The 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost is the answer to a question that was asked during the last oil crisis. Which, if you were born later than 1979, was blessedly over by the time you arrived. In the aftermath, Ford took a whack at the challenge of creating a sporty fuel-sipper with the turbocharged four-cylinder Mustang SVO, which was available from 1984 through 1986.
The market yawned. Fuel prices crashed, and anyway, we don’t buy pony cars for their efficiency. A four-cylinder, no matter what its output on paper, is nothing short of the downright emasculation of the American dream.
And yet there’s not much to complain about this EcoBoost Mustang other than it’s more expensive than the base V-6 while offering very similar performance. Also, it drones like, well, like a four-cylinder. Ford has tried to punch up the exhaust note via the stereo system, but it’s no use. This turbo four speaks with no more verve than any Audi turbo four. And that’s a high compliment, because the engine, as well as the car it’s installed in, is quite refined.
Just a few minutes behind the new Mustang’s wheel convince you that Ford was aiming high with this car. The cabin isolation, the structural stiffness, the body control, and the finish quality are huge improvements over the last model. Is it all down to the independent rear suspension? Sure, some of it is. Over cracked pavement the car doesn’t shudder or clomp as hard as it did before. And a midcorner pavement heave isn’t going to have you fighting the steering wheel as you once did, because such things are now digested without complaint by the unsprung bits.
And yet there’s not much to complain about this EcoBoost Mustang other than it’s more expensive than the base V-6 while offering very similar performance. Also, it drones like, well, like a four-cylinder. Ford has tried to punch up the exhaust note via the stereo system, but it’s no use. This turbo four speaks with no more verve than any Audi turbo four. And that’s a high compliment, because the engine, as well as the car it’s installed in, is quite refined.
Just a few minutes behind the new Mustang’s wheel convince you that Ford was aiming high with this car. The cabin isolation, the structural stiffness, the body control, and the finish quality are huge improvements over the last model. Is it all down to the independent rear suspension? Sure, some of it is. Over cracked pavement the car doesn’t shudder or clomp as hard as it did before. And a midcorner pavement heave isn’t going to have you fighting the steering wheel as you once did, because such things are now digested without complaint by the unsprung bits.
Ah, but what about the four’s acceleration? On the track, it lays down numbers almost identical to the last V-6 model, which was more than 100 pounds lighter than our Premium-trim automatic-transmission 2015 Mustang EcoBoost. The 60-mph mark comes in 5.2 seconds, the quarter-mile covered in 13.9 seconds at 98 mph. This is about what pre-Coyote-engine Mustang GTs once ran. So the EcoBoost is no EcoDud.
As with any turbo, there’s some hesitation as the turbo boils up. But this a high-tech aluminum engine, fitted with direct injection and cam phasing (it even takes regular gas!), and it doesn’t make you wait long. Nor are its power lumps especially pronounced. The torque flows in a pretty even rush to the transmission, and in most situations you have to be looking for the turbo lag to really notice it. As we said, refined!
Ford tuned the six-speed automatic to be a willing partner, meaning it downshifts quickly and gets the 2.3-liter spinning when you want a rapid departure. No, it’s not as neck-bending as the V-8, nor is it quite as instantaneous as the V-6, but when the power comes, it comes big enough to break the rear loose.
The EcoBoost drives similarly to the new GT, in that the basic suspension tune is forgiving and bumpy roads produce not a slamming but only a light rocking in the body. Around corners, this highly optioned car’s hefty mass—it weighed 3663 pounds—pulls the body into a noticeable lean, but the car doesn’t wallow or flop. It lets the weight set and then cuts a clean path through the corner.
Everything about this Mustang is upgraded, from the dashboard trimmings, which now include the optional full-zoot MyFord Touch system, to the way its stretched sheetmetal and slip of a roofline look modern going down the road. Ford’s job was to update its icon, and we’d say the mission was accomplished with aplomb.
As with any turbo, there’s some hesitation as the turbo boils up. But this a high-tech aluminum engine, fitted with direct injection and cam phasing (it even takes regular gas!), and it doesn’t make you wait long. Nor are its power lumps especially pronounced. The torque flows in a pretty even rush to the transmission, and in most situations you have to be looking for the turbo lag to really notice it. As we said, refined!
