Michigan muscle: Mustang in Manila

Angas!” a boy shouted at this bright-green car with black racing stripes as it passed by him and his posse of playmates in a busy side street in Cubao, Quezon City.

 

This writer, who held the reins of this 5-liter brute with the stance of a playground bully, thought she heard “’Stangas!” instead.

 

“De ocho ba ’yan?” a man, in his 60s, stooped down to ask this driver while this Ford Mustang, indeed powered by a V8, grunted past him in San Juan. There was no need for a reply, and he knew at once.

 

The old man may have been familiar with the first Mustang back in 1964, when it was called a “pony car” to describe a new class of a compact, affordable, large-engined car with a sporty image. He may have read about the debut of the Shelby GT350 in 1965—the Mustang 2+2 with full fastback roof. He may have seen the ’Stang on TV, serving as an Indy 500 pace car in the ’60s, or he may have seen it in the James Bond flick “Goldfinger.”

 

Revved up close, personal

Now, 50 years after its US debut, the Mustang revved it up close and personal, just for him, to answer his single question that could just as well be rephrased as, “What is the soul of a Ford Mustang?”

 

Ordinary commuters (who may or may not know anything about the Mustang) in jeepneys, buses, trikes, couldn’t help but stare at the build and color of this muscle car, particularly at the aggressively designed fascia with a prominent grille showing the chromed insignia of a mustang on a full gallop. The powerful splitter added to the sporty appearance. Heat extractors on either side of the hood of this GT model looked like shark gills, and they served a purpose—transferring hot air out of the engine compartment to cool the engine.

 

At night, the Mustang’s angas was not diminished, as the standard high-intensity discharge (HID) headlamps and three high-tech LED bars forming the iconic rear lights seemingly announced to oncoming traffic and the vehicles following it that they were in the company of a living, grunting legend. Signature lighting played into the technology upgrades, with two individual LED bars accentuating the headlamps.

 

Over the weekend when the Mustang was given over to this writer, only one other Mustang—a black one—came alongside, the one fellow motoring scribe Steven Yu rode in, and obliged to have a few snapshots taken.

 

Parked, the Mustang offered itself to closer examination. The rear had been updated with a high-gloss black panel that connects the tail lamps. Keeping the sequential turn signal Mustang is known for, the tail lamps have a smoked appearance that matches the more purposeful look up front.

 

Classic-look cluster

 

In the cockpit, the instrument cluster noticeably sports the old fonts reminiscent of the iconic ’Stangs. The layout and buttons are easy to understand and locate, there were no overwhelming controls to befuddle the driver or passenger.

 

But modern tech was obviously added in, nevertheless. The Reverse Sensing System with rear view camera (only for the V8 GT Premium) offers a clear view (even at night) of the rear on the 4.2-inch LCD productivity screen. The screen also displays information on fuel economy and vehicle performance, and is navigated through a five-way control button located on the steering wheel. It also offers Track Apps, which delivers performance metrics for drivers right from the factory. The app measures G-forces, shows acceleration times in quarter-mile and 0-60 increments, and displays braking times, complete with automatic and countdown starts.

 

As expected of a premium car, the audio systems offered clarity and sound crispness for even better sound quality. The Shaker Sound System offers eight speakers for a premium, stage-like listening experience.

 

The Ford SYNC provided hands-free, voice-activated in-car connectivity. The system connects almost any mobile phone or digital media player to the car via Bluetooth. The driver is able to make calls or play his or her favorite music via voice commands and a steering wheel-mounted control, all the time with eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

 

The dashboard is brushed aluminum. There are times during the day when the sun hits that spot and reflects back a bit on the windows.

 

Genuine Recaro seats hug the upper torso for support. The large A pillar has been placed further to the back so as not to block the driver’s side view.

 

So much space had been dedicated to the engine bay and front passengers—and even for the spacious trunk—that all there was left for the two rear passengers was a token space for perhaps two medium-built Asians and an itty-bitty triangular window, not unlike what Tom Hanks used to manually sight the Earth on their wild space ride back home in “Apollo 13.”

 

Surprisingly, for a muscle car named after an American wild horse, this Mustang wasn’t a hard, tiring drive at all. There was no claustrophobic feeling characteristic of other muscle cars. The Recaro seats gave that extra secure feel, no doubt. And even on bumpy roads, the suspension was firm but not jarring.

 

Drivers just have to make sure that they should allot adequate space between their knees and the steering wheel adjustment lever. This driver had to learn that lesson painfully—twice—as her knees scraped against the lever during ingress and egress.

 

The Mustang’s 5-liter V8 engine delivers  414.25 horsepower  and 529 Newton-meters of torque. All that brimming lower band power shows in the growl and is so mesmerizing to hear, if not for the image of fuel pump meters and cash registers spinning madly like slot machines conjured every time the engine is revved.

 

The new Mustang comes standard with a six-speed SelectShift Automatic transmission, wherein the driver has the option for a fully automatic operation and manual control (with a selector button on the side of the shifter). With SelectShift, manual control is truly manually controlled, allowing the driver to hold a gear right up to redline if desired.

 

This writer’s weekend testdrive unit was a Mustang V8 GT Premium, which comes standard with the Brembo Brake Package that includes 14-inch vented front discs, the unique 19-inch alloy wheels and summer performance tires.

 

The new Mustang offers a sporty wheel lineup, ranging from standard 17-inch wheels for the V6 Premium to 19-inch aluminum wheels on the V8 GT Premium. The wheels also offer new finishes and touches for a more powerful appearance. The 17-inch wheel comes in a machined-aluminum wheel with painted pockets while the 19-inch comes in a dark stainless painted aluminum wheel.

 

Additionally, the Mustang V8 GT Premium also comes with LED fog lamps, a stylish glass roof, charcoal black leather interior and heated mirrors with a pony projection light, casting the image of Mustang’s famous pony emblem on the ground when the unlock button is activated.

 

The new Mustang’s claim of maintaining the outstanding balance and driving behavior of its predecessors had been validated by three “old-schoolers” who owned classic muscle cars, and whom this writer invited for a ride inside this Mustang.

 

Airbags aplenty

 

The new Mustang comes standard with driver and front-passenger airbags, side airbags and curtain airbags for front and rear passengers.

 

It is also equipped with AdvanceTrac with Electronic Stability Control, a four-wheel disc brake system with ABS, traction control that limits tire spin and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

 

Verdict: For just the “bargain” price of P2.999 million (less than another muscle car competitor), you can get the V8 power of an iconic breed hailing from Flat Rock, Michigan. The best thing about the new Mustang is that, for its price, aftermarket hobbyists would still have enough in their pockets to add personal refinements to the car. Rupert Eustaquio, a luxury sportscar enthusiast and specialist, says the Mustang offers numerous options for modifications, and the parts for these are easy to acquire. Modified or as is, the  ’Stang offers pure bang for the buck.