After spending the morning taking care of grown-up business, like doing my taxes, renewing my license plate tabs for my car and my motorcycle, and running errands, I rewarded myself by heading over to Superior Ford to play with their fun toys.
I was greeted right away by friendly sales guy, Dave Slipka, who was happy to host my visit, and wasted no time in gathering up keys to set me up for a test drive in the car I requested: a Triple Yellow EcoBoost Mustang.
Those readers familiar with my blog or with me will know that I've owned a 6 cylinder Mustang (the very beast is pictured here in Electric Green, no less)
....and of course, my current GT, with its V8. I've also taken out 5.0 Mustang GTs in previous posts. But, one thing I've never had the opportunity to drive until today, is a 4 cylinder Mustang.
Not since the SVO of the mid 1980s has there been such a souped up little terror in the Mustang stables. Indeed, this new one, like the SVO of decades past, features a turbo charged 2.3L I-4 engine. Of course, today's little yellow screamer has a few more horseys to call upon for propulsion. 110 more, in fact than the 1986 SVO, which topped out at 200 HP and 240 lb-ft of torque. Today's EcoBoost Mustang was spooling up 310 HP and 320 lb-ft of torque, which does make for a spirited ride.
No complaints on the handling, though I wasn't on a rigorous route with this new Mustang. I'm sure it was up to the task of handling just about anything I could toss at it, regardless. The interior is nicely trimmed and controls were placed in areas that seemed intuitive enough for my liking, though I am coming into this as a Mustang driver already.
The one I drove happened to be an automatic, which according to Ford's specs, should garner 21 MPG in the city, and 32 on the highway, as opposed to the ratings for a nearly identical car appointed with a manual transmission, which gets you 22 in the city and 31 MPG on the highway.... and that's with 93 octane fuel, mind you. When turbos are involved, the days of a cheap trip to the gas pump are at an end, so the miserly among us might want to note that it's going to be premium fuel from here on out -unless you opt for the base engine 3.7L V6 (300HP and 280 lb-ft of torque) which gets you 19/28MPG on the cheap stuff. Nobody likes to talk about the V6, though. It's not exciting like the EcoBoost or the 5.0. And really, aside from owners of rental car fleets, I'm not sure who is going to buy the V6 these days.
Even Dave kind of glossed over the V6. There's just no need for that middle man when the power plants on either side of it are cranking out so much fun stuff. Still, to make up for the fact that I didn't bother trying to hunt down a V6 to get a photo of, much less drive one, I will share a photo I recently snapped of another, albeit much older V6 Mustang that is sporting some oversized and very shiny wheels to make up for any shortcomings it might have otherwise had.
Sure, the handling is probably compromised, and given that this car was driving on 26th Ave N before turning onto Penn, you can bet the passengers are having the fillings shaken out of their teeth from the lack of cushioning between those skinny little tires and the pock marked and pot-holed surface of the road, but this is one Mustang that literally stands above the rest. So, you know, points for that.
Back to the topic of the EcoBoost, though. If I had to complain about the EcoBoost Mustang, it would be the exhaust note I'd bemoan. There wasn't any of the throaty rumble that you get with a V8 -and with good reason, of course, because it's just a little inline 4 cylinder. I didn't expect the growl of a V8, though, and I was still disappointed. I think maybe I would have been happier if Ford took the EcoBoost's sound a little more into tuner land, where so many souped up imports rip and whine their way though high pitched fits of acceleration. If the EcoBoost 'Stang was more of a tantrum-thrower, screeching and spitting, I'd have been happy to embrace its rant. As it sits, the EcoBoost's sound is kind of dull and uninspiring.
Here's where I have to give a big shout out to Dave for being a great guy to work with. When we pulled back into the lot in the little Yellow Mustang, he made a point of suggesting that I take out one of the 5.0 Ponies. I hadn't complained about the little Ecoboost, but Dave was attentive, and through the course of our conversation while I drove, he gathered enough information to know what I really wanted to drive. He asked if I had a preference on which car, and I immediately told him I wanted to drive the Competition Orange one.
What he didn't know was that I had been making a point of stopping in to visit and ogle that same orange Mustang whenever I happened to be in the area over the past couple weeks. In fact, you might note that some of the pictures of the orange Mustang have it positioned in a totally different area of the lot from where I found it today, up front next to the yellow EcoBoost -those pictures are from a previous Sunday visit to the little tangerine monster. When Dave offered me a chance to hit the road in a car I've been lusting after, you better believe I took him up on it.
Those who know me will already know that I like my cars in green. I surprised myself by determining soon after the 2015 Mustang hit the market that my favorite color to see on it is Competition Orange. I just love how this car wears that color. Of course, driving such a flamboyant creature is akin to begging for a speeding ticket, but I don't even care.
The 2015 Mustang GT harbors a 5.0 L V8 under its hood and can whip up 435 HP and 400 lb-ft of torque. This one has a manual transmission and is rated at 15/25MPG with that set up. Materials and layout inside are well thought out, and this car was, like its yellow sibling, well appointed with leather interior and nice extras. One thing this car didn't feature was the Recaro racing seats, which I was pretty sure I'd be disappointed about. I wasn't, though. The stock seats have nice, big bolsters to make you feel like you're being hugged by the seat when you whip around a turn, and they're plenty comfortable, so I suppose I could probably live without those Recaros if I had to. Besides, with the stock seats, you don't have to worry about bigger passengers feeling uncomfortable or smooshed in the seat, so there's that extra bit of flexibility.
Performance wise, the 5.0 is everything one would expect -fast, faster, and crazy fast. It can go from a starting stroll up to sixty MPH in the blink of an eye and without leaving second gear. Yes, of course, there are cars out there with more power and more crazy, but unless you're planning track days, there's no need to fret about who's stats stack up best, because the 5.0 is more than ample in terms of thrust and flat-out fun for driving day to day.
Best of all was the sound. There's nothing quite like a powerful V8 singing out through a nice set of pipes -glorious, really -and if you think my word choice is silly or overblown, you clearly haven't stomped down the pedal on a 5.0 yet. My God, do I want that orange Mustang! I just can't justify it when I already have a Mustang I'm devoted to. Though, if I could talk myself into it, Dave Slipka is the guy I'd buy it from. This was a fun and relaxing test drive, and the fact that I got to take out two Mustangs without having to pester somebody into letting me do it first is something I owe to Dave and how generous he was with his time today.
So, in review:
EcoBoost Mustang -Yay, fun! But the sound needs something more.... no, not more cowbell... I prescribe more high-rev wail to give it a distinct auditory signature. The EcoBoost isn't the big, burly bruiser of the bunch, but it shouldn't try to hide the fact that it's a feisty little spitfire by mellowing out its tone, either.
3.7L V6 Mustang -who cares? I know, I'm being totally unfair to what is probably a perfectly decent little car. The V6 Mustang would probably attest that it's just no fun being the boring middle child in this case.. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!!!
5.0 GT Mustang - A blast to drive and to hear. A beauty inside and out with a lovely raspy tone that makes you wonder why anybody would ever need a stereo in a car like this. I LOVE IT and I want one.
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