theMustangtokeepaheadofandevenpullaway
fromsomemuchmorespecialistkit.Mostofall,it
wasthewaythe444bhpV8 destroyedthelongback
straightthatstuckinthemind,furiouslygobbling
upthetarmacandanyothercarinitspath.IknowI
saiditlastmonth,buttheCoyotereallyisacomplete
monsterofanengine,eveninitsstandardform.
Duringtheevening’sentertainmenttheStang
consumedatankfulofsuperunleadedatarateof
8.3mpgaccordingtothetripcomputer. Predictably,
theV8 hasthepotentialforsomeindecentlyheavy
drinking,butit’snotnecessarilyaconstantbinge
consumer. Drivenhardontheroadtheaveragewill
dropbelow20mpg,risingtojustaboveitwitha
healthymixofdriving,butonlongertripsthatfigure
canrisedramatically.
Ononesuchjauntrecently,whichincludedafew
burstsoffullthrottleandcertainlynoholdingup
othertrafficbyecodriving,weachievedover29mpg
–betterthanourVolvoV60T5usuallymanages.You
canthanktheFord’s longsixthgearforthat,which
seestheV8 slowlyrotatingawayevenat‘optimal’
motorwayspeeds.
IfIownedaMustangI’dmodifyitrightfromthe
off,andFordUKhasrealisedthatthemajorityofits
Mustangcustomersfeelthesameway, henceitnow
offersarangeofFordPerformancepartsthathavethe
addedbenefitofnotaffectingthecar’swarranty.
AsIwrite,theStangisbackwithFordhavingashiny
strutbracefitted,alongwithashort-shiftkitforthe
gearchangemechanism;furtherdownthelinewe’ll
befittingFord’s coilovers,andafewmoregoodies.I’m
lookingforwardtofindingoutwhatimprovements
theybring,onroadandontrack.
AdamTowler(@AdamTowler)
Date acquiredApril 2019Total mileage
3025 Mileage this month 875 Costs this
month£0mpg this month20.2
URMUSTANGCONTINUESTO CHARM
allwhodriveoraredriveninher–andyes,
Ihavereluctantlyrelinquishedthekey
tocolleaguesonoccasion.Youknowyou’vereally
fallenforacarwhenyoupineforitsreturn,andIdid
really,reallymisstheMustangwhileitwaswitheditor
Gallagherrecently;evenhavingthekeytohisR8in
returndidn’talleviatethesymptoms.
Onahappiernote,theMustangrecentlyattended
ourinauguralevotrackeveningoftheyear,heldatthe
BedfordAutodrome.Aswerumbledintothepitlane
Ihadacompletelyopenmindastohowthecar
wouldfare.Woulditjustwallowhopelesslythrough
everycorner?Wouldthebrakesbeasmokingmess
afterhalfalap?
Therealitywasquitedifferent.Thebrakeshung
intheregamely,justaboutlastingforeachon-track
sessionwithalittleTLC,andshowingnoilleffects
afterwards.Andwhilethecar’sAchillesheel–alack
ofdampingprecisionandinparticularavagueness
bornfromhowthesuspensionislocatedonthe
car–meantitfeltoccasionallywaywardandoften
ratherapproximate,thesheergripgeneratedvia
theMichelinPilotSport4Styresmeantthecar’s
pacearoundthelapreallysurprisedme,allowing
O
FastFleet
FordMustang5.0V8GT
Anevotrack session reveals the Stang’s strengths and weaknesses
‘TheMustangdestroyed
thelongbackstraight
andgobbledupany
othercarinitspath’