BRIAN WONG: Electric cars are the future,
but I'm here with the all new 2024 Ford Mustang,
and it's not electric.
It's actually very gassy.
[ENGINE REVVING]
Battery power is the Mustang's future.
I know it, you know it, Ford knows it.
But it appears that Ford isn't ready to say
goodbye to internal combustion in its most iconic car
quite yet.
So the seventh generation Mustang actually
has very similar engines and a very similar chassis
to the sixth generation Mustang.
So is it really fair to call this an all new Mustang,
or an old Mustang with a body kit?
Ford invited us to Michigan so we
could find out for ourselves.
But before we get into that, if you
want to find out more about the Mustang, click the link below.
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Now at first glance, it might not
look like there's all that much with the new Mustang.
But Ford assures us that most of what we see here
is actually brand new, starting with the grill, which
is a touch more vertical, maybe a bit more
muscular than the last car.
The hood takes the two vents on the outside
and joins them into one large vent in the middle.
And as we move back, we see the A pillar in the roof.
These are actually the only things that carry over
from the sixth gen Mustang.
Everything else, technically brand new.
As we come to the back here, there
are large fenders, which and this might sound sacrilegious,
do remind me a bit of the Chevy Camaro.
And the back deck lid here is topped off
by this large spoiler, which comes
as part of the performance pack, which this GT also has.
As we drop down, this is again, a GT model, so it's
got the four exhaust tips.
That's how you can tell that it has the 5 liter
V8, apart from the sound.
[ENGINE REVVING]
And there's one very cool aesthetic
on the back of the rear glass here.
You'll see all seven generations of Mustang
in silhouette marching along the bottom.
[OPENING AND CLOSING DOOR]
The initial rumors for this generation of Mustang
hinted that it might have things like all wheel
drive or a hybrid powertrain or even
be a battery electric vehicle.
And it turns out that none of those things are true.
And instead, this Mustang is kind of powered the same
as the old Mustang.
That means front engine, rear wheel drive,
and the same 2.3 liter ecoboost for the base models,
and a 5 liter V8 for the GT models.
Now Ford says that the 5 liter V8 has been tweaked
and that will make it the most powerful GT they've ever sold,
so it will make more than the 450 horsepower
and 410 pounds feet of torque found in the last generation,
but those numbers, we don't have them quite yet.
Two transmission options.
A 10 speed automatic that is the only choice
with the ecoboost engine, or a six speed
manual that you'll only be able to get with the GT version.
And that comes with standard rev matching.
Ford is introducing two new performance features
with the new Mustang however.
One is a remote rev feature, which
means that from the key fob you'll
be able to rev the engine to show it off to your friends,
and that's available on the ecoboost
with the active exhaust and the GT models.
And there's also an electronic drift brake
controlled right here.
Now this might look like a manual parking brake,
but it's actually electronic.
And it'll just help you to get the rear wheels out and around
if you want to show off big drifts.
But please don't do it on the street.
Please, please, please do not hit anything.
Now those are the only two powertrains
that Ford is willing to speak about at the moment,
but we're hoping to see the same supercharged V8 that's
in our show BGT 500 make one more appearance.
Because that would really be a fitting coda for this,
probably the last gas powered Mustang.
Well, it might not seem like much has changed on the outside
and under the hood of the new Mustang,
there are big changes on the interior.
And that is really good news for us,
because that was our biggest gripe
about our long-term Mustang that we own.
So the new Mustang has gotten a tech infusion.
There's a 12.4-inch gauge cluster display now that feeds
directly into a 13.2-inch multimedia display that has
been moved up on the dashboard.
The old display was kind of low in an awkward place.
This one, much easier to see, and angled toward the driver,
so you don't have to spend as much time
taking your eyes off the road.
Big plus there.
Rumors had it that the Mustang would also come
with a new operating system.
Not quite ready yet.
What you get instead, is a version of sync 4.
So it will feel very similar to anyone
who's been in the New F-150 or a Mach-E. Also new
on the interior, a lot fewer buttons than before.
There's still a volume knob thankfully,
but all the climate controls seem
to have disappeared from this panel here
and moved up into the screen.
Not a change that we really like,
because it's harder to use those a bit while you're driving.
But down here, still helpful to find
lots of buttons that help control the Mustang's
performance functions.
So this button with the pony on it
takes you to my Mustang pages, which
allows you to control things like the exhaust noise
and the track modes and things like that.
Also, the Auto stop start.
And of course right here, you can turn the traction control
off to help you use that electronic drift
brake even easier.
Now this 12.4-inch instrument cluster display,
highly customizable and comes with a lot of really cool
graphics.
So as you flip through the Mustang's different drive modes
from Normal to Sport to Track, it'll
actually show a CGI version of the Mustang
in different environments.
Like when you get to drag strip here,
you'll actually see a light tree and smoke coming off the tires,
though hopefully, launch control it takes care of that.
Little things like this make cars like this more fun,
so kudos to Ford for keeping things
like that in the new Mustang.
The new 13.4-inch display is a big improvement and the new
operating system looks a lot more clear and makes better use
of the space.
It also comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
if you prefer to plug your phone in.
There is one problem with the screen, however,
and I'm set up in my driving position right now.
But if you look, my hands actually
end up a few inches short of the screen,
so that means that I have to change anything,
I would have to lean forward.
And over time, that's going to get tiring and annoying.
The interior is still very much feels like a Mustang.
It's very forward-focused.
And the back seats are still so tiny that they're only really
good for stowing luggage.
So it's still only really a two-seater.
It's easy to see the iterative changes
that Ford made with the seventh generation Mustang
and think that the company is just being stubborn.
But I think that Ford might actually be on to something.
Because in a few years, the Mustang
may look up and find itself the only gas
powered American muscle car still available.
We don't know what the future holds for the Camaro,
and we know that the Dodge Challenger,
its other main rival, will be gone after the 2023 model year.
Meaning that the Mustang will stand
alone for American muscle for a few years, at least
until the electric Dodge eventually arrives.
And that will give the new Mustang plenty of cachet
and probably plenty of sales too if we're honest.
There are a few key details on the Mustang
that we're still waiting for, including final horsepower
and pricing figures.
But those should be available closer
to the cars on sale date of spring 2023.
If you're enjoying our videos, be sure to like and subscribe.
Also, if you want an instant cash offer on your car,
head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar.