Ford Mustang 2025 review - Australia S650 GT V8 Fastback
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00:00I love it when a car brand doesn't mess with the formula, and this, the new generation
00:16Ford Mustang is a great example of that.
00:19Still with V8 power available, still a serious muscle car, but now with more tech and more
00:25liveability to it as well.
00:27In this review, I'll tell you everything you need to know, including the best alternatives
00:30to the Mustang.
00:31So, stick around, and if you haven't already, please ring the bell to keep up to date with
00:34all of my content.
00:35Let's take a look at this new Mustang, shall we?
00:37Giddy up!
00:41When the new Mustang went on sale a couple of months ago in 2024, there was a dark horse
00:45version available, but it has been a sellout success, so you can't order that one anymore.
00:50Instead, you've got a few other versions to choose from.
00:54The entry-level one is called the EcoBoost, and yep, it comes with a 2.3 litre turbo petrol
00:59engine, and it's available as a coupe with an automatic transmission only, and if that
01:04doesn't tickle your fancy, I totally understand that.
01:07Mustangs are about V8 engines in my opinion, and there are a few other choices that you
01:11can have if you do want the V8, so it comes available in coupe spec with a manual transmission
01:17and a 10-speed automatic is also available, it costs you a few grand more, and then if
01:22you really want a convertible Mustang, it comes as standard with the auto transmission
01:26as well.
01:27So, I think that from the pricing perspective, it is a little bit expensive, but it's got
01:32comprehensive standard equipment across all model grades, things like full LED lighting
01:37around the car, 19-inch alloy wheels, proximity unlocking, keyless entry, push-button start,
01:43a pair of big screens on the inside, one driver info screen, one for your infotainment with
01:48Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and also you've got a wireless phone charger, heated
01:52front seats, ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and heaps of other great trim
01:58on the inside, really nice interior finishing in this car in fact.
02:01You get a few extra features if you choose the V8, you get Pirelli PZero tyres, an auxiliary
02:06oil cooler, and look, I think that it does have the wow factor because it's got the V8
02:12and the soundtrack that comes with it as well.
02:14But hey, I've got some alternatives that you might want to consider because you might be
02:17surprised, there are some good ones out there for similar money.
02:22So you want a coupe, you want it to be a sporty car, maybe not necessarily a muscle car, well
02:27there are some other options out there that are very much driver's vehicles for a lot
02:31less money.
02:32Firstly, the Toyota GR86, fantastic, a lot of fun, driftable, and very, very manageable
02:38as well as a daily commuter.
02:40Then there's also its twin, the Subaru BRZ, which I've driven and I think it's a standout
02:45option for people who are looking for something that isn't a Toyota but still has all the
02:50fun factor to it.
02:51And finally, I also think you should go and check out the Mazda MX-5.
02:55It's available as a convertible, as a hardtop convertible as well, and it is tiny.
03:00That's one thing that you need to keep in mind with it.
03:02It's not as practical as this, and that might be its big drawback.
03:05But hey, if you are looking for something a bit bigger, a bit more substantial, and
03:09with six-cylinder power, then you might want to have a look at the Nissan Z.
03:13It has a few different versions available, including a Nismo model, and it stacks up
03:18really, really well if you are looking for a Japanese sports car and you don't want to
03:23spend big, big dollars.
03:25But also, there's the BMW 2 Series range, and look, it's a fair bit smaller than the
03:30Mustang, but I do think that it has plenty of wow factor on the inside.
03:35It's a BMW, which is not a Ford, and that might be exactly why you might consider it
03:40over this.
03:41But hey, you need to keep in mind that it is a bit less practical as well, but it is
03:44super-duper drivable, and there's a lot of refinement on offer in that car as well.
03:49Would you choose any of those, or would you just go for the big old Mustang?
03:51Let me know.
03:54The thing about this Mustang is that it's not small.
03:57It is about 4.8 metres in length, and while it does have, obviously, a fair bit of road
04:02presence because of its size, it also has some technical-looking details that I really
04:07like.
04:08But still, a retro-inspired vibe, because obviously, it's a Mustang, so I even like
04:14the fact that you've got the big 5.0 badge on the front fender there.
04:18I'm not so sure about these wheels personally, but they are a staggered set, so you have
04:22wider rear tyres than at the front, so yes, that means good things when it comes to handling.
04:28And at the back, you've still got those signature taillights, but with a new technical look
04:34to them.
04:35They actually look fantastic in my opinion.
04:37Not so sure about this rear spoiler, but hey, I'm not a big spoiler guy.
04:40So let's have a look in the boot.
04:42Right, you can see for yourself that it is a pretty decent amount of space in there.
04:47I'll put the cargo capacity on your screen now so you can see for yourself the litres
04:51that you've got to play with, but it's not necessarily as practical as some other cars
04:56that you might want to consider.
