Ford Mustang EcoBoost 2019 Review

Who, in their right mind, would ever consider buying a four-cylinder Ford Mustang?

After all, the very persona of the original pony car is rooted in the underlying promise inherent in its menacing V8 beat, right?

How could anything less than a bent eight possibly deliver the performance and presence that are the righteous prerequisites of anything purporting to be a bona fide muscle car?

Yet, in the latest EcoBoost Mustang, Ford has somehow managed to pull off a remarkable stunt.

The four-cylinder sports coupe/convertible, launched in updated form in late 2018 to follow also-updated V8 models introduced a few months earlier, argues the case so well that it comes across as an altogether different beast, with its own specific appeal: It is an American performance sports car that delivers its dynamics through an alternative conduit – and proposes a number of good reasons why it makes sense.

It demonstrates that a Mustang doesn’t necessarily need to be a V8 if it’s to deliver an engaging drive and, at the same time, radiate a strong personality. In an age where we are being dragged relentlessly towards new perceptions of what a car should be, the four-cylinder EcoBoost Mustang shows us that there are many ways, other than pure muscle, of achieving a stirring, red-blooded driver experience. With a passing nod to ecological values at the same time.

Road-testing a pre-update EcoBoost Mustang coupe back in 2016 was a pleasant surprise: Not only did it exceed expectations in terms of its straight-line performance, it was also considered to be more dynamically balanced, as well as being more economical and less polluting than the V8.

Not that there weren’t a few thing that conspired against it: On the back of the Mustang’s disgraceful two-star ANCAP safety rating and unimpressive build quality, the EcoBoost was spoiled by the fact that its four-cylinder engine sounded pretty lame even when being wrung out. It certainly lacked the aural appeal of the V8.

Most of these things have been fully addressed in the latest EcoBoost Mustang: the ANCAP rating, though still not up to scratch, has jumped by one star to three, autonomous emergency braking is standard across-the-board and, at least in the cabin, some good work has been done improving quality, tactility and functionality.

Other than some sub-par interior trim, about the only thing that really bothered us was the bendy-plastic upper-backrest levers for folding the seats forward to allow access to the rear-seat: They felt flimsy enough that we feared they might actually break with too much pressure – which needed to be exerted regularly because the catches often didn’t seem keen to release.

The 2.3-litre engine, which is related to the Ford Focus RS and re-programmed to produce nine fewer kilowatts and nine extra Newton metres than previously, sounds ready and willing to party. The ripping exhaust note, through an adjustable active exhaust valve, can be tailored to suit owner preferences with Normal, Quiet, Track and Sport settings available. All bring a hugely more satisfying experience to the EcoBoost Mustang.

There are also suspension fiddles that include new shock absorbers, a cross-axis joint built into the multilink rear end and reworked stabiliser bars, all of which improve lateral stiffness and sharpen handling responses. Ford’s optional, fast-reacting MagneRide shock absorber system, available in the EcoBoost, rounds it all off by attending to the constantly sought-after balance between ride comfort and handling. The ride, generally, is settled, pretty good for a performance car.

What comes to your attention when boarding any new Mustang for the first time (our review car was a convertible) is the work that has been put into uplifting the interior: There are new materials, more soft-touch surfaces and a dominant, horizontal bar-graph tachometer display stretching across the familiar, rounded instrument nacelles.

And the regular seats (Recaros are optional), in addition to providing heat/cooling and power adjustment, are comfortable and supportive. It’s a nice place to be.

Then you fire it up. At once there’s a resounding blatt from the quad exhausts – made even more profound when the soft-top roof is down – that cannot fail to get you at least mildly excited.

It speaks of, and delivers, crackling performance right from the get-go. You don’t doubt for one moment the talk of acceleration times that dig deeply into the five-second 0-100km/h bracket.

The new 10-speed auto transmission plays a significant part in the EcoBoost Mustang’s eagerness, and in its ability to continue delivering g-forces well into the upper readings of the oversize digital speedometer. The up-changes are brisk, positive, and become even moreso with the activation of the more hard-edged Sport+, Race Track and Drag Strip modes which modify engine responses and shift speeds.

In fact the EcoBoost, in any of these modes, is something of a gnarly beast as the engine management unwittingly creates some uncomfortable lurching and surging on and off the throttle that is particularly noticeable in the lower gears. Most drivers will quickly relegate this characteristic to a concession made in the interests of a quick-responding accelerator pedal. Others will think it a flaw in the engine calibrations.

Whatever, the EcoBoost Mustang’s vocal liveliness is to be savoured. The note can be varied from a mere rumble to an echoing, rasping bark which never leaves anyone doubting its accelerative credentials.

The 10-speed auto not only helps iron out any deficiencies in the power band: It also shifts quickly and smoothly and, in our experience, has no proclivity to hunt needlessly between its many ratios.

It makes good use of the power band that sits between 3000rpm, where the 441Nm torque maxes out, and 5700rpm, where the 224kW peak is developed. Interestingly, both torque and power, though different to the 233kW/432Nm pre-update engine, are developed at the same rpm figures as before.

How fast is it? Well, let’s say that you would have every right to expect your EcoBoost Mustang to be marginally faster than the previous model, with zero to 100km/h acceleration times of around 5.5sec.

If you want better, maybe it might be worth hanging out until Ford in Australia decides whether or not it will offer the High Performance Package just announced in the USA  which raises power and torque by 22kW and 34Nm respectively to 246kW/475Nm, while also broadening the torque band between 2500 and 5300rpm.

Ford claims the High Performance Package brings zero to 100km/h times down into the mid four-seconds category, which is closing in on the 339kW/566Nm V8.

Our review EcoBoost Mustang convertible’s fuel economy was pleasing – at least when compared with the official figures which are not as thrifty as the previous model: Over a week of driving in a variety of urban and freeway situations, we saw an average of 9.3L/100km which actually bettered the official 9.5L/100km.

As an added bonus, Ford asks only that you used regular unleaded fuel.

Ford designers worked to make the updated Mustang a little friendlier from the driver’s seat too: The bonnet drops away at the front more than its power-bulged predecessor, minimising the feeling you’re peering out from somewhere in the depths, while also assisting judgment of the relationship between the car’s corners and hard roadside furniture when you’re parking.

Of course the back seat is no great shakes. There’s enough cabin width, but legroom is virtually non-existent if a reasonable-size adult is occupying the front seat. It’s a short-distance-only proposition.

The steering, at 2.6 turns from lock-to-lock, is quick, well-weighted and precise, helped by the marginally improved (over the V8) front-to-rear weight balance which benefits from an overall reduction of around 80kg. Importantly, a lot of those kilos obviously come off the front end.

Practicality would obviously be an issue for some buyers. If you need to carry a mountain of stuff (or even the odd mountain bike), look elsewhere than a Mustang convertible. That said, the boot – not accessible from the cabin – will hold a quoted 332 litres which is comparable to way more expensive convertibles from BMW (4 Series), Mercedes-Benz (C-Class) and Audi (A5). And the roof goes down, or up, in just seven seconds.

In short, the EcoBoost Ford Mustang is a car that shouldn’t be dismissed on the grounds of its supposed lack of performance-car credentials.

The fact is, it delivers – and then some – while playing a sound track that is never anything less than satisfying. Though, to be quite honest, perhaps never quite as satisfying as 5.0 litres and 339kW of normally-aspirated V8.

2019 Ford Mustang EcoBoost convertible pricing and specifications:
Price: $59,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 224kW/441Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 199g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Three-star ANCAP