In this class of car, horsepower and acceleration at a reasonable priceare what move the sales needle, and the Mustang 4.6-liter V8 has plenty of needle-moving potential. While the new modular V8 engine doesn't have the loud and lumpy idle quality and ferocious intake roar of the old 5.0-liter overhead-valve V8, it has almost exactly the same power and torque characteristics and accelerates at almost exactly the same pace with a great deal more smoothness and much greater rpm capability.Where the old car was out of steam at about 5000 rpm, the new engine will pull happily and smoothly to 6000 rpm, making the driving experience that much more fun, even if it is a tick or so slower to 60 mph. And while the four-speed automatic would be a better choice for those who have to deal with commute traffic, with very little performance loss, the new Borg-Warner T-56 five-speed manual is much more fun to drive--flexible, smooth-shifting and strong enough to take high-rpm shifts for the life of the car.
What's underneath the swoopy Mustang is essentially what was underneath the Mustang in 1979, with a lot of clever bracing and refinforcing to make the car handle more crisply, steer more accurately and deal with road shocks more effectively. But it is still a modified 1979 Mustang unitbody chassis with relatively unsophisticated MacPherson strut suspension and a solid rear axle. Given what they had to work with, the Mustang's engineers have done a good job in making the car ride much more smoothly than the old car and making it handle potholes and bumps that used to move the old car around quite a bit.
Almost all of the raw edges and choppiness of the Mustang's suspension behavior have been sanded smooth. The steering, too, is more direct and more positive than previous Mustangs, helped by the quantum leap in perofrmance tire technology.
The optional ABS brake system was excellent under all conditions, with a lot of room in the system for manual brake modulation before the antilock system kicked in. Were we Ford, we would make it standard equipment across the board and raise the base price accordingly.In this class of car, horsepower and acceleration at a reasonable price are what move the sales needle, and the Mustang 4.6-liter V8 has plenty of needle-moving potential. While the new modular V8 engine doesn't have the loud and lumpy idle quality and ferocious intake roar of the old 5.0-liter overhead-valve V8, it has almost exactly the same power and torque characteristics and accelerates at almost exactly the same pace with a great deal more smoothness and much greater rpm capability.
Where the old car was out of steam at about 5000 rpm, the new engine will pull happily and smoothly to 6000 rpm, making the driving experience that much more fun, even if it is a tick or so slower to 60 mph. And while the four-speed automatic would be a better choice for those who have to deal with commute traffic, with very little performance loss, the new Borg-Warner T-56 five-speed manual is much more fun to drive--flexible, smooth-shifting and strong enough to take high-rpm shifts for the life of the car.
What's underneath the swoopy Mustang is essentially what was underneath the Mustang in 1979, with a lot of clever bracing and refinforcing to make the car handle more crisply, steer more accurately and deal with road shocks more effectively. But it is still a modified 1979 Mustang unitbody chassis with relatively unsophisticated MacPherson strut suspension and a solid rear axle. Given what they had to work with, the Mustang's engineers have done a good job in making the car ride much more smoothly than the old car and making it handle potholes and bumps that used to move the old car around quite a bit.
Almost all of the raw edges and choppiness of the Mustang's suspension behavior have been sanded smooth. The steering, too, is more direct and more positive than previous Mustangs, helped by the quantum leap in perofrmance tire technology.
The optional ABS brake system was excellent under all conditions, with a lot of room in the system for manual brake modulation before the antilock system kicked in. Were we Ford, we would make it standard equipment across the board and raise the base price accordingly.
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