By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
BeFirsTrankBeFirsTrank
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Reading: 2016 Ford Mustang GT First Drive Review
Share
Aa
Aa
BeFirsTrankBeFirsTrank
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Search
  • Home
  • Car Reviews
  • Auto Shows
  • Bike Reviews
  • Future
  • New Car
  • Used Car
  • Contact Us !
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2023 BeFirsTrank News Network
Car Reviews

2016 Ford Mustang GT First Drive Review

srijita
Last updated: 2016/12/19 at 4:08 PM
By srijita 16 Min Read
Share
SHARE

Call it a legend, the quintessential muscle car, or a young, boisterous boy’s dream, but for me (and I am sure I am not alone) driving a Ford Mustang has always been on my bucket list. And, for good reason. It has never been about finesse or path-breaking technology or outstanding driving dynamics; instead the Mustang has always been about raw POWER. Power to hurl you down a straight with the rear tyres lit up, the tail wagging, and a smile plastered so wide even the Joker would be jealous.

Contents
How is it on the inside?How does it drive?Why should I buy one?CarWale Off-Road Day 2016- Ford EndeavourIntroductionThe NumbersGoing off-roadBut there is a catch right?Conclusion

For Ford in India though, the new Mustang, is all about giving the company’s image a boost. And hoping the Mustang’s charm and aura will rub onto its everyday, bread and butter product lineup. The new Mustang is priced at Rs 65 lakh, so it isn’t blue collared anymore, but for what it is, we wouldn’t term is pricey either.

Now this one is a Mustang GT. And as the name suggests it is more about traversing continents in rather than chasing lap times. So even though we only drove the new Mustang GT on a racetrack, we decided to indulge more in hooliganism than fast, precise driving. Good for me, because I am no good at the latter anyway.

How is it on the inside?

For starters, the Mustang’s interiors don’t completely justify its price tag. It has some cheap, hard plastic, which wouldn’t work on an EcoSport even. But, thankfully these are few and far between. The rest is a mix of soft grain plastic, metal finishes and leather, which is well within acceptable levels of quality, both in terms of look and feel.

There’s decent equipment on board as well. Two zone climate control, ambient lighting, ventilated seats (which have part electric adjustment), touchscreen multimedia and some boyish toys in the form of an accelerometer and data recorder come as standard. O! And there’s Line Lock too; a cheat code really for doing endless burnouts like a pro. The Mustang also gets auto headlamps and wipers, and on the safety front, besides ABS and ESP, it also gets eight airbags!

Now, the Mustang is a large car. It measures nearly five metres in length and two in width. But, most of that length is reserved for that long hood. The front passengers don’t have it too bad either. And the seats are nice; the ones at the front mainly since the rear ones are only good for 10 year olds. And, I just couldn’t get in there, not with my flexibility challenging that of a dried stick. Moreover, the front seats are cushy, supportive and comfortable, and I can easily see myself spending long hours in them without yoga classes.

How does it drive?

Then, there’s the powertrain to keep me firmly in the driver’s seat. Ford, rightly, has brought in the full fat 5-litre, naturally aspirated V8 petrol powerhouse to India. It makes almost 400bhp – nothing to go weak-kneed or cry foul – but it sounds nice putting those horses through their paces. A pleasing baritone if you will. It isn’t the most powerful V8 on sale in India but it has that tyre-shredding grunt that makes a Mustang, well, a Mustang.

 On the Buddh International Circuit long back straight, 200kmph came up without a bother. The engine is refined, it pulls well from as low as 4000rpm, and revs without losing steam all the way to its near 7000rpm redline.

Sadly, the engine needed a better companion than the 6-speed auto it comes mated to. One can shift manually via the paddle shifters, but the shifts themselves, both up and down the ‘box, are a bit too lethargic. We tried it in all modes – Normal, Wet, Sport+ and even Race, but still found it wanting.

