Ford Mustang GT: long-term review

​Matt loves the Ford Mustang GT. In fact, he is so delighted with ‘his’ long-termer that pretty much everyone else on Pistonheads has had quite a problem prising the keys from his paws during the Yank’s first month on our fleet.

One colleague who has been successful is Mitch, from the video department. His stint with the 5.0-litre V8-powered muscle car has induced a faraway look in his eye. A glance at his notes on the ’Stang reveals his enjoyment of the model’s sense of fun and the engine’s ridiculous nature, and his wonder at the ludicrous way the relatively relaxed traction control tries to contain the power.

It isn’t all good news, however. Mitch reports on some of the Mustang’s less appealing traits such as the selection of so-so steering modes and, less critically, the poorly positioned cupholders in relation to the gearlever. The handbrake’s LHD position doesn’t help, while the radio buttons are fiddly.

Still, all these are fairly minor moans. What about the positives? Well, Mitch and Matt alike love that the display between the dials doesn’t reset when the engine is turned off, allowing the retention of the oil-temperature gauge hidden among the data. The Bluetooth and voice-recognition set-ups have behaved perfectly so far, and the Easy Fuel filler makes fill-ups a faff-free experience. At about 24mpg on average, and less than 20mpg in town, visits to the petrol station are fairly frequent, but the enormous performance makes the financial sacrifice worthwhile.

On low-profile tyres and big wheels the ride is OK, but it reflects the fact that the Mustang’s value-for-money ethos stretches to R&D. Yet although the comfort rating is not the best, it’s certainly not the worst. It all smoothes out at speed anyway, making the ’Stang a fantastic A-road and motorway cruiser. In fact, the heated seats and a CarPlay podcast-cycling session through the Shaker Pro audio made a four-hour round trip up and down the A1 a beautifully relaxing experience.

Forget the noise, style, hooliganistic qualities and great seats, though; what makes us smile the most from 0mph upwards is Joe Punter’s reaction. Everyone knows it’s a Mustang, even though it wears minimal badging on the outside. It just goes to show good old-fashioned US muscle never goes out of vogue.

2017 Ford Mustang GT

On fleet since March 2017

Mileage: 5,229 (delivered on 3,251)

List price new: £36,345 (£38,525 as tested, including £595 for Lightning Blue paint, £795 for Shaker Pro premium audio system with navigation, £495 for climate-controlled seats and £295 for reverse parking sensors)