Ford tuned the six-speed automatic to be a willing partner, meaning it downshifts quickly and gets the 2.3-liter spinning when you want a rapid departure. No, it’s not as neck-bending as the V-8, nor is it quite as instantaneous as the V-6, but when the power comes, it comes big enough to break the rear loose.
The EcoBoost drives similarly to the new GT, in that the basic suspension tune is forgiving and bumpy roads produce not a slamming but only a light rocking in the body. Around corners, this highly optioned car’s hefty mass—it weighed 3663 pounds—pulls the body into a noticeable lean, but the car doesn’t wallow or flop. It lets the weight set and then cuts a clean path through the corner.
Everything about this Mustang is upgraded, from the dashboard trimmings, which now include the optional full-zoot MyFord Touch system, to the way its stretched sheetmetal and slip of a roofline look modern going down the road. Ford’s job was to update its icon, and we’d say the mission was accomplished with aplomb.
As mentioned, our car was a Premium model, which adds four grand and a pile of equipment—the full rundown can be found here—to the $25,995 EcoBoost. Our car also had the $1195 automatic gearbox, $795 navigation, and $1195 bundle that combines adaptive cruise control, collision mitigation, and rain-sensing wipers. The spicy-sounding Equipment Group 201A brought convenience features and a 12-speaker audio system for $1795, and the $1995 EcoBoost Performance package added black 19-inch wheels with Pirelli P Zero summer tires; a fatter rear antiroll bar; sportier steering, brakes, and suspension tuning; an upgrade to GT-spec rotors and four-piston calipers; a 3.55:1 limited-slip rear end; a larger radiator; and some aesthetic upgrades. With some other minor baubles stirred in, our EcoBoost Mustang cost almost $38,000, or five grand more than a base manual GT.
Now, about the fuel economy. When you put a small turbo engine into a heavy car, the savings are generally not that grand. Ask a Fisker owner if you can find one. We saw 19 mpg overall, and you can probably expect low-to-mid-20s if you like to use your car as anything other than a nun’s taxi. Don’t be surprised if a few C7 Corvette owners snicker at you at the car show. They can often approach 30 mpg with their cars (while driving like nuns) or match your economy while also taking a few 455-hp licks of the underhood candy. The EPA says this Ford can achieve 32 mpg on the highway, though, for what it’s worth.
Thus, the Mustang EcoBoost isn’t as much about efficiency as it is about refinement and technology (and, we guess, the potential for efficiency if you drive cautiously). That makes it somewhat un-Mustang-like. It certainly doesn’t sound like a Mustang, and it is far more reserved and civilized than any Mustang you’ve driven in your life. It’s more like an American Audi A5 than a pony car. Alas, if only it were lighter. There’s no doubt, though, that a certain Audi-ness was what Ford—who will sell this car in Europe and around the world—was going for.
source: caranddriver.com BY AARON ROBINSON
Now, about the fuel economy. When you put a small turbo engine into a heavy car, the savings are generally not that grand. Ask a Fisker owner if you can find one. We saw 19 mpg overall, and you can probably expect low-to-mid-20s if you like to use your car as anything other than a nun’s taxi. Don’t be surprised if a few C7 Corvette owners snicker at you at the car show. They can often approach 30 mpg with their cars (while driving like nuns) or match your economy while also taking a few 455-hp licks of the underhood candy. The EPA says this Ford can achieve 32 mpg on the highway, though, for what it’s worth.
Thus, the Mustang EcoBoost isn’t as much about efficiency as it is about refinement and technology (and, we guess, the potential for efficiency if you drive cautiously). That makes it somewhat un-Mustang-like. It certainly doesn’t sound like a Mustang, and it is far more reserved and civilized than any Mustang you’ve driven in your life. It’s more like an American Audi A5 than a pony car. Alas, if only it were lighter. There’s no doubt, though, that a certain Audi-ness was what Ford—who will sell this car in Europe and around the world—was going for.
source: caranddriver.com BY AARON ROBINSON
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