2024 Ford Mustang
Overview
Ford has delivered its seventh chapter of its storied Mustang muscle car with reworked-but-familiar styling, revised chassis hardware, an all-new interior, and two improved powertrains. While the new pony is saddled-up for the future with a bevy of upgrades, the long-term fate of its closest competitors, the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger, isn’t as rosy. The new-gen car continues to be powered by a 5.0-liter V-8, this time with output cranked to 480 horsepower. A 315-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost is also an improvement over last, but only slightly. Both powertrains come with a 10-speed automatic, but only the V-8 can be optioned with a six-speed manual transmission. Hardtop coupe and soft top convertible bodystyles are available too. The Mustang’s rethought cockpit and beefed-up engine choices keep the muscle car story alive.
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What’s New for 2024?
The Mustang enters its seventh generation. The new design brings the Mustang some desperately needed updates. Amid its many style and powertrain changes is a fresh roster of offerings for those with a true need for speed. Both Mustang GT and EcoBoost models will offer an optional Performance Pack equipment upgrade. The Performance Pack adds a front strut-tower brace, Torsen limited-slip differential, wider wheels and tires, larger Brembo brakes, and a MagneRide active-dampening suspension. Optional Recaro buckets and an active exhaust are also available for the performance-minded. Additionally, Ford offers a Performance Electronic Parking Brake that looks like a traditional lever-action handbrake and is said to make the Mustang easier to drift. An all-new Mustang Dark Horse track-ready model has also been added to the ranks, toting a more sinister 500-hp Coyote V-8 engine and a direct line to the Ford Performance parts bin with leaner and meaner equipment upgrades. .
Pricing and Which One to Buy
The Mustang continues to offer a turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost at the base level and a V-8 in the GT model. Even while your pocketbook might suggest sticking with the four-cylinder, our hearts say get the V-8-powered GT with the six-speed manual. While the GT coupe is over $10,000 more than a base four-cylinder, you can also add a GT Performance package for roughly $5000 extra. That gives you 19-inch wheels, big Brembo calipers, a 3.73-geared Torsen differential, as well as some sweet appearance bits.
Engine, Transmission, and Performance
The new Mustang comes standard with an upgraded turbocharged 315-hp 2.3-liter four-cylinder EcoBoost engine with 350 pound-feet of torque. That’s 5 horsepower more than the previous Mustang, but still trails the last-gen EcoBoost Performance’s 330-hp. While every EcoBoost Mustang gets a 10-speed automatic transmission, the Mustang GT, which continues to offer a 5.0-liter V-8, has a six-speed manual standard. The last generation’s Coyote V-8 produced 450 horsepower with 420 pound-feet of torque, but the new unit is rated for 480 horsepower and 415 pound-feet of torque. After our brief drive with the new Mustang we’ve deemed steering feel and feedback an area of obvious improvement. Ford says an optional performance exhaust increases output to 486 horsepower and 481 pound-feet. At our test track, a Mustang GT with the performance exhaust system ripped to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. The MagnaRide dampers soak up pavement heaves and expansion joints without disrupting life in the cockpit. The all-new Mustang Dark Horse model is a track-focused step-up based on the GT that uses a 500-hp 5.0-liter V-8. It’s essentially an evolution of the lovely Mach 1 of the previous generation. Unlike the MT-82 six-speed manual found in the GT, the Dark Horse comes with a six-speed manual Tremec TR-3160 transmission from the Mach 1 and discontinued Shelby GT350. During testing, the Dark Horse didn’t gallop all that quicker to 60 mph than the GT, reaching 60 mph in 4.1 seconds, 100 mph in 9.7 seconds, and crossing a quarter-mile in 12.5 seconds at 115 mph. The Dark Horse comes standard with 19-inch Pirelli P Zero PZ4s, but an optional Handling package from Ford replaces that rubber with sticker Pirelli Trofeo RS tires. Our test team hasn’t strapped their instruments to the Dark Horse yet, but it will undoubtedly be quicker than the GT.
More on the Mustang Coupe and Convertible
Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
The EPA estimates the four-cylinder Mustang is good for 22 mpg city and 33 mpg highway. Adding the optional Performance Package to that obviously erodes some fuel economy for the sake of power, but not dramatically (21 mpg city and 29 mpg highway). The last-gen Mustang’s V-8 growled its way to an EPA-rated 15 mpg city and 24 mpg highway (automatic transmission) and that’s still true with today’s car. The Mustang GT with a six-speed manual gets 14 mpg city and 23 mpg on the highway. The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the least careful with its gasoline, getting just 14 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway. On our 75-mph highway fuel economy route, a GT model with a six-speed manual returned 24 mpg. For more information about the Mustang’s fuel economy, visit the EPA’s website.