Not that it took much away from the overall driving experience because I was still grinning all the way; especially around bends. The thing is, this the sixth generation Mustang is the best handling production Mustang ever. It has the best brakes, the best suspension, the best tyres, and the best technology on a Mustang… ahem… ever.

But, it isn’t a handling god. It still rolls and doesn’t exactly dart into corners. It could also do with a quicker steering rack. And its first reaction to measured throttle input nearing corner exits is to understeer.

But, here’s the Ford coupe’s party trick, all 515Nm of it.

Understeer? No problem. Lift off, let the nose tuck back into the corner, and then mash the throttle to the floor. The flat and meaty torque easily overwhelms the rear tyres and before you know it, you can feel the rear coming around.

Best part? It isn’t snappy. Instead, the rear just glides out of line giving the driver enough time to catch, hold or add even more angle to the drift coming out of corners with easy to balance steering and throttle inputs. The limited slip differential helps hugely, of course. So, yes, sliding around the Mustang really is as easy as it reads.

This is in Race mode wherein the ESP is at its lenient best. It isn’t as flowing in other modes, of course, not with the electronic nanny donning its headmaster cap and cutting in sooner than we would have liked. Also, let’s be clear that the Mustang feels heavy and a little squishy changing directions while squatting on its haunches, bellowing smoke from its rear tyres in opposite lock.

But, here’s the thing: Even with all its heft, it’s still manageable. In fact, it is more than that – it’s tremendous FUN! Exactly, as I had imagined a Mustang to be. Only this one is a little less hairy.

Why should I buy one?

Absolutely! The Ford Mustang GT might not be a great track car, but with its tail happy nature and an easy to drift setup, it is probably more fun than straight lining corners and setting a quick lap. It is also relaxed when you want it to be and an absolute hoot under hard acceleration. It dispatches the 0-100kmph run is under 5 seconds, by the way; though this for the full powered near 435bhp version. The India-spec car will be a little slower. The Mustang GT then is a poser, a burnout machine, a piece of history, and one of the coolest cars one can buy in India. But, do get one in red.

Photos: Ameya Dandekar

Audi TT Coupe First Drive Review

Comparison Test: Jaguar F-Type R vs Mercedes AMG GT S

Show Photos

CarWale Off-Road Day 2016- Ford Endeavour

  • Introduction
  • The Numbers
  • Going off-road
  • But there is a catch right?
  • Conclusion
  • Photos
Venkat Desirazu, Aug 24 2016. Car Tested: Ford Endeavour Version: Trend 3.2 4×4 AT
17835 Views

Introduction

We are standing at the entrance to 19 Degree North beside our little fleet of SUVs and ahead of us lies a massive off-road trail and a full day of mud plugging. Our organisers turn up and quickly everyone calls dibs on various vehicles. Caught in a moment of temporary distraction I’m left with the massive Ford Endeavour for the day ahead. On the face of it, I contour my expression into a mask of acceptance but secretly, like Chinese Olympian swimmer Fu Yuanhui, I am pleasantly surprised at my fortune and gladly jump into the driver’s seat of the vehicle I had been eyeing all along!

The Numbers

Before I get into my experience on the path less taken here are some of the facts about the Ford Endeavour. The car that we had was the top-of-the-line 3.2-litre 4X4 AT Titanium variant. Its massive five cylinder engine produces 197bhp and a healthy 470Nm of torque.

Power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed AT and a torque on demand AWD system. There is also a low range system as well as what Ford likes to call a Terrain Management System which modulates various things like torque, throttle and steering response depending  on which mode you choose. In addition you also get 225mm of ground clearance, ability to wade into water of up to 800mm and 265/60 R18 tyres. Lastly the Endeavour is 4.82 metres long and weighs a hefty 2.39 tonnes.

Going off-road

Priced at Rs 31.17 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) it is on the expensive side and will more often than not be purchased by those wanting something large, luxurious, fashionable, comfortable and have the ability to go to most places without much hesitation. It is this last feature that we wanted to explore as we wanted to know what it would be like to muscle such a huge vehicle on an off-road expedition for the average buyer. It would also give us a chance to fiddle with all the kit that Ford has fitted into the car with regard to making it a capable off-roader.

