Keen pricing for Ford's Mustang

THE most sophisticated Mustang in the nameplate’s 51-year history will also be the cheapest-ever offered in Australia when it lands in the final quarter, priced from $44,990, plus-on-road costs.

That price is for the 233kW/432Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo EcoBoost powertrain in standard six-speed manual Fastback guise. A six-speed automatic adds another $2500, while it is a $6500 hike to the Convertible, which is priced at $53,990.

Moving up to the 303kW/525Nm 5.0-litre V8 starts at $54,990 for the manual Fastback, $57,490 for the auto Fastback and $63,990 for the auto-only Convertible.

All models include seven airbags, satellite navigation, cruise control, keyless entry and start, climate control air-conditioning, heated and cooled front seats, a powered driver’s seat, central touchscreen with reversing camera and voice control, Bluetooth phone connectivity, MyKey parental lockout system and ambient lighting.

They also feature High Intensity Discharge headlights, daytime running lamps, fog-lights, automatic lights, rain-sensing wipers, heated exterior mirrors, limited slip differential, tyre pressure monitors, 275/40R19 tyres on 19-inch alloys, an alarm and a stainless steel dual exhaust.

Along with greater performance and a more evocative exhaust note, choosing the V8 brings a Performance Brake boost, up from 352 x 25mm vented front discs to 380 x 34mm items (the rears remain at 330 x 25mm vented discs), while the single-piston 45mm floating iron callipers give way to Brembo six-piston 36mm fixed aluminium items.

The Mustang will be offered with a number of personalisation accessories, including Over the Top racing stripes ($650), a black roof ($975) and polished alloys in Lustre Nickel finish ($500), while non-flat paint attracts a $500 premium.

All variants offer the new-to-Mustang integral-link independent rear suspension system, laying to rest the live axle layout that pervaded every previous generation model since the series’ 1964 inception.

The Blue Oval currently holds about 1200 orders for the Mustang Fastback and Convertible despite it being about 10 months away from launch, according to the car-maker's local arm.

Ford Australia vice-president of marketing Graeme Whickman said the history of the Mustang combined with the new technology will attract long-time fans as well as new buyers to the iconic sportscar.

“With such sharp pricing, we’re signaling that there’s a new Ford performance car coming and we intend to grab our rightful share of enthusiasts who value style, technology, performance and the history that the Mustang name brings,” he said.

“It’s a technologically advanced car without forgetting the heritage that has inspired Ford customers for generations.”

Potential buyers could cross-shop the Mustang with a number of rivals, from the Toyota 86 ($29,990-$36,490), Nissan's 370Z (56,930-$65,930) to the Lexus RC350 ($66,000-$86,000), the Audi A5 (starting at $68,200) or the BMW 4 Series (starting from $70,000).

As an indication of how competitive the Mustang is being positioned, the Fastback manual opener is $3000 less than the $47,990 2001 V2 Monaro CV6, while the V8 is $2000 cheaper than the $56,990 CV8 adjusted for inflation, the new Fords are over $23,000 and $25,000 cheaper respectively.

In contrast, the short-lived SN-95 fourth-generation Mustang that sold in Australia from early 2001 to late 2003 started from $85,000 ($121,000 in 2015 dollars) in Coupe and $89,000 ($126,500) in Convertible guise.

Ford Australia imported somewhere between 200 and 600 (records vary) original Mustangs to Australia during the mid 1960s as an image-building exercise after the early Falcons nearly ruined the company’s image with durability issues.

So successful was the campaign that the redesigned XR Falcon (the first of the series with a V8) from 1966 was billed as “the Mustang-bred Falcon”.

In decimal currency, the ’65 Mustang retailed for $5960 – or just over $73,000 in today’s dollars.

Ford Mustang pricing*

EcoBoost
Fastback	$44,990
Fastback (a)	$47,490
Convertible (a)	$53,990
GT
Fastback	$54,990
Fastback (a)	$57,490
Convertible (a)	$63,990

*Excludes on-road costs.