04:58So there are no shopping bag hooks in the back, at least you don't get gooseneck hinges.
05:03You do have these strut hinges which mean that it doesn't eat into the space.
05:08That's your subwoofer there.
05:10Underneath the boot floor, let's have a look.
05:12Sadly, no spare wheel.
05:14I know that could be a deal breaker for some, it just has a tyre repair kit.
05:18But let me know what you think about it.
05:19I don't know that it would work for me and my family, but hey, it's not a family car
05:24is it?
05:25Alright, so let's have a look at this interior shall we?
05:30Yes, it does have the big twin screen thing which most cars seem to have these days, but
05:35it does still have some of the elements that are a bit more traditional which I'm really
05:40quite happy with.
05:41So I like that you've got decent buttons on the steering wheel.
05:45They're proper buttons, yes you've got volume, yes you've got screen control so they interact
05:50with that screen there.
05:52That's pretty easy to learn I have to say.
05:54You've also got some drive mode controls over here so you can siphon through those modes
06:00using that toggle switch.
06:01Yes, lots of nice illustrations up on that little display as well.
06:06Not so little display I should say.
06:07But yeah, there's some wow factor there.
06:10It's obviously had a bit of, I guess, influence from popular culture.
06:15Looks a bit anime.
06:16And you've also got your cruise controls there as well.
06:20And this little button right here, that is your lane keeping button.
06:24You just hit that twice and it does exactly what you hope, just turns off the lane keep.
06:29Now you've also got a traditional stalk for your blinkers on the right side as well which
06:33is nice to see.
06:35On the other side is your wipers.
06:37All of the controls fall pretty easily to hand.
06:39If you're wondering where your light controls are, they're down there, if you can see that,
06:44yes.
06:45So I think that that is a pretty easy element to the cabin to get used to.
06:50The driver cockpit area, very very handy.
06:53The screen, not as simple.
06:55It does take a little bit of learning, and a lot of the learning has to come down to
06:59the fact that you've got a bar down the bottom here for your climate control, which does
07:04take a little bit of a customisation.
07:07So yes, you do have to go onto the screen to turn up the fan for instance, and also
07:12if you want to turn on your seat heating or cooling, you have to do that through the screen
07:16as well.
07:17I've got the aircon off at the moment so it's a little bit quieter, but it is still something
07:21that takes a bit of learning, let me tell you.
07:24This screen does have a lot of information on it.
07:26You've got built-in sat-nav with obviously a pretty good usability to it.
07:31It's got pinch-to-zoom so it's very easy to interact with, kind of like a smartphone in
07:35terms of the usability.
07:37You've got the home button up the top here.
07:40If you are connected to CarPlay you can easily jump into CarPlay there, and it will show
07:46up there as well if you want to find the shortcut for it when you are looking for CarPlay.
07:52So that's all working pretty well in my experience so far in this car.
07:56Now this customisation screen is actually the thing that you might want to spend a bit
07:59of time setting up exactly what you like.
08:02So yes, you've got different exhaust modes.
08:06The track exhaust even has a thing that says track use only because it's very, very loud.
08:11You just put it in normal mode and it's still pretty loud I have to say.
08:14You can adjust your ambient colours in here as well, and there's also some different gauges
08:21that you can set up if you'd like to see just how much fun you are having, or maybe
08:25see just how much pressure you're putting on the car.
08:28Now also you can change the theme of the cluster here as well.
08:32So if you want to you can make it the sport look or the racetrack look, which I actually
08:38like that look quite a bit, otherwise you can have it as the calm look which is kind
08:43of boring I guess.
08:45And yeah, it's configurable and it does mean that you can tailor the car to suit your needs
08:52and your, I guess, preferences, and that's the point of it right?
08:56So I like the fact that there's customisation to this car and a level of customisation that
09:01you can play with on the screen as well, which makes it a bit more, I guess, like a game,
09:06which is fun.
09:07Down below you do have a few buttons if you do wish to use those buttons, and thankfully
09:12there's still a volume knob as well.
09:14You can set up a favourite using the star.
09:16You've got a demister button, traction control off, don't know why you'd need that, and you've
09:22also got the Mustang button which gets you into the configuration screen, so you can
09:27set things up in your car.
09:29Start stop off button, yes, so if you don't like the engine turning off to save fuel then
09:34you can switch that off, and there's also the actual engine start stop button.
09:39Down here you'll find a wireless phone charger.
09:42There's a little storage tray there as well, nice solid feeling shifter, I like that.
09:48Cup holders between the seats, that's your handbrake, it's also like a drift brake so
09:52you don't actually have to pull a button in or anything, it will just actually apply the
09:57handbrake when you just pull it up like that, and I'm sure you could use that for other
10:01things as well.
