2018 Ford Mustang GT Convertible review

It takes a certain kind of person to buy a convertible. The convertible buyer isn’t necessarily an extrovert, but they certainly don’t mind (and welcome) the right kind of attention.

So it makes sense that one of the most attention-grabbing cars on the road would be available as a convertible. Sales illustrate that it’s not attention-grabbing because it’s unique, but the 2018 GT’s trick exhaust demands full attention from any red-blooded V8 fan’s ears.

We covered the new Coupe extensively in the July 2018 issue, so we’re looking here at the main points of difference once the roof is chopped off.

Without the roof up, the new Mustang is quite a looker, but most who’ve weighed in think the Coupe is still more handsome.

Maybe it’s that the Convertible looks more like a fashion statement, where the roofline of the tin-top looks rather muscular. With the soft-top raised, the Pony slips by on its presence, as it diminishes its appeal ever so slightly.

But if the weather’s good, you’ll want the roof down. Something the Coupe doesn’t allow you is the full brunt of the new four-mode exhaust fitted to the Mustang GT.

If you’re not fond of your car-hating neighbours, or are mates with your V8-loveing neighbours, the words ‘Track Mode’ with a little exhaust icon will be regular patrons of the digital dash. The pipes are able to be opened up in any driving mode, meaning you can cruise to the hum of the 5.0’s glory at any pace you like.

Unless you drive one back to back with a coupe in the same place, you’ll likely not notice any blaring differences between the driving dynamics, aside from where the Convertible’s extra weight comes into play.

We did notice that creaking is more evident when angling the Convertible over dips or bumps in some older Melbourne streets and laneways than they are in a hard-top, though this isn’t really a surprise.

Unfortunately for us, winter in Victoria isn’t the best time and place to test drive a drop-top. We only get to spend about a week with most cars we review, often not long enough to see a properly sunny day. So I just had to pretend that, when the roof came down, the weather was nice and warm and bright.

Therein lies the first small problem with the Mustang GT Convertible: you’ll not get to use it as intended all the time. Sure, even with the roof up it’s still an aggro American muscle car with a cracking engine and excellent exhaust, but so is the GT Coupe which costs almost $10K less.

The second problem with the Convertible arises. It’s even cheaper again if you opt for the 6-speed manual, something the Convertible prevents you from doing, though I suspect few who are looking to buy the drop-top would want to shift their own gears.

2018 FORD MUSTANG GT CONVERTIBLE SPECS

Body 2-door, 4-seat convertible
Drive rear-wheel
Engine 5038cc V8, DOHC, 32v
Bore/StrokeE 93.0 x 92.7mm
Compression 12.0:1
Power 339kW @ 7000rpm
Torque 556Nm @ 4600rpm
Power/WeightT 193-196kW/tonne
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Weight 1732-1756kg
Suspension struts, coil springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar (f); multi-links, coil springs, adaptive dampers, anti-roll bar (r)
L/W/H 4789/1916/1396mm
Wheelbase 2720mm
Tracks 1642mm (f/r)
Steering electrically-assisted rack-and-pinion
Brakes 380mm ventilated discs, 6-piston calipers (f); 330mm ventilated discs, single-piston calipers (r)
Wheels 19.0 x 9.0-inch (f); 19.0 x 9.5-inch (r)
Tyre sizes 255/40 ZR19 (f); 275/40 ZR19 (r)
Tyre Michelin Pilot Sport 4S
Price $74,709
Pros Access to the soundtrack; eager ‘box; easy roof
Cons No manual; not as handsome as coupe; pricey!
Star rating 3.5 stars