May 5, 2016
by Anne Miller
More Fords were sold in Australia in April than Holdens … the first time this has happened since 1999 when the AU Falcon ruled the roost.
One of the reasons? The new Ford Mustang, which hit Aussie streets earlier this year, actually outsold Falcons in April according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
New car buyers are obviously enchanted by the latest pony car, and I can only agree. The new way to spell fun is M-U-S-T-A-N-G.
southburnett.com.au was lucky enough to have a test car loaned to us by Huston Ford in Kingaroy over the Easter long weekend so we put it through its paces.
* * *
Anyone who knows me understands that my love affair with Mustangs goes back a long, long way.
To 1969, in fact, when I first cast my eyes at the Sydney Motor Show on what I thought was the most stunning vehicle I had ever seen … a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. It wasn’t on an exhibition stand, it was registered and in the parking lot outside. I walked around and around that car for what seemed like hours.
From that day, I was determined to own one and that dream finally came true in the late 1970s when I bought a fairly battered big-block Mach 1. Over the next 20 years, I poured dollars and dollars into that vehicle until finally I realised that to do it justice, it needed a new owner.
So I sold it. It went to a good home where the owner instantly spent another $50,000 or so on it. Sigh.
I loved that car but truth to tell, it was a beast to drive. The steering was appallingly heavy (no power steering), its fuel consumption needed a private Texan oil well, and the brakes (adapted from a GT Falcon during the RHD conversion) were almost non-existent. The fastback shape, tombstone seats, rear louvres and spoiler meant there was almost no vision out the rear window.
It looked like a fun car, but it wasn’t great to drive, especially in traffic.
But back when the first 1964½ Mustangs were released in the United States, they WERE fun.
Pitched at the thousands of baby boomers who were becoming new car drivers, they were light, sporty, compact and looked great. As the 60s and 70s went on, they became longer and heavier. Later generations also had regrettable styling.
It wasn’t until 2005, that Ford got the Mustang back on track, harking back to earlier design elements.
The latest Mustang also has echoes of the best of the 1960s, but this one is all-new, from bumper to bumper.
It’s a sixth generation Mustang with all the 21st century safety features but with the pure heart of a pony car.
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The new Mustang is available in two body shapes and two engine sizes from Australian Ford dealers: Fastback or convertible with either the 2.3-litre Ecoboost or 5.0 litre V8. There’s also the choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed auto.
We tested the the Ecoboost version, yep … a four-cylinder Mustang, but a four that produces a maximum output of 233kW @ 5600-5700 rpm and torque of 432 Nm@ 3000 rpm.
A six-cylinder feel at a four-cylinder registration price … and, according to Ford, almost equivalent to the 2010 V8.
It had all the horses necessary on country roads on a holiday long weekend.
And the heart of this car is definitely fun. From the puddle lamps that shine the famous Mustang running horse on the ground at night, to the words “ground speed” on the speedo.
The interior has a classic American ’60s heritage. The chrome bezels around the large round dials scream 1966 as do the air conditioning vents and dashpad curves.
But there’s nothing 1960s about the computer display between those two large dials or the 20cm colour touch screen, voice command, sat nav, phone synced, rear camera system located under the dual zone climate control vents.
Syncing my mobile phone was a breeze, as was unsyncing it when I reluctantly handed the vehicle back to Hustons.
The round chrome “Tune” and “Volume” controls could be from a 1960s era push-button radio, but they actually control a nine-speaker sound system.
The chrome switches underneath control the selectable driving modes.
And no 1960s Mustang ever had heated and cooled six-way powered driver and passenger seats, or smart keyless entry.
Press the big white button and the engine roars into life.
We drove the vehicle to Jandowae and around the now-deserted town of Acland before heading off to Oakey and Toowoomba, exploring many of the back roads around the area.
The sat nav system never led us astray and even alerted us when there were roadworks ahead.
Fuel consumption was also excellent.
This is not a vehicle for rough roads so we didn’t venture off the black top. It’s also not very practical for families as the back seats are a tight squeeze (although the boot space is quite large thanks to the spacesaver tyre).
But it’s not that sort of car.
Just put the windows down, the Beach Boys on the stereo, hit the highways and let the ponies run free …
[Vehicle supplied by Huston Ford, Kingaroy; as tested about $53,000]
