Ford Mustang review – a great-value V8 sports car

Verdict – is the Ford Mustang a good car?

Starting from just under £56k, the Ford Mustang really feels like a lot of car for the money. It’s exciting and fun to drive, while still sporting a ridiculously large 5.0-litre V8 engine with loads of character and an enthralling soundtrack. The inside feels thoroughly modern with screens angled towards the driver rather than traditional dials and infotainment, although some purists might lament this change. While it may be a bargain in terms of list price, though, it’s likely to cost you in the long run given its horrendous fuel economy figures, so check you can afford to run it before you buy.

Ford Mustang models, specs and alternatives

The Ford Mustang is an iconic name in the automotive landscape, with the American sports car having been around since the 60s. Now it’s in its seventh generation, and whilst the majority of its predecessors were not sold in the UK, it’s the second generation to be offered on this side of the pond in right-hand drive.

The latest Mustang gets a sleek design with thinner headlights than before and a slightly more angular look all-round, for a more modern take on a well-established recipe. On the inside there’s lots of modern equipment, like the dual-screen infotainment and digital dials, so the Mustang feels more up-to-date than ever.

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Underneath the bonnet, the latest Ford Mustang sticks to the good old-fashioned recipe of V8 petrol power and drive goes through the rear wheels alone. There’s no clever electrified wizardry here, just a great big growling 5.0-litre unit with up to 447bhp. While the last Mustang was somewhat controversially also offered with a turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost engine like the one in the Ford Focus ST, there’s no such option this time around.

The latest Mustang is offered in GT or Dark Horse guises. GT is the standard model with a slightly more pedestrian look, while the Dark Horse stands out with a spoiler, more aggressive bodykit and hood vents plus a raft of performance upgrades. While the GT gets 440bhp, the Dark Horse gets a power increase of 7bhp but a more sophisticated suspension setup for improved handling, though it commands a premium of over £12,000 more than the GT.

The Ford Mustang can also be chosen in ‘Fastback’ coupe guise or with a convertible roof, the latter of which adds around £3,500 to the list price. 

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If fuel-efficiency and running costs are a concern when it comes to buying a sports car, then you may as well stop here – the Ford Mustang with its great big 5.0-litre V8 is a terrible choice when it comes to fuel economy and emissions. If there’s one saving grace it’s the fact that the Mustang’s sub-£56k list price makes it quite a bargain all things considered, but while that may be the case, make sure you factor in the costs in fuel, tax and insurance before you make your mind up. We suspect most drivers will be eyeing a Mustang as a second (or even third) car for weekends and sunny evening drives, so in this context its thirst for petrol may be less of a concern.

The Mustang Dark Horse is slightly more powerful but there’s an almost negligible difference in efficiency, though it does cost more to buy in the first place. You can choose the Mustang GT fastback, convertible and Dark Horse with either an automatic or manual transmission, but again, the difference in mpg here is negligible with all models sitting in the low 20s.
 

How much will the Ford Mustang cost in tax?

The Ford Mustang costs over £40,000 so it’s liable for the premium car tax surcharge of £410 a year from year two to six of its life on the road. That’s on top of the standard VED (road tax) rate of £190 per year. 

What will the Ford Mustang cost to insure?

As you’d expect of the sporty rear-wheel drive Ford Mustang with its big powerful engine, insurance is expensive. The entry-level GT Fastback sits in insurance group 44 out of 50, though the hardcore Dark Horse falls into group 48, which is two groups from the top. For context, the Porsche Cayman sits in groups 42 to 46, so is actually slightly cheaper to insure, while insuring the Boxster is about as expensive as the Mustang as it sits in groups 44 to 49.

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Of course, the main reason you might buy a car like the Ford Mustang is for how it drives, and Ford has resisted the temptation to water down the age-old V8 recipe. As a result you get that no-nonsense snarl from in front of you as you start the engine which makes for a lot of theatre before you’ve even set off.

Ford claims the latest Mustang is a lot sharper and more sport-car-focused than before. There’s a mechanical limited-slip differential which helps to put all that power down through the rear wheels. The Mustang feels incredibly agile through the corners thanks to its brilliant brakes and sharp, precise steering that feels well-weighted, although to begin with its large size and heavy weight can take a bit of getting used to.

Unlike many other modern cars, the Mustang is still offered with the choice of a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic gearbox. While the automatic does shift more quickly, we’d recommend keen drivers go for the manual, which makes for a more involving driving experience. 