Our first step to discovering this was to try out all the modes of the Terrain Management System. There are four mode- normal, snow/mud, sand and rock climbing. We used normal on the road while switching to snow/mud mode dulled the response of the throttle in view of the rough terrain. Through every pit, rut and water body that we forced the Endeavour, it manged to come out unscathed and we only had to back off after a certain point due to narrowness of the path and in some cases the degree of incline.

Impressed so far with the ability of this massive creature, we decided to give the rock mode a try and went and found ourselves a rocky path. This would give us an idea of its ability to articulate over uneven surfaces. Now doing something like this is a bit extreme and as is the case with anything extreme, you have to prepare yourself. To activate the rock climbing mode, the four low has to be engaged and only then you can enter the rock climbing mode. The Endeavour is derived from the same platform as the Ranger pickup truck. This means you get some massive suspension travel, a boon when it comes to climbing over obstacles but a lot of effort when it came to us wanting to show it in the photographs. The rock mode can be combined with the hill descent control to help you climb down a steep slope in a controlled manner. It is another matter that size and weight of the vehicle will intimidate you when upon lurch forward to make the descent.

If its sensation and a bit of theatricality that you are looking for then this car does quite a good job as you can feel the weight shift around when  you move in any direction. You can also feel the electronic differential shift torque between the wheels when the SUV is struggling for grip. Oh and when you have to force the car out of a slushy pit/ waterbody, you can feel the rear dance around behind you. There is a bit of visual element too as you get a compass, angle readouts, altitude as well as barometer as a part of the package.

But there is a catch right?

However, it is not all wind in the willows with the Endeavour and we discovered a few downsides when it comes to off-roading.  Firstly, it is massive thanks to the weight and length which means that you would definitely need a navigator/spotter to guide you and you will be limited in terms of challenges that you can tackle.

For aesthetic reasons the spare tyre has been moved underneath. Puncturing any of the mains is going to make things quite gruelling for you. Because of the massive bonnet and height it is hard to judge the edges.

Oh lest we forget, and this is a big one especially if the car is a daily driver- It has creamy beige interiors which while looking pleasing to the eye gets soiled faster than single ply tissues being used to clean up spilt food. After a day out in the wild you are going to have dirt caking the car in places you did not think it was possible to do so.

Conclusion

As the sun set and the plummeting temperature began to attack us, we bade farewell to 19 Degree North and climbed down Aamby Valley. Out on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, the Endeavour returned to being a quiet and comfortable mile muncher letting me reflect on our day out. I had a blast with the SUV and would definitely recommend it if you plan to do some off-roading once in a while.

[“source-carwale”]

You Might Also Like

Review of the 2025 KTM 390 Adventure: Best ADV Under 500 cc?

Little Changes, Significant Effect

Astonishing van, astounding proposition! VW ID.Buzz Freight

Audi RS6 Avant GT (US) survey: retro-tastic extraordinary version

CES 2022 Day 1 highlights: Sony confirms PlayStation VR 2, Samsung’s $899 portable projector, and more

TAGGED: 2016, drive, First, Ford, GT, Mustang, review
srijita December 19, 2016
Share
Previous Article CarWale Off-Road Day 2016- Renault Duster AWD
Next Article Jaguar F-Pace Drive Review

Calendar

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

Latest Trending News

  • Over the Next Ten Years, the Used Car Industry May 8, 2025
  • Beyond the Map: What Modern Vehicle Tracking Can Do for Your Business May 3, 2025
  • What Should My Video Game Room Have? April 28, 2025
  • Personalized advertising fuels growth and drives competitiveness for European businesses April 28, 2025
  • Personalization, AI, and the future of retail April 14, 2025
  • Europe’s New Car Buyers and Selected Sustainability April 8, 2025
  • Motor SRC 500 Review: A Powerful Cruiser April 4, 2025

© 2023 Befirstrank News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?