A better, worldlier pony car enters our long-term corral.
Detroit’s muscle cars have experienced a renaissance of sorts lately—Hellcats, Shelbys, and Camaros, oh my!—yet it took some European-inspired refinement to bring the most out of Dearborn’s Ford Mustang. Heavily updated for 2015, which included the mainstream models’ first-ever independent rear suspension, the latest Mustang GT snagged a 10Best Cars award upon its debut and then bested the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack and previous-gen Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE in its first comparison test. Now we welcome this sinister-looking 2016 GT coupe into our paddock for a 40,000-mile shakedown.
The latest Mustang is an altogether more sophisticated thing than its predecessors, which is key for its new global mission. The ride is more comfortable and composed with the multilink rear suspension, which itself dictated a new tuning approach for the front strut setup. And the interior is more insulated and better turned-out, even if the fast rear glass means back-seat occupants will need to remove their heads before entering. Additional electronic aids, including adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning, are now available, as is a 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder. The car’s proportions are softer and more flowing than before, and the styling adopts much of Ford’s corporate look while still recalling Mustangs past. Updates for 2016 are limited to the addition of Ford’s much-improved Sync 3 infotainment tech on Premium models, along with secondary—and nearly invisible—turn signals integrated into the GT’s hood vents.
Detroit’s muscle cars have experienced a renaissance of sorts lately—Hellcats, Shelbys, and Camaros, oh my!—yet it took some European-inspired refinement to bring the most out of Dearborn’s Ford Mustang. Heavily updated for 2015, which included the mainstream models’ first-ever independent rear suspension, the latest Mustang GT snagged a 10Best Cars award upon its debut and then bested the Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack and previous-gen Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE in its first comparison test. Now we welcome this sinister-looking 2016 GT coupe into our paddock for a 40,000-mile shakedown.
The latest Mustang is an altogether more sophisticated thing than its predecessors, which is key for its new global mission. The ride is more comfortable and composed with the multilink rear suspension, which itself dictated a new tuning approach for the front strut setup. And the interior is more insulated and better turned-out, even if the fast rear glass means back-seat occupants will need to remove their heads before entering. Additional electronic aids, including adaptive cruise control and blind-spot warning, are now available, as is a 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder. The car’s proportions are softer and more flowing than before, and the styling adopts much of Ford’s corporate look while still recalling Mustangs past. Updates for 2016 are limited to the addition of Ford’s much-improved Sync 3 infotainment tech on Premium models, along with secondary—and nearly invisible—turn signals integrated into the GT’s hood vents.