10:02And in here you will find a decent sized centre console bin, big enough to fit lots of treats
10:06in.
10:07I missed the launch event for this car but I've managed to come and drive it on a day
10:11later, and yeah, they've left the lollies in there, thanks very much Ford.
10:15Now in here you've got a decent set of, I guess pockets that you could fit bottles in,
10:20you might have to do a bit of juggling to try and fit them properly.
10:24And these are the standard seats, so they're not a real leather, they're a fake leather,
10:28and I reckon that they do feel good enough, they're squishy enough, comfy enough, but
10:32supportive enough as well, and remember there is also a Recaro seat upgrade if you wish
10:38to do so.
10:39You miss out on the heating and cooling if you do that though.
10:42I think that it is a pretty nicely designed cabin, not necessarily changing the game in
10:46terms of what you would expect of a modern day vehicle, but it is still pretty comfortable
10:52and pretty practical, so let's check out the back seat and see if it is.
10:56So there is no tilt and slide function to this seat, but yes there are seats in the
11:00back, so let's see how I get in.
11:02There's a little lever down here which you have to pull to tilt the seat back forwards,
11:07and it doesn't slide automatically, so let me just move it forward.
11:11I don't think it's going to be very comfortable in here people, let me just give you the tip,
11:17the hot tip, that it's not going to be comfortable.
11:20Alright, so, put this seat back, now it won't auto-reset to my driving position, and I couldn't
11:30fit in front of myself, and I'm a six foot tall person, so let's just have a look at
11:36my head space here as well, yeah, don't consider this a car that you can fit big people in
11:42the back of, because you can't.
11:44And there's no air vents back here either, you do get map pockets, you get ISOFIX points
11:47and top tethers, there are armrests on the side but they're scratchy plastic, so it's
11:52not necessarily as practical as it could be.
11:57As I mentioned there are two different powertrain options available in the new generation Mustang
12:00range, the 2.3 litre EcoBoost four cylinder turbo petrol is very powerful, it's got lots
12:06of power, lots of torque, comes with a 10 speed automatic as standard, and it's rear
12:11wheel drive, because of course it bloody is.
12:14But the real Mustang is this one, the 5 litre in the GT, and it is an absolute corker, you'll
12:19see the power and torque figures on your screen now, it's not turbocharged, it's not supercharged,
12:23it doesn't bloody need to be because it sounds fantastic, it might have a bit of a thirst
12:27for the fuel, but we'll get to that later on.
12:30Now it comes with the choice of a 6 speed manual if you choose the entry level GT, or
12:34a 10 speed auto if you choose the convertible, like I said, you have to have it with the
12:3810 speed automatic transmission.
12:41And yes, there's a bit to cover when it comes to the drive experience, so let me show you.
12:45It's fun.
12:46For this drive of the Mustang, I haven't been doing what I would usually do with a car like
12:53this, so I haven't been able to live with it essentially, but I have tried to replicate
12:59some of the scenarios you might find yourself in if you do buy a Mustang, and that includes
13:04a bit of urban driving, and a bit more spirited stuff, which we'll get to in a sec, but the
13:09urban driving element to this car is something I want to talk about, because it is relatively
13:14comfortable, but it's still not squishy, it's not soft in any particular way, it's still
13:21rather firm in terms of the ride, but look, if you're expecting a super comfy car, I don't
13:26think this is going to be the right car for you, but it's not about that, and there's
13:30other options, like I said, that you might be more interested in.
13:33But in urban situations, the other thing that I'll point out is the steering is pretty heavy,
13:40it does take a fair bit of arm work to get this car to move where you want it to go.
13:45I get that, it's supposed to feel involving to drive, and it does as a result of the steering
13:51being quite heavy.
13:52It's also got a pretty big turning circle, so don't go thinking that it's an agile, nimble
13:56little thing to run around town and go to the shops and so forth.
14:00It will do that, but it maybe won't do it as well as some of those other alternatives
14:04I mentioned.
14:07And in terms of urban driving, you know, you can silence the exhaust if you want to be
14:11quiet, if you don't want to wake up your kids when you're leaving home in the morning, that
14:15would be a nice thing to do, because it does make a bit of a raucous noise when you start
14:20it up, and you can still hear the V8 engine when the exhaust is in its quietest mode.
14:26It's just maybe not as audacious as when you put it into Sport or something like that.
14:33And the 5.0-litre V8, I mean, you would have thought a 5.0-litre V8 does have a lazy element
14:38to it.
14:39It is a pretty cruisy engine, it can drive on light throttle and just use the engine's
14:44torque to get you along with the 10-speed auto doing a fairly good job of managing progress
14:51as well.
14:52But, look, the best job that this car does is when you put your foot down, listen to
15:01that far out.
15:06This is a fast machine, it is very, very fast.
15:11Very characterful, I would say, as well.
15:15And look, I love the fact that you can feel so much of this car, you can feel what's happening
15:22underneath your seat, underneath the tyres, for the most part, anyway.
15:26The steering maybe could be just a little bit better in terms of the feedback, it does
15:30have a bit of an artificialness to it, but, listen to this.
15:39Oh-ho-ho!
15:41Oh my word, better slow down.
15:44That, that is why you buy this car, that V8 engine, that noise is why you buy this car
15:51Over the 4-cylinder, over some of those rivals, I mean, I want to do it again.
15:56Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
15:57Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright, I've got to calm myself down, no I don't,
16:08there's something else I want to check, I want to do a 0-100 run, so let's find somewhere
16:12quiet to do that.
16:14Here we go, normal mode, let's see how quick we go.
16:183, 2, 1, go!
16:20Stop!
16:21Whoa!
16:22That was quick, whoa, I wasn't expecting that.
16:33And like I was just in the normal drive mode for that little bit of fun I had, put it in
16:37the sport mode, things feel more focused instantly, you get more weight to the steering and more
16:43sharpness to the way that the gears shift as well, so, wha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
16:51I mean, that's why you buy a car like this, if you don't like that, don't buy this car.
17:02I guess the other thing about this car is it's not light, you can feel the weight of
17:08it a bit when you do drive it harder and you can feel it under braking as well, I'm being
17:14pretty cautious, pretty careful with how I control this car because, yeah, all that power
17:22to the rear axle could be eventful, but it does egg you on and it is phenomenally fast.
17:31That exhaust, oh, gimme, sounds so good.
17:35Alright, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, I've got to calm down, I've got to be sensible
17:40for a moment, I'm just going to put it back into the most normal drive mode, calm things
17:47down, quiet things down, because we need to talk about fuel consumption.
17:52Righto, so, there are a few different versions of this car that you need to consider when
17:57it comes to the fuel use numbers, so, as I said, you've got the 4-cylinder turbo petrol,
18:04it's the most efficient of the lot, you'll see the number for it on your screen now,
18:08and if you are looking for a relatively efficient muscle car, then, yeah, that makes sense,
18:13but like I said, the V8's where it's at, and you'll see the figures for the manual and
18:17the auto versions of the V8 on your screen now, yeah, you can expect to probably see
18:24something close to that across a mix of driving.
18:26If you drive it like I've been driving it, maybe you'll see higher, but across my entire
18:31day of driving, hundreds of kilometres of driving across a mix of scenarios, you'll
18:36see on screen what I saw, and I tell you what, I was pretty impressed with that, so
18:40maybe that engine start-stop technology in traffic really does make a real-world difference
18:46in terms of the consumption, and I know that there are people out there who don't want
18:51their drive to be interrupted, you can turn it off every time you drive the car, but look,
18:56I think that for the most part, the consumption on offer in this car, better than I was expecting.
19:05There is no ANCAP or Euro ANCAP rating yet for the new generation Ford Mustang, but it
19:10does come comprehensively equipped with the safety technology that you would expect of
19:14a brand new car in 2024 and beyond.
19:17Things like autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian, cyclist and junction detection,
19:22there's active lane-keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert
19:27with braking, there's a reversing camera, parking sensors and plenty of other features
19:32including a speed sign recognition system which thankfully is not annoying, and you
19:36can easily turn off the lane-keeping assist if you don't want it on.
19:39All of those things make this a pretty liveable car in terms of the safety technology implementation,
19:44and for me, that's a big thumbs up because this is a driver's car, you don't want to
19:48feel like you're a passenger being told what to do.
19:51And when it comes to airbag coverage, there is dual front, front side and curtain coverage
19:55for the coupe models.
19:57You miss out on the curtain coverage if you choose one of the convertibles.
20:03In Australia, Ford offers a five year unlimited kilometre warranty which is on par with the
20:07mainstream competitors, and this vehicle also has a capped price servicing plan.
20:13Now the first four years of services are capped at $379 per visit, and yes your service intervals
20:19are every 12 months, and 15,000 kilometres.
20:23If you service with Ford, you'll also get roadside assistance included as well, which
20:27is good to see.
20:28I think that it does stack up pretty well in terms of the ownership stuff, but hey,
20:32who knows what will happen after the warranty.
20:38This new generation Ford Mustang is a proper muscle car, but it also has a level of prowess,
20:43comfort, control, technology and safety stuff that makes it stack up pretty well if you
20:49are looking for a car that does a bit of everything, and in fact, a muscle car that does more than
20:55you would expect of a muscle car.
20:57I'm really impressed with this, I think you will be too if you're in the market for one.
21:01If you haven't already, please ring the bell to keep up to date with all of my reviews.
21:05Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next one.