Interior, Comfort, and Cargo
From the driver’s seat of the 2024 Mustang, every detail has been chiseled in place with what Ford is calling a “fighter-jet inspired,” design. Thankfully, it’s more comfortable than it sounds and we found the seats to be plenty supportive. While we wait to find out if the Mustang’s performance will break the sound barrier, its standard 12.4-inch instrument cluster is a massive leap ahead of the previous car’s. The configurable display can be customized to fit the needs of most red, white, and blue patriots, with selectable colors, gauges, and even a “calm” screen that reveals only the most necessary details. Ambient lighting and a driver’s display adapts to whichever drive mode you’ve selected. Base Mustangs come with cloth seats and available micro-suede vinyl inserts, while the Premium level adds stitched bits and pieces from door trim to dashboard. The Mustang GT gets leather inserts. Ford has also introduced a Remote Rev function that allows the car’s engine to blast up the RPMs with a simple click from the key fob while you admire the sounds from outside the car.
The Car and Driver Difference
Infotainment and Connectivity
A major area of improvement for the new Mustang is its interior gadgetry. An available 13.2-inch infotainment screen using Ford’s Sync 4 software flows from the gauge cluster toward the center of the car behind a curved glass panel. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come standard on this system, and an optional wireless smartphone charger helps drivers reduce the clutter of charging cables. Amazon Alexa and Ford Streaming allow voice commands to replace knob-turning or button presses, and every Mustang comes with Ford Power-Up software capability, allowing for over-the-air updates for later software and vehicle function improvements.
How to Buy and Maintain a Car
Safety and Driver-Assistance Features
The Mustang is also available with more driver-assistance technology than any rival pony car, so you can go faster and feel safer. Every Mustang comes with Ford Co-Pilot360. For more information about the Mustang’s crash-test results, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) websites. Key safety features include:
Standard adaptive cruise control Standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist Optional active pothole mitigation (included with Performance Pack)
Warranty and Maintenance Coverage
The Mustang has a solid but average warranty. However, unlike Chevy, Ford doesn’t provide a complimentary scheduled maintenance visit.
Limited warranty covers three years or 36,000 milesPowertrain warranty covers five years or 60,000 milesNo complimentary scheduled maintenanceArrow pointing downArrow pointing down
Specifications
Specifications
2024 Ford Mustang GT
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $44,090/$62,425
ENGINE
DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injection
Displacement: 307 in3, 5038 cm3
Power: 486 hp @ 7250 rpm
Torque: 418 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Brakes, F/R: 15.4-in vented disc/14.0-in vented disc
Tires: Pirelli P Zero PZ4
F: 255/40R-19 96Y
R: 275/40R-19 101Y
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.0 in
Length: 189.4 in
Width: 75.4 in
Height: 55.0 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 55/30 ft3
Trunk Volume: 13 ft3
Curb Weight: 3947 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.2 sec
100 mph: 9.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 12.5 sec @ 114 mph
130 mph: 16.5 sec
150 mph: 23.5 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.0 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 10.0 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 9.0 sec
Top Speed (gov ltd): 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 153 ft
Braking, 100–0 mph: 312 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.99 g
C/D FUEL ECONOMY
Observed: 18 mpg
75-mph Highway Driving: 24 mpg
75-mph Highway Range: 380 mi
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 17/14/23 mpg
2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse
Vehicle Type: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe
PRICE
Base/As Tested: $60,865/$73,205
ENGINE
DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port and direct fuel injection
Displacement: 307 in3, 5038 cm3
Power: 500 hp @ 7250 rpm
Torque: 418 lb-ft @ 4900 rpm
TRANSMISSION
6-speed manual
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: struts/multilink
Brakes, F/R: 15.4-in vented disc/14.0-in vented disc
Tires: Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS
F: 305/30ZR-19 (98Y)
R: 315/30ZR-19 (100Y)
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 107.0 in
Length: 189.7 in
Width: 75.5 in
Height: 55.2 in
Passenger Volume, F/R: 55/30 ft3
Trunk Volume: 13 ft3
Curb Weight: 3975 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS
60 mph: 4.1 sec
100 mph: 9.7 sec
1/4-Mile: 12.5 sec @ 115 mph
130 mph: 16.4 sec
150 mph: 23.2 sec
Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
Rolling Start, 5–60 mph: 5.0 sec
Top Gear, 30–50 mph: 9.4 sec
Top Gear, 50–70 mph: 8.8 sec
Top Speed (mfr’s claim): 166 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 142 ft
Braking, 100–0 mph: 278 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 1.07 g
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 17/14/22 mpg
C/D TESTING EXPLAINED
