Our first drive in the all-new 2015 Mustang GT 5.0 finally arrives, giving the opportunity to feel its power, get a hang on its new chassis and size up the re-imagined interior. This is what we’ve been waiting for, the chance to see if the horse lives up to the hype.
Fresh off the drive of the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost model, the first big thing you notice in the GT is how wonderful this motor sounds when you first fire it up and head off. From behind the wheel, it’s hood juts long out in front of you more so than even in the last generation.
Our tester was a base trim grade Mustang GT with the six speed automatic. This means 18” wheels, body color rear fascia, and cloth interior with the standard display audio. Optioned was the Recaro seats which we’ll get to shortly.
As our drive took us only through a short drive route of city traffic and freeway, we didn’t have the chance to dig hard into its launch control or its line-lock feature. We’ll save that for another day.
New for 2015 is an improved shifter which was immediately noticeable as more willing to slide into gears easily than before. It still has a slightly rubbery feel and most hard core drivers will want to replace it still.
The interior switch-gear on this base trim level is easily ten-times better than in the last generation. Even the basic center stack has a very clean-cut, German kind of design feel to it. The buttons look well fitted and feel expensive.
This is important as in the last Mustang, the trim and fit quality of the interior was rental grade. This is OK at the $25-30,000 price point. But when you spent $65,000 for a Shelby GT-500 it was grossly out of place. This car wont have that problem.
The Recaro seats I really like. They are a bittersweet option as while they up the ante for support and high performance grip, they are strictly manual in adjustment. So for a daily driver with two owners that require seat change often it could be a pain. Also if you are over 200 lbs, they might be a little snug for you.
Putting power back to the new independent rear suspension gives you a new and modem tact. The rear-end delivers that power to the ground with a snappy plant. No more wrap or jump when you throw power shifts back there.
Granted in our short drive there wasn’t an opportunity to launch it and see how it does for extreme tire frying. But for the real world where most of us drive and live, the new suspension does its best and completely disappearing from your senses. Meaning, unlike the live axle which you felt dance every time you hit a bump or expansion strip, this you don’t.
The new front dual-ball joint suspension pays dividends too. It feels fresh with a light hearted steering feel not near as artificial as before. The big gift of it is a seemingly tight turning circle afforded by the variable geometry. It will allow larger wheels and brakes without costing you more three point turns.
Suspension tuning is typical Mustang GT which is to say not too stiff, but not too soft. What’s different is the level of precision feel and sharpness it has which is decidedly more modern in feel than before, much less truck like.
Hoping onto the freeway, the 435 horsepower 5.0 liter V8 throws you a few good bones. It raps out that grin inducing sound and throws you back in that Recaro like you expect it to. The sound is piped in and a bit more engineered than before, and seems a tad quieter.
It feels to me as if it breathes better this time around. They tweaked the intake tract among other things and seems to rev much more freely. It almost feels as if it has a lighter flywheel, but that is pure perception.
Overall, the first impression from this brief test is that this Mustang is completely different. It’s modern. It feels and tastes like a Mustang through and through, but made from a different cloth. We’ll bring you a more detailed review soon when we get more time behind the wheel. For more news and test drives of Fords and Mustangs see our partner channel TheMustangNews.com.
