Ford Mustang 5.0 GT Fastback: What’s it like to live with the pony?

MILEAGE AT START:  1,677km

MILEAGE NOW: 5,003km

PRICE: R1 139 900

SPECIFICATION

GOOD STUFF

That 5.0l V8 is a showcase of naturally aspirated goodness. 

BAD STUFF

Fuel bills. Auto box can be annoying. 

Can you believe that just six weeks from the time this publication hits shelves, we will all be turning the calendars forward from ’23 to ‘24? In Ford South Africa’s illustrious timeline, 2023 will be the timestamp of a century in South Africa, providing mobility to millions.

2024, however, will be yet another significant milestone year as the Blue Oval ushers in a new 7th-generation Ford Mustang and celebrates 60 years of the iconic pony car.

With this in mind, we welcome you to our long-term test car for the final quarter of 2023, the 6th-generation Ford Mustang 5.0 GT. You may wonder why we’re looking at this car, considering how old it is and that it is nearing the end of its life cycle. The first reason is that it is still available for purchase from Ford SA and, as such, must be a product qualified to be reviewed under our long-term test. The second reason is exactly that it is at the end of its line, and we get to spend a considerable amount of time in it just before the 7th-gen makes its debut. It gives us the best opportunity and position to understand how much will change in the new car and to consider how much the 6th generation has aged, if at all.

First thoughts on the ageing pony as it arrived: What a well-appointed product, all things considered. The Mustang’s interior features are still as relevant today as they were eight years ago. Ford’s SYNC3 infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is still a foolproof way to get connected. The only sign of its age, perhaps, is the use of a USB-A input.

That aside, there are several driver aids, including pre-collision assistance with pedestrian detection and adaptive cruise control with lane departure warning. Other niceties include illuminated sills, ambient lighting, and a decent 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Push the start button, and the Mustang makes its strongest impression. That burly Coyote 5.0-litre V8 is anything but subtle. It’s old-school. It’s Michael McCary in **Boyz II Men** speak. The car itself is the centre of a few polarised opinions, but regarding its signature sound, the opinion is unanimously positive.

The month of October marks  **TopGear SA’s**  annual Speed Week, Performance Car of the Year feature. In 2023, our location was the North West province, with our base of operations and a few of our events taking place at Sun City Resort. Logistics and planning required a number of visits to and from Sun City, and on a few occasions, we opted to drive the Mustang GT. The drive route consists of a few wide-open roads on which to unleash all 330kW from that Coyote, enough to really savour the nostalgia of old-school muscle conjured up by this naturally aspirated brute. It remains as engrossing as ever. It’s a fantastic engine, and the 10-speed auto, at full tilt, does a good job switching cogs.

I usually choose to drive the Mustang with the manual shift paddles on either side of the steering wheel because the 10-speed isn’t the best in situations other than full acceleration runs and tends to shift more frequently than one may like. Ford insists the box helps to save fuel, which is needed. The Mustang is thirsty, especially considering that the cost per barrel has not been kind in recent months. Our average of 13.1l/100km over the first four weeks is telling.

As one of our performance-oriented long-termers, we opted to add the Mustang to our 12-car line-up of performance cars for our annual Speed Week. It wasn’t a contender as such, but being what it is, we couldn’t let up on the opportunity to test it within a pack of its newer peers, i.e., the Mustang will always make the list of sports car options when owners are considering what to spend their money on. Speed Week allowed us the opportunity to test the Mustang in a variety of conditions, giving every team member a clear reminder of why the car sells so well across the world.

It isn’t the last word in precision; it isn’t the fastest-accelerating car out there, and it doesn’t boast the best driving position or interior packaging on the scene. But despite its shortcomings, it does strike a chord of emotion with every driver and onlooker alike. The Speed Week Show Day this year took place at Sun City’s Valley of the Waves, where hundreds of people got to interact with the cars. The 8-year-old Mustang was as popular as ever, with every single person in attendance. From small children to much older folk, the Mustang was the subject of many ‘I want one’ utterances.

It’s a compelling reminder that if OEMs build cars that are accessible in pricing, relevant in styling, and feature-rich while tugging at the heartstrings of owners, then the masses will come.

Last month, we introduced our long-term Ford Mustang, as it spend a few months with us. Since then, we have put it through its paces and also took a short trip with the family for a weekend away.

Family? In a sportscar? Uhm, yes, surprisingly, we made it work. The plan was to travel to KZN so that the kids could savour some Vitamin Sea and build sand castles – you know, that sort of thing.

