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Ford Mustang II V8
Ford's latest Mustang II has right-hand-drive and V8 engine. Luxury finish, good performance, soft ride and ease of driving, roadholding and accommodation disappointing. Poor fuel consumption.
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When the "new-look" Mustang first came to this country from the United States last year, we found the performance from the European developed V6 engine rather disappointing, especially when one considered the background of the cars, and the orignal Mustang image of muscular brute power. With a laden weith of 27cwt and a power output of only 105 bhp, the V6 Mustang contrasted unhappily in performance with its undoubtedly sporty line and appearance. It was, of course, a product of an America which was becoming increasingly conscious of the inroads that were being made into the market by foreign imports, and the car was desigend from the outset to be a competitor to these cars, with a small, economical (by American standards) power unit and compact external dimensions, but retaining the style, ride and finish that Americans have traditionally always wanted and demanded from their cars.
The original Mustang II range included five models, three hatchbacks and two versions of the two-door saloon, one trimmed in the Ford "Ghia" manner - now a common name for the luxury versions of the Ford range world wide.
Although the new car sold well, it was soon obvious that it needed something of its original muscle if it was to appeal to the traditional Mustang buyer. So, despite the onrushing energy crisis, Ford went ahead and installed the softest V8 engine of the range (the 5-litre 302-CD) for last year's model range. In fact the Mustang with its new V8 is still an economy car by American standards, thanks to its comparatively low weight, and the restricted breathing and output of the engine.
Now the right-hand-drive version of the V8 has arrived in this country, and a V8 Mustang II Ghia forms the subject of this brief test.
Although on sale in America for some time now, the right-hand-drive car will not be officially released in this country until the beginning of May.
It is questionalble if the car was ever really designed to take the V8, or whether it was a marketing shoehorn decision, take when sales of the V6 and in-line four-cylinder cars proved disappointing.
Certainly the resulting weight distribution with the heavy V8 suggests that the cars designers had not originally intended to balance the car this way, with 59 percent of the car's weight on its front wheels compared to the V6 car which had 56 percent on the front wheels. This virtual "60/40" distribution makes the car into a determined understeerer on dry roads. In the wet, the grip of the hard rubber-mix Goodyear radials is rather poor, allowing the high torque of the V8 to break the rar-wheel adhesion without excessive provocation.
Fittings and furniture
The Mustang II Ghia is now the top-of-the-range in this country and America, the Ghia treatment being essentially cosmetic, and consisting of a luxurious (and very well illuminated) interior trim and seating, as well as a vinyl roof and a full-length rubbing strip down the side of the car. The test car was also fitted with a sliding steel roof.
Inside, one is aware of the luxurious image of the car. The seats are soft and comfortable, the carpets soft and deep, and the simulated wood panels on the door trims look very good. The front seat-backs swing forward to allow access to the back, and although the big doors swing wide, rear-seat passngers have to beware of tripping over the sill while they are intent on ducking under the seat-belt shoulder strap. Rear seats are tolerably comfortable, but headroom is poor both at front and rear, and rear legroom depends on the front occupants pushing their seats well forward on the runners. The rear seat-back folds forward to provide a relatively big load space running back into the carpeted boot, which is itself very small, and made even smaller by the intrusion of the wide spare wheel lying on the floor. It means that if you want to travel with luggage, the Mustang is in effect a two-seater only.
It is annoying and inexplicable to find that in a so-called luxury car of this price, reclining seats are not fitted, and the driver is stuck with a very upright position, which can become quite tiring over long distances.
Performance
With the fitting of the V8, Ford have certainly put some power back into the car. Despite a gusty day at MIRA, and a number of runs using manual hold and fully automatic gear changes, the car returned a consistent 0-60 time a shade over 10 seconds. The automatic change points feel too low, at around 4,200 rpm on the rev counter, but in fact the transmission and drive line engineers have done their sums well, and holding the engine to over 5,000 rpm produces little or no improvement on the times. The kickdown points are also set rather low, at 28 mph from Inter to Low and at 56 from Drive to Inter. The maximum speeds in Low and Inter using an indicated 5,500 rpm are 48 and 82 respectively, so it makes sense to selet a lower gear manually and watch the rev counter in an overtaking situation. As with all American V8's power delivery is smooth and unflurried, right up to 5,000 revs and beyond, when the engine abruptly runs out of breath. This was especially noticeable in the higher speed ranges, the car accelerating quickly to 90 mph, and then taking an appreciable time to reach 100 mph. The Mustang achieved a mean maximum of 107 mph and a best down the downwind leg of 110 mph. Going into the banking at this speed was intially something of a nerve-wrecking experience, since the high proportion of weight on the fornt wheels and the soft front spring mean that the front dips appreciably, making the car feel unstable. Coming down just 3 or 4 mph made all the difference and at just over 100 mph, the car was running straight and true and takeing the banking well. Fuel economy is not a stong point in the new car and we averaged only 14.3 mpg over some 700 miles of test driving. This figure climbed to around 16 mpg on cross-country runs, dropping to as little as 12.2 mpg around town.
Ride and handling
The Mustang ride is essentially a compromise. The rear axle of the car carries all the payload of the passengers and luggage. The result is that with the driver only on board, it feels stiff and unyielding. The front, on the other hand, carries a constant weight and is, to British eyes at least, rather soft and underdamped. On smooth surfaces, the ride comfort is good, and when allied to the attention paid to soundproofing and insulation, makes for amost relaxed and comfortable motorway or urban cruiser. It is less-successful when treated as a sporting machine.
It takes bumps and irregularities well, and there is little road roar. Bump thump from the tyres never reaches the passenger compartment, but gets lost in the rubber insulation of the front subframes and well-insulated rear springs.
On the steering pad at MIRA, the Mustang demonstrated that roll is well-controlled, the car staying quite flat when cornered hard. However, while establishing the roadholding limits, the outside edge of the front offside tyre wore quickly away showing that, although the car was staying relatively level, the front tyres tucked in to a considerable degree.
On wet London streets the Mustang is a real handful, especially for an inexperienced driver. Despite the limited slip differential fitted to the test car, the rear tyres break traction with very slight provocation, and the car will go out of line at very low speeds. Recovery from this sort of attitude was quick, the fairly high-geared power-steering helping in rapid application of the necessary opposite lock. Nevertheless, great care with the throttle was needed on wet roads. Brakes on the car were powerful but over-sensitive, locking the rear wheels in hard application. However, they were capable of bringing the car down from high speed without fading. The headlights are poor, and not up to the car's performance.
The Mustang V8 is an undoubted improvement on the V6 and should sell well to those who want this sort of car. It goes quickly, offers a high degree of interior trim and finish, rides acceptably and only handles badly when driven on slippery surfaces.
If it were not for the American emission regulations which strangle the V8, covering it in electronic and mechanical pumps and sensors to the extent that it is difficult to sort out what lead goes where, the car's performance whould match its looks. As it is, it represents and admittedly small but nonetheless welcome step back to the image of the American muscle car.
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