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While the convertible is a nice option when the weather’s nice, we’d recommend going for the Fastback couple because it makes the car much stiffer and better to drive as a result.

Petrol models

Unlike with the previous-generation model there’s no longer a four-cylinder EcoBoost model, although that was at odds with the spirit of the traditional Mustang ‘pony car’ anyway. Instead there’s just one 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine offered, coming with 440bhp in GT guise and 447bhp on the Dark Horse model. It’s probably one of the best-sounding engines currently on sale at any price.

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The Ford Mustang has come a long way since its origins in the 1960s, and nowhere is that more apparent than on the inside, where the latest model sports lots of digitised technology. All of the instruments are displayed on a dual display stretching from in front of the driver and into the centre of the dash. The interior isn’t quite as premium in feel as that of a BMW M4, Porsche or other sports car, but you’re still getting a lot of car for the price with the Mustang.

Is the Ford Mustang’s infotainment and sat-nav system easy to use?

Admittedly the new dual-screen instrument cluster and infotainment won’t be for everyone, but we think they display information in an easy-to-use and clear way. The more we interacted with the system, the more natural it felt to use. We like the way the displays curve round to cocoon the driver, giving a very focused feel. There’s Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, so you can opt to use those if you wish.

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The Mustang is quite a large sports car, which equates to a fairly spacious area for the front passenger and driver. The Ford Mustang actually comes with four seats which makes it a little more usable day to day. The rear seats are quite small, however, so they’ll only really be useful to transport children or very small adults in a pinch if necessary. Headroom will be limited because of the sloping rear window and there’s very little legroom, but competitors such as the BMW 4 Series Coupe are a little more spacious back there.

Does the Ford Mustang have a big boot?

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The Ford Mustang has a big boot in sports car terms, although rivals offer more capacity, like the BMW 4 Series Coupe’s boot, or the total capacity of the Porsche Cayman’s front and rear boots (it’s mid-engined). There are also some useful storage spaces in the front of the cabin and the glovebox is a reasonable size. While it’s certainly not going to win awards for practicality, the Mustang will be easier to live with in this respect than you might think. 

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Ford doesn’t perform particularly well in terms of customer satisfaction in our Driver Power owner satisfaction surveys, with the brand coming in 28th place out of 32 manufacturers in 2023. We’re happy to report, however, that the amount of buyers that reported an issue with their Ford in the first year (21%) was lower than average. It’s worth noting that Porsche has topped the table in the last couple of years for customer satisfaction, despite 37% of owners reporting an issue with their Porsche in the first year.
 

How safe is the Ford Mustang?

The Ford Mustang has yet to be tested by Euro NCAP. If and when it is tested, the brand will be hoping to achieve a better score than the previous model’s three-star rating for safety in 2017. This time around there’s more safety tech included on the Mustang, such as autonomous emergency braking traffic sign recognition and lane keep assist.

Should you buy a Ford Mustang?

With the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars looming on the horizon, there’s a chance this could be the last Ford Mustang with a burbling V8 petrol engine. Sports cars seem like a rarity these days, but the Mustang is one of the greats and at £55k it looks like good value.

The V8 engine sounds great and adds to the excitement of the driving experience, while the car itself puts its power down well and is more agile than you might expect of a car its size. 

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The latest Mustang ups the ante on the tech front, too, although some buyers may lament the loss of the more traditional looking instrument cluster of previous models. The digital instrument display and infotainment is easy to use and feels very driver-focused, although the interior doesn’t look as premium as that of many German rivals.

While we think the Mustang is a bargain for what it is, you’ll need to factor in the horrendous running costs as it’s very thirsty, expensive to insure and incurs the extra tax surcharge for cars costing over £40,000. The Mustang is hard to dislike, though, and if you’re in the market for a sports car with a traditional recipe but lots of modern niceties on the inside, then saddle up.

What is the best Ford Mustang for keen drivers?

While the ultimate enthusiasts might say you need to spring for the Dark Horse, we think at £56k the standard Ford Mustang GT Coupe with a manual gearbox is the one to go for. While the automatic is quicker, it’s not all about speed, and the six-speed manual transmission is more fun to use. Go for the Coupe, too, because its roof adds extra rigidity to the chassis which makes it sharper to drive.

Ford Mustang alternatives

There aren’t so many sports cars and coupes to choose from these days, but there are still a few that you might consider in the same price range as the Ford Mustang from German rivals at BMW and Porsche, or even the left-field Alpine A110.

• Porsche Cayman
• BMW 4 Series Coupe
• Alpine A110