The Mustang has been a pretty powerful sales performer for Ford since the mid 60’s. It is the iconic symbol that created the term “pony car.” Apart from a few bad eras, most of the cars have been a good bang for the buck deal for anyone wanting some power and flair, although quite honestly, in my opinion, the Mustang always quickly outlives it’s interest, as 5 days after the new model releases I see 85,000 of them on California roads and get sick of them.
Mustang has never departed, and has maintained a comfortable position of authority in the cheap muscle car area. However, with the new Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro being released, the Mustang is going to have to step it up a notch to stay ahead of the pack. Unfortunatley, it does not do that in either the power or comfort department.
The new model is quieter and handles more crisply on the roads than the outgoing model, but the Camaro feels a bit more solid on the ground, and frankly, it doesn’t feel like that much of an upgrade. The V8 GT model now offers functional ram-air induction and to offset some of the new quieter ride, Ford engineers have added a “sound induction tube” that sends some of the engine resonance back into the cabin during acceleration. The V8 itself adds a few horsepowers to 315 and 325tq. This keeps the V6 Camaro away, but not the monster SS. The V6 is still way underpowered at only 210hp and 240 tq. 
The interior of the new Mustang has been streamlined a bit, and actually looks pretty good. A one peice, soft touch dash looks pretty classy and the center stack is organized in a much better way now. The bucket seats in the front are also much more comfortable and supportive than the outgoing trim. As in most cars there are a bunch of useless options like nav that I wont bother mentioning this time.
The exterior of the freshened Mustang looks pretty good now. It looks far classier than the current retro changeover and gives the appearence of being pricier than it is. Of course, after 8 million of these flood the roads next summer it will start to look like a rotten pumpkin. But for the price, this will be one tough coupe and convertible to beat. The base model starts around $22,000, and a fully loaded GT will come in at around $32,000 with a convertible adding a $5,000 premium across the line.
In all actuality if you want a coupe, the Camaro is going to be more fun and more comfortable, and probably retain its value and appeal longer than the Mustang. But either way, its good if you care about power and don’t have much money to spend. (In which case, why are you looking at new cars?!?!)