However, looking at our planned departure time from Gauteng, we quickly decided against the idea and, instead, travelled to the quaint town of Oranjeville, nestled on the banks of the Orange River. Our steed proved up to the task; we filled both the 61-litre fuel tank and the 382-litre boot to the brim, the latter bursting at the seams with kids’ paraphernalia and our weekend supplies.

We promptly nosed the vehicle down the R59 highway and headed to our weekend site. While the gearbox feels somewhat lazy and laborious around town, especially when cold, things get more pleasurable out on the open road. The engine settles in at around 2,000r/min in top gear at the national speed limit, a fittingly positive nod to its GT nameplate suffix. Suspension damping is noteworthy, thanks to the thick tyre sidewalls; it copes surprisingly well with road undulations and the like. That V8 engine has more than enough grunt that overtaking is but a quick flex of one’s right toe, the gearbox digs a little deeper for the appropriate cog – this can sometimes be annoying as there are just too many forward gears – and slingshots past slower-moving traffic.

The Mustang’s design, 8 years on since its local debut, still gets its fair share of admirers, with many lamenting that it remains their dream car. If nothing else, this is a testament to the model’s iconic status. It is not the sharpest tool in the shed,
but nobody cares.

That Coyote 5.0-litre V8 is charming, old-school goodness that never ceases to be novel every time you get behind the wheel and crank it up. It is no surprise then that the next, 7th generation of the ‘Stang retains the V8 engine, albeit tweaked for power and hopefully efficiency.

As we arrived at our weekend stayover, we had to negotiate some 3km of gravel, which we weren’t aware we would encounter. Ah, well, here we are; a Ranger would perhaps be more suitable, but there’s no turning back now, I thought to myself. We crawled at 30km/h to our digs, and the ‘Stang took it all in stride, thankfully.

Next year, the new Mustang will make its debut in SA within the first half of the year, and we cannot wait to see how much more improvement it brings to the fore. The current model has held up well, but the interior is now feeling its age.

The Mustang’s charms are well warranted, and it was a popular choice among Matric students this year as their chosen chariot, and we obliged when the requests came flooding in. That said, this generation Mustang will go down in history as one of the most charming sports cars to come from the land of Uncle Sam, and people love it,
warts and all.

And having spent a few months with it, it’s not hard to fathom why.

MILEAGE AT START: 1,677km

MILEAGE NOW: 8,559km

PRICE: R1,142,900

SPECIFICATION

GOOD STUFF

5.0-litre V8 of normally aspirated goodness. Burly exhaust note. 

BAD STUFF

Fuel bills. The auto box is laborious, especially before it reaches optimal temperature. 

As a swansong, the last hurrah of the current generation Ford Mustang, we were handed keys to a 5.0 GT Fastback specimen to create content to mark the end of the road for this model.

And no sooner had the model arrived in our garage than we put it to the test to see why it commands such a cult following. It is a relatively affordable sports car with a big, burly, normally aspirated engine driving the rear wheels. In this instance, a 10-speed automatic transmission, perhaps not the last name in sporty shifting boxes, sends power to the wheels. However, it manages to get the job done, particularly on the open road, where the engine quickly settles into a relaxed disposition while gobbling away at the kilometres.  

We have taken the vehicle on a family road trip to the Free State, which also included an invariable patch of gravel that the vehicle handled with the greatest aplomb, in spite of being well out of its comfort zone. There was also a spell of matric dance drop-offs where the ‘Stang’s services were called upon. About that cult following, a mate of mine, who owns a Porsche 991 GTS, called me to say his niece would like to be dropped off at her matric ball in the Pony car and not his Porker. He seemingly conceded defeat, saying that his German sportscar is just not flamboyant enough to dazzle at the red carpet drop-off. That, if nothing else, speaks volumes about the universal appeal of the Mustang.  

As we await the arrival of the new Mustang in SA, its introduction date remains a moving target, according to the local outfit. The model commemorates 60 years of the nameplate this year. It is quite a milestone, with very few sports car nameplates having this sort of mainstay. Will it reach a centenary? Well, the jury is still out, but there’s no denying that the Mustang is a well-loved sports car around the world that is relatable to all ages.  

During our tenure with the current model, we have experienced no technical or mechanical glitches. Admittedly, the vehicle’s build quality won’t win awards, nor will the outdated tech. That Coyote V8 is not the most sophisticated, and the chassis is not the stuff of dynamic prowess. Yet, with all these flaws, its appeal continues to transcend logic, proving that vehicle charm doesn’t necessarily hinge on superior engineering and build quality, and for us here at TopGear SA Magazine, that simply defines character.  

So, from this small enclave of our long-term garage, farewell to a decidedly flawed sportscar with lofty levels of charm and appeal!