2021 Ford Mustang GT coupe auto review: Australia's favourite sports car

When the new Ford Mustang landed in our fair nation back in 2015, few could have predicted its runaway success. The local Blue Oval outpost initially expected to sell about 1000 units a year but quickly found demand far outstripped supply, with a waiting list of over 12 months rapidly established. It’s a mainstay on the sales charts and comfortably owns the affordable sports car segment in pure volume, having sold over 20,000 examples locally since its introduction.

The wholly-improved FN update of 2018 breathed new life into the ever-popular pony car, bringing more tech, more performance and notable improvements to interior materials. Now six years old, is the ubiquitous Mustang still fit enough to impress with younger, smarter, players in the game?

Ageing as it may be, the Mustang remains a lasting champion of affordable V8 tintops in Australia, with the Chrysler 300 SRT having bowed out recently and Japan’s 5.0-litre counterpart, the Lexus RC F, asking over double the price of the Mustang GT.

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At $67,390 (before options and on-roads), the Mustang GT coupe with the 10-speed automatic is the most popular item on the Ford Performance menu. You can save $3000 by opting for the six-speed manual, or you can spend $7835 more on the 10-speed convertible, but this is the one that people line up for.

And people do line up. Despite six years on sale, and thousands sold all over Australia, the fact that a consistent 400-odd people, in any given month, are putting new Mustangs on the road is a testament to the car’s enduring appeal.

Central to that appeal, of course, is the Mustang’s free-breathing 5.0-litre Coyote V8. In current trim, the powerhouse pumps out 339kW/556Nm, a 33kW/26Nm improvement over the pre-facelift model which was superseded in 2018.

The significant mid-life update also introduced the 10-speed auto, along with a sharp new front end and a big step up in cabin materials and tech.

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A healthy standard equipment list includes: 19-inch alloy wheels, bimodal exhaust, automatic LED front and rear lights, rain sensing wipers, 12-speaker Bang & Olufsen 390-watt stereo system, eight-inch central infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility, integrated SatNav, 12-inch digital instrument cluster, reverse camera, keyless entry, heated and ventilated six-way power seats, leather trim, dual-zone climate control and ambient lighting

Ford also adds a range of active safety features such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane-departure warning and lane-keep assist.

Covered by a five-year/unlimited-km warranty, servicing occurs every 15,000kms or 12 months. Ford also currently offers a $299 ‘special price’ servicing program of up to four years/60,000kms.

Our slick Carbonized Grey Metallic coupe comes further optioned with forged 19-inch wheels, rear spoiler, black ‘over the top’ stripe kit, and Recaro sport seats inside. Combined with the now-standard Bullitt-style bonnet vents and subtle lip kit, the Mustang oozes aftermarket appeal from the kerbside, despite being a completely factory fresh car.

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The soundtrack also hammers home those modified muscle car vibes. There’s a subtle driveline whine that’s audible from the outside at low speeds, and the standard-fit bimodal exhaust is a genuinely loud and smile-inducing unit. It sounds great anywhere on the digital wraparound tachometer and, one would think, renders the need for an aftermarket system moot for all but the most antisocial of owners.

The engine is a hugely flexible and effective unit, with deep reserves of power and torque to call upon anywhere in the range. Quick exits from traffic lights or gaps in traffic are easily exploited with the headline 556Nm delivered at 4600rpm. Power continues to build until the Mustang’s maximum 339kW is deployed at an impressive 7000rpm peak.

Bundled with the popular 10-speed automatic option, the Mustang GT will happily trot around town with ease. The six-speed manual is worth a look if you’re curious, and boasts a burly and solid shift action with an effective rev-matching feature, but possesses very tall gearing.

The automatic’s 10 cogs are far more tightly packed, and delivers a smooth and efficient experience in normal driving circumstances, happily settling in ninth on an urban cruise. On a gallop, the 10-speed is similarly decisive, rattling off downshifts of its own accord when it detects hard braking at speed and does its best work when left to its own devices. The stubby wheel-mounted paddle shifters lack tactility and don’t add much to the overall experience.

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Although effective at the extremes of its operating window, the gearbox can lose its shine in the space in between cruising and max attack. At six-to-eight-tenths, the gearbox logic can struggle to juggle so many ratios, as if the ultimate gear delivered on exit is dependent on millimetre variances of throttle travel.

Pushing beyond that on the public road can be an uncomfortable experience as the Mustang feels big in a country lane and can struggle to contain its 1732kgs of mass, squirming at times under braking and hampered by a rather vague steering rack which varies little in weight and feedback regardless of the speed carried or inputs made.

Optional adaptive dampers were sorely missed in our test car. Sorely, being the key word at times, as the very firm conventional units crash over bumps and juts in the road. The car recovers quick and confidently; however, it can rattle the driver more than the vehicle, with this motor-noter quickly forming the habit of pre-emptively tensing over every seam and crease on the freeway. MagneRide dampers are a near-essential option that greatly improves both long-range touring capabilities and simple everyday liveability.

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From the driver’s seat, though, the cabin is still a pleasant place to be. Steeped in retro charm, the Mustang’s cabin may not boast the visual impact of younger and more tech-filled offerings, but there’s a real allure to a cabin that still has physical buttons and touchpoints for all of your main functions.

Everything is intuitive and where you expect it to be. Even without the included Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions, Ford’s native SYNC3 infotainment system is one of the more intuitive OEM systems. The only thing you might want for, these days, is a wireless phone charger.

Optional Recaro sports seats look the goods, and offered great support for my scrawny 175cm frame, however colleagues have commented on them being slightly too narrow. You might want to test a set out for yourself before you tick that box, and know that you’ll be trading the standard seat’s heated and ventilated functions for the Recaro recliners.

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Six years on, the world has changed greatly since we were first introduced to the Mustang we know today, yet it continues to nail its brief in delivering an entertaining, liveable and lovable muscle car.

In line with industry and environmental trends, the Mustang emerges even further removed from the mainstream and offers a purchasable but increasingly diminishing experience as the era of electrification looms ever larger.

It might not be perfect, but the things you fall for never are.

Revisiting ‘Australia’s favourite sports car’ for 2021, it’s a stark reminder on why people all over the country have fallen for the Mustang GT. It remains a rolling reminder for the way things used to be and, for many in today’s brave new world, that’s worth the price of admission alone.

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2021 Ford Mustang GT coupe auto specs