If you take the new seventh-generation Ford Mustang GT Fastback manual as the baseline sportiness level of the latest range of the American firm’s ‘Pony Car’, then you can go one way with things and get the track-biased Dark Horse, only sold as a coupe for a greater degree of dynamic acuity, or you can switch the other by opting for the Convertible and the ten-speed auto transmission, creating the ultimate boulevard cruiser with a sumptuous V8 soundtrack. Is the Mustang GT Convertible worth checking out?
In the metal
Sharing much with the Fastback GT, the Convertible has a large ‘GT’ logo on its boot lid, as well as the traditional ‘5.0’ emblem on the front wings, rather than the Dark Horse icon of the more focused Mk7 model. Its overall look is a little less aggressive than that of the Dark Horse, too, as it does without much of the more overt sporty styling and black detailing of that car, but the shape is unmistakably Mustang… and it’s deeply appealing as a result. Perhaps the key thing with the cabrio is that it looks good roof up or down, having a fully flat-shouldered profile with the cabin exposed to the elements, while the fabric lid has a nice shape when it’s in situ.
Inside, the Convertible retains four seats, although adult passengers won’t much thank you if you force them to sit in the back for any great length of time. If you also opt for the galloping-horse-branded wind deflector which sits behind the rear seats, then it severely restricts access to the second row, which means you’re better off thinking as those tiny chairs as supplementary cargo space to enhance the Mustang’s boot, which is trimmed by 71 litres from the Fastback’s outright figure to 310 litres here.
Otherwise, it’s the same high-quality and attractive cabin as in any other new Mustang, complete with the 12.4-inch digital cluster merged into the 13.2-inch SYNC 4 infotainment screen, plus a new wireless smartphone charging pad at the base of the centre stack. Many customers fed back to Ford that they wanted more technology in the Mustang and the company has duly delivered, although traditionalists and those who lament the increasing industry-wide dependency on touchscreens for all in-car functions will probably not be as enamoured with this widescreen set-up.
One final interesting note: that handbrake lever may look like it controls a standard mechanical system, but it doesn’t. It is, in fact, an electronic parking brake, with a strange-feeling push-down and pull-up mechanism to operate that’ll take some getting used to - the lever always returns to its central position, no matter what the status of the brakes. That said, it also enables the ‘Drift Brake’ function of the new Mustang, which can be selected through the digital screens. This makes the car break into a slide if you want it to (and it’s safe to do so, of course; most likely this will only be on track), but that’s probably more for Fastback and Dark Horse owners than it is for the typical Convertible customer.
Driving it
MagneRide dampers are an option on the GT models, so the Convertible employs MacPherson front struts and an independent multilink rear set-up with conventional shocks from the off. It has a plain limited-slip differential at the back instead of the Dark Horse’s Torsen item, and while it has the same six drive modes as well (Normal, Sport, Track, Drag Strip, Slippery and Custom), it is less focused and sharp in Sport and Track than its hard-topped, track-biased relation. It does, however, retain six-piston Brembo brakes, which is nice.
Power comes, as with every seventh-gen Mustang, from the revised version of the ‘Coyote’ 5.0-litre V8 with dual air intakes. With 446hp and 540Nm in GT specification, it has plenty enough muscle to cope with the Convertible’s bulk, which is approaching 1.9 tonnes in this format, and performance is more than adequate, all overlaid with that tremendous V8 din. You can have the Convertible with a six-speed manual gearbox but it probably better suits the soft-top’s sun-seeking character to fit it with the ten-speed automatic, as tested here.
We’ve always felt this Ford ten-speed