Buying a used Ford Mustang (2015-2018)

Ford Australia dabbled twice with the idea of making the Ford Mustang a local success, but never saw it seriously as a mainstream model.

During 1965, a batch of 200 Ford Mustang coupes with ‘289’ (cubic-inch displacement) V8 engines and automatic transmission were converted to right-hand drive and shipped off to dealers who used them to entice the curious, who would ogle the Mustang and then maybe buy a Falcon.

As the millennium turned, Ford pitched a modernised Mustang at an unreceptive market. Along the way it discovered via every media report that the Cobra coupes and convertibles it had spent squillions on to make compliant for the Aussie market were dreary to drive and horrifically overpriced.

Another 15 years would pass before Ford took another tilt at the least friendly of windmills, but this time the market was hungry for inventive product, the car was good and the pricing spot-on.

The latest variation of Ford’s Mustang arrived late in 2015, with coupe or convertible bodywork and two very different engine options.

Acceptance in a market which was showing antipathy towards Ford came as a shock, and by the end of 2016 the Ford Mustang was a runaway leader in the sports car segment.

Now to those engines. Most local Mustangs used a 5.0-litre alloy-block ‘Coyote’ V8 with overhead camshafts and 32 valves. Output was 306kW and the body shape must have been more aero-friendly than it looked because with a downhill run and six-speed manual or automatic transmission, 260km/h was possible.

Across the other side of the showroom sat a Mustang that looked the same as the V8 but sounded quite different. Its engine had just four cylinders and went by the name of EcoBoost. Yes, as the name suggested, it had a turbocharger and a pretty good one because 233kW was extracted from 2.3 litres, supplemented by a fat 427Nm of torque which arrived low down in the rev range.

At 1666kg, the turbo-four Mustang was only 80kg lighter than the V8 version and, like the bent eight, it needed 98 RON fuel to do its best work. Engineering for frugality was claimed to save owners around 3L/100km at the pump.

However, the actual reduction was determined very much by the way either version was driven.

Standard Mustang features included the usual swathe of electrically-operated items plus heated seats and mirrors, dual-zone climate control, HID headlights, rain-sensing wipers, tyre pressure monitoring and daytime running lights.

Pricing began at $45,990 plus on-road costs for a turbo coupe and reached $66,490 plus ORCs if you wanted a V8 automatic convertible.

Wheels were 19-inch alloys with odd-sized rubber front and rear. No spare wheel was supplied and there really is nowhere bar the boot to put one. You can buy aftermarket wheel and tyre packages at prices ranging from $300-$750.

The Performance Pack which was optional on Ford Mustang models in the US came standard in Australia and included a limited-slip differential (how you manage 306kW without one is inexplicable), chassis bracing, heavier front springs and a thicker rear anti-roll bar.

Convertibles cost more, weigh more (1779kg) and aren’t a performance match for the fastbacks.

But just look at the happy people riding top down on an autumn morning and you realise they probably don’t care.

People who devoted some of their Easter Sunday to observing the Bathurst 6 Hour production car race from Mount Panorama would surely have noticed the pace and consistency of the Ford Mustang cars that helped swell the entry list.

The Fords didn’t win but those that survived were circulating at very respectable pace, two of them staying in touch and on the same lap as the dominant BMWs.

Winning on Sunday undoubtedly influenced Monday sales and viewers keen to acquire a Ford Mustang of their own would have found literally hundreds in the used vehicle listings at carsales.com.au. 

Perhaps they would not have been so rapt with the prices, because demand has been strong and used examples with significant kilometres have depreciated only minimally.

Logic might suggest that if you drive your ’Stang in everyday traffic, the one to choose is the four-cylinder turbo. But where’s the fun in that?

Well, it’s everywhere, according to a Ford dealer rep who has been personally impressed by the smaller-engined car, sells a lot of them and finds that used ones, on the rare occasions she sees a turbo traded, quickly acquire new owners.

The Mustang driving position is low and sporty, with grippy seats and elements of 1960s design emanating from the dashboard. Lots of chrome embellishments and faux aluminium enhance the retro look and absence of the woodgrain-pattern plastic that characterised the last of the ‘classic’ Mustangs is no loss.

The main instruments are huge and easy to read, the low-set in-dash display less so. You really do not want to drive while searching or altering something down there because you can’t safely see what you are doing.

Sadly, the location of the handbrake couldn’t be altered, so just warn the passenger before you grab for the handle which sits tight against their seat.

If you are offered the opportunity to ride in the back of a Mustang for any distance, call a taxi. The seat is more accurately described as a parcel platform and legroom ranges from minimal to non-existent. As for headroom...

Performance with either transmission is brutal. Acceleration from 0-100km/h in a V8 takes a neat 5.0 seconds, with the turbo silently hitting the same mark in 6.0sec. Downshift or stomp on the pedal to activate kick-down in the auto or drop a couple of slots in a manual and the V8 howls from 80-120km/h in a neck-snapping 3.0sec.

Safety is the big, grey creature in the corner of the room and must be considered by anyone keen on owning one of these cars. When the Mustang arrived, it was accompanied by a genuinely shocking two-star safety rating (out of five) from European evaluation.

When subjected locally to ANCAP testing, the outcome was the same and only improved to three stars from 2018 when some extra safety systems were added.

Video of crash tests show the cabin area standing up well to the impact but dummy occupants being thrown about and striking parts of the interior. A restrained child dummy in the back seat seemed particularly at risk.

These cars are designed to operate on 98-octane fuel, which may not be freely available outside major centres, but 95 RON can be used if the recommended brew can’t be found. Tests found the turbo averaged better than 13L/100km while V8 autos when the reins were released could easily consume 15.8L/100km. 

>> Some early Mustangs were recalled to reposition electrical cabling which ran close enough to the exhaust manifold to overheat and cause a fire. No fires are known to have occurred locally.

>> More serious was the potential for the oil cooler to leak internally and externally, contaminating the engine oil with coolant or just spraying it everywhere. Ford, when acknowledging the issue and requesting owners have their cars checked, claimed the problem affected only a small number of RHD V8 Mustangs but admitted that at least 24 engines had been damaged. Check via the VIN if the car you are considering was one.

>> Consumers in the US have acted against Ford for failing to rectify overheating automatic transmissions, so if the auto slips under hard acceleration or thumps noisily when down-changing, find another car.

>> Look down low for damage to the sills and bumper lip and make sure the rims inside and out haven’t suffered pothole damage. Those ultra-low-profile tyres provide no protection at all against road shock.

>> The brakes may have been worked hard by a previous owner, resulting in trashed rotors and pads well shy of 50,000km. Look at the discs for scoring and discolouration, and ‘ride’ the pedal gently to feel for warping.

Used vehicle grading for Ford Mustang
Design & Function: 13/20
Safety: 10/20
Practicality: 12/20
Value for Money: 15/20
Wow Factor: 18/20
Score: 68/100

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