2015 Ford Mustang: Driving America’s new pony car

LOS ANGELES, CA — I was born in the Year of the Horse. They say that Horse people love to travel. And that they have an affinity for all things equine.

Well, either that or the sheer irresistibility of the new sixth-generation 2015 Ford Mustang simply worked its spell on me. There’s something about bonding with a car in its home territory that makes you thoroughly understand the concept—even the culture—behind a car model or even a whole brand, be it a Kia or Hyundai in Seoul, a Ferrari in Maranello, a BMW in Munich, a Peugeot in Nice, a Volvo in Stockholm; a Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, or Nissan in Tokyo; or a Ford in California.

Which is how I found myself in sunny LA, opening the door to a 2015 Mustang GT, and sliding into its deeply bolstered Recaro sports seats. A push of a button and the legendary 5.0-liter V8 comes to life in a whoosh of rumbling bass. After one last glance at the route book handed to us by Ford’s ride-and-drive organizers, I slip the gearshift lever into Drive and slowly guide the beast onto Sunset Boulevard’s bustling traffic.

It’s a surprisingly gentle and refined beast, one that will contentedly crawl through traffic without the bucking bronco drivetrain motions of the pony cars of yore—never mind that this 21st century pony car has almost twice the power of its predecessors.

It is a beautiful beast, too—and one that its American audience celebrates with lots of smiles, thumbs-up gestures, and head turns. When I first saw this car in its global six-city debut—I first laid eyes on it in Sydney a full year before I finally got to drive it in its home turf of LA—I had mixed emotions. Sure, it’s a sleeker, sharper version of its immediate predecessor, but it seems to have lost the design elements that tied that model to the seminal 1964 version.

Then I came across a photo of a 1969 Mustang, the first major change from the pioneering ’64. And I realized that the sixth-generation 2015 Mustang harks back precisely to that fastback ’69 model. Gone are the 64’s side louvers that covered the rear quarter windows that also appear in the 2015’s fifth-gen predecessor. In its place is a fixed side glass that completes the greenhouse with the door’s side windows.

The front sports slimmer headlights with triple vertical LED daytime running lights that mimic the car’s iconic triple vertical taillights—now slanted forward more acutely, just like the 69’s. A gaping grille, whose opening is further extended down into the bumper, creates an aggressively compelling visage that’s sure to strike terror in many a super car owner. A chrome floating “galloping horse” emblem leaves no doubt as to what car is glaring into your rearview mirror.

Thankfully, the new Mustang is not festooned with boy racer spoilers, wings or exaggerated fender flares—with the exception of Ford’s “Power Dome” hood accentuated with long fin-like appendages. What it has is an artful assemblage of tasteful curves and lines that embody the automotive equivalent of the toned muscles of a race horse—not some steroid-enhanced bulk of a body builder.

Squint a bit, and a dark blue, dark green, or gunmetal gray 2015 Mustang—when viewed from the side—is suddenly reminiscent of an Aston Martin Vanquish, especially with its well-defined rear haunches. It certainly looks a lot more sophisticated and a lot less boy racer-ish than Mustangs of yore.

I was enjoying taking in the sights and sounds of downtown LA—all the while soaking up the admiring looks and knowing smiles from fellow motorists. But I knew that the Mustang—any Mustang—is built for more than just strutting in slow-moving city traffic. Ford knew this, too, which is why the next leg of the drive led us not just through some of the West Coast’s most expansive and fast-moving freeways, but also to the legendary Angeles Crest Highway and its mountainous—and challenging—sequences of high-speed switchbacks and corners. On one side is a breathtaking view of the Los Angeles valley and on the other, a wall of solid rock—not exactly a place where’d you want to put a wheel wrong.

Not that the 2015 Mustang is prone to doing that. Like fine wine, Ford’s pony car gets better and better with age. It has never been wanting for power—supercar levels of power have been coaxed from its V8 in numerous Ford and Shelby models and by countless aftermarket modifiers—but could always use more sophistication from its 60’s-era live rear axle suspension and all the handling limitations it comes with.

Which is why, after five generations of Mustangs with live rear axles, the big surprise for the 2015 model is the standard fitment of independent rear suspension. In our LA drive, it worked wonders both in terms of riding comfort cruising along Sunset Boulevard and in on-the-limit cornering during our mountain drive on Angeles Crest. Gone was the tendency for the rear to side-step—or to feel like it wants to side-step or even to outright oversteer—when the car hits a bump or pothole mid-corner. The ability for each rear wheel to move independently of each other truly pays dividends in comfort and control. ) The super-wide and super-sticky 19-inch 40-series Pirelli P Zeros—255 in front and 275 in the back—plus the use of aluminum for much of the suspension components help a lot, too.) The suspension change might seem a bit of a throwback when 99 percent of cars for the last 10 years have had independent rear suspensions, but in the Mustang, it’s nothing less than “stop the press” breaking news. It simply transforms this pony car and puts it solidly in the echelon of the world’s greatest performance cars.

Of course, if you need world-class performance, you’d need to be packing serious power under the hood. And under the hood is where you’ll find yet another newsmaker: an all-new 2.3-liter 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine that generates an impressive 310 hp and 434 Nm of torque. It may not have that wonderful V8 burble at idle—nor that spine-tingling V8 wail at high revs—but it does deliver the familiar (to pony car fans) push in the back: to the tune of a 5-second 0-100 km/h sprint and an impressive 230-km/h top speed.

Not quick enough? Then the carryover 5.0 V8 is for you. Appearing mostly unchanged from the fifth-gen ‘Stang, it hurtles the new pony car from 0 to 100 km/h in a little over four seconds and on to a top speed of 260 km/h. The song of the V8 at full chat—not to mention the incredible acceleration—will make a diehard Mustang fan of the most jaded person.

There is no 500+hp supercharged V8 for 2015 that was the bad-ass option for the previous generation, but the 3.7-liter V6 is still available as the entry-level motor for North America. It lacks the power, torque, and fuel economy of the EcoBoost and the music and sheer maniacal oomph of the GT’s V8, so Ford is not even bothering to bring it to the Philippines.

Both EcoBoost and V8 are available with slick-shifting German-made Getrag 6-speed manuals or smooth and responsive 6-speed manumatics (shifted via thumb switches on the gearshift lever). The new Mustang transfers its power to the rear wheels through a 3.73 ratio Torsen rear differential.

Braking is likewise improved, with better calipers and upsized rotors available virtually across the board. There is also an optional Brembo brake system upgrade for the V8. Pedal feel, long a Mustang weakness, as well as braking performance, are improved. There is also a full suite of 21st century active and passive safety features like ABS, EBD, Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, and the like.

Inside, the Mustang cabin is a characterful blend of state-of-the-art functionality and vintage aesthetics. The steering wheel looks like it came straight out from the 60’s but feels and works like any modern tiller. The gauges, controls, and overall ergonomics may not set new standards, but are solid in construction and operation. The front seats give excellent comfort and support (during our half-day-long drive and also during hard cornering) but the rear seats have limited headroom, no thanks to the fastback roofline. Rear seat legroom is still better than most 2+2 coupes and sports cars, including the Toyota 86, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and the Porsche 911.

No local pricing has been announced for the 2105 Mustang. Suffice to say that, like its predecessor, it will bring the ultimate bang for the buck. American pony cars might not yet be embedded in the Japanese- and Korean-brand-oriented psyche of local car enthusiasts, but with the 2015 Mustang—which will be the second generation to officially gallop on our streets—that scenario will soon change. Perhaps faster than you can say, “Rollin’ in my 5.0.”