Boost Your Eco, Not Your Ego
Suck, Squish, Bang, Blow, something something 5.0. It's hard not to love a V8 under the hood - especially in a pony such as this. It’s a tried-and-true recipe that may one day face the threat of extinction. But for now, we can still enjoy it – and enjoy it we do. But does that mean any other powerplant option should be dismissed as lesser? Neigh.
There is a significant number of muscle/pony owners who will turn their noses up at anything other than the aforementioned V8. It’s not necessarily hard to understand why. Even on a ‘base’ Mustang GT, the exhaust’s pops and crackles, thunderous roars and seat-sucking performance feel are nothing short of exciting. So how does its baby sibling compare? Its transformative, to say the least. While the V8 GT feels like a ballistic missile, cruising fast, straight and true, the little EcoBoost turns the Mustang into a sidewinder missile. The car feels lighter and more agile, even with the reduced rigidity of the soft-top.
The EcoBoost engine pushes out 330 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, which isn’t exactly a riveting figure, but at the end of the week, especially in the midst of a fuel crisis, those smaller figures may leave you with a bigger smile. The engine can be punchy as hell when it needs to be, but in daily driving, it’s perfectly manageable and tame, with a comfortably light clutch. You can drive this with a heavy foot and still enjoy the experience, but it excels as a comfortable, manageable daily commuter as well.
Step inside and you’ll see what we mean. There is plenty of room in this comfortable cabin, up front at least. The back seats are usable in a pinch, but we’d suggest using them to store goods rather than people. But should you find some passengers in need of transport, the trunk is quite usable, providing 324 litres of space – far more than we’d expect from a convertible.
With the 2.3L EcoBoost under the hood, those jokes about Mustangs at crowded car meets start to lose substance. You may have to contend with the fact that you're not getting that generous helping of V8 power and sound at first, but the tradeoff is accessibility, control and confidence. You can still kick out the back of course, but this pony feels like it's already been broken in. Surprises are pleasantly minimal, and with the slick-shifting 6-speed manual, it's a genuinely wonderful time. This car is an indulgence for the senses, with nowhere near as much guilt. Don't think of it as a muscle/pony car. Think of it as a sports car, and things start to make more sense.
With a new generation on the horizon, the current Mustang is starting to show its age. The plasticky interior may not be up to par at this point in its life, and the infotainment system is beginning to look the way Windows XP will if you’ve been using a Mac for the last 10 years. It still works, its still usable, but it looks decidedly last-gen. But one feature we’ll always love are physical switches, and the metallic-looking toggles for functions like hazard lights and traction control are quite fetching. Our tester featured an optional digital gauge cluster with customizable colours which looked far sleeker than the infotainment system, but not $2,800 sleek.
The cheapest Mustang convertible will set you back $37,295 in Canada. Our tester featured a number of options including the $6,500 High Performance Package, offering chassis tuning, a limited-slip rear axle, interior gauges for oil pressure and boost, bigger brakes, and more. All in, our tester came in at $58,170. The little EcoBoost engine more than proves its worth under the hood of a car with such an important badge. It's a reminder that this car is capable of precision beyond its brutish image. But at nearly $60,000, it may be hard not to think …could've had a V8.
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