Preview: 2015 Ford Mustang

Story by John LeBlanc DEARBORN, MICH. — The number of automotive nameplates that have stuck around as long as the Ford Mustang are few and far between. In its half-century — it marks its 50th birthday in April 2014 — Ford Motor Co.’s long-standing 2+2 “pony car” has become a piece of Americana, as much as Elvis or baseball. This is a good thing, as the U.S. automaker plans on selling its all-new, sixth-generation 2015 Mustang around the world. Well ahead of its late-2014 on-sale date — and cementing Ford’s global sales ambitions — the 2015 Mustang is being launched this week in six cities around the world (although it has already been leaked multiple times): New York, here in Dearborn, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Shanghai and Sydney. Lighter, more fuel-efficient and with more high-tech goodies, can the 2015 Mustang make new and traditional buyers happy? Joel Piaskowski, Ford’s director of exterior design for the Americas, thinks so. At Ford since 2010, Piaskowski is best known for moving Hyundai’s design forward with the current Genesis Coupe and Sonata sedan. And at a clandestine presentation to the media in Ford’s Dearborn operations this past October, the Ford design executive reinforced the Mustang’s popularity beyond North America. “With 400 clubs worldwide, with half of those outside the U.S., the term ‘American icon’ can sometimes be overused, but with the Mustang, it’s appropriate,” said Piaskowski, adding the pony car is the “most positive Ford nameplate in the world.” While the 2015 Mustang’s front-end takes its cues from the 2011 Ford Evos show car, the rest of the design is pure Mustang, with leaner proportions inspired by the 1964 to 1970 Mustangs also on hand in the Ford design studio. Parked directly next to the outgoing 2014 Mustang, the 2015 edition sports the same wheelbase and overall length, but it’s much lower in height, and has a lower rear deck and a wider rear track. Its A-pillar has been moved back for a longer hood. The B-pillar is now hidden. And the Mustang’s so-called “hockey stick” body side cut-out (a feature that’s been there since the original) has been dropped to make the car appear longer, says Piaskowski. Benefiting from a purpose-built chassis — not a re-bodied sedan, like Ford’s domestic rivals the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger — the 2015 Mustang is more space-efficient inside as well, with better outward visibility, a roomier cabin and a bigger trunk. Mustang’s traditional “dual-cowl” cockpit design has been retained. The centre dash area houses regular radio and HVAC controls. The MyFord touchscreen will be offered for the first time in a Mustang, but next-generation technology adds redundant buttons and knobs. Also, in anticipation of attracting more import-brand buyers, the 2015 Mustang gets over 20 new technology offerings, such as adaptive cruise control and collision warning, a new four-mode (Normal, Sport+, Track, Snow/Rain) driver-selectable system that tunes the car’s steering, stability controls and engine, individual tire pressure monitoring system, and intelligent key access and push start. If the production 2015 Mustangs end up anywhere near as well-crafted as the prototype we were sitting in, Ford has upped the ante in fit and finish and use of high-quality materials compared to its less-refined Chevrolet and Dodge competition. Throughout the new Mustang cabin, you’ll find soft-touch plastics and real aluminum and leather assembled tightly and accurately. And don’t worry open-air driving fans: The convertible Mustang returns for 2015. Piaskowski is quite proud of the 2015 Mustang convertible’s clean beltline that wraps around the rear seats. There’s only one instead of two interior header latches, and the cloth top (vinyl is no longer used) is now flat when dropped. Hydraulic instead of electric motors means the top goes up and down in only seven seconds, about half the time of the 2014 model. Underneath the new 2015 Mustang’s long front hood, customers will be getting mainly carry-over powertrains, save for an all-new turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine. The base mill is the same 305-horsepower 3.7-litre six-cylinder gas engine as in the 2014 Mustang, producing 280 pound-feet of torque. The existing Mustang GT’s 5.0L V8 receives a new intake manifold and standard oil cooler, allowing Ford to claim that it will make more power and torque than the 2014 mill’s 420 hp and 390 lb.-ft. ratings, and get better fuel economy too (the current eight is rated at 11.9 L/100 km city and 7.9 highway). However, with fuel economy playing a more important role with customers around the world, the more interesting news from the 2015 Mustang engine department is the return of a turbo-four — last seen on the 1986 Mustang SVO. Like that mid-80s ’Stang, the new four displaces 2.3L. But with direct injection and a twin-scroll turbocharger, Ford says the so-called EcoBoost 2.3 (which will be marketed as a premium alternative to the 3.7 six) will make more horsepower and torque and get better fuel economy than the V6’s 10.8 L/100 km city and 6.3 highway. Gearbox choice will remain the same for 2015: either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Also helping fuel economy, Ford says the 2015 Mustang’s new dedicated, rear-wheel-drive platform will be about 90 kilograms lighter than the current car’s 1,600-kg curb weight. That, and the application of an independent rear suspension, the first ever on a Mustang since the 1999 to 2004 SVT Cobra, suggests the 2015 edition should finally be able to compete against import rivals in the new markets Ford is planning on selling its 2+2 pony car. Because the 2015 Ford Mustang is almost a year away from going on sale, Canadian pricing is not available. But a very competitive market suggests the base V6 models should continue to start in the mid-$20,000 range, the V8 models about $40,000, and the new EcoBoost turbo four-cylinder somewhere in between. Right now, Ford isn’t confirming any higher-performing 2015 Mustang models than the V8 GT. But the segment demands them, so expect some sort of replacements for the likes of the Boss 302 and Shelby GT500 models in the near future.

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