hairs on the back of your neck are always standing to attention, the veins in your arms are always a little closer to the surface and the testosterone always seems to be at peak levels.
It makes you feel awake. It makes you feel young. It makes you feel alive, and that's just sick, awesome.
Ford Mustang GT
Vehicle type: 2 door coupe
Transmission 6-speed manual
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Horsepower: 412hp @ 6,500
Torque: 390 @ 4,250
Mileage: 12.25 l/100 km 23 mpg City 7.6 l/100km 37 mph hwy
Price: $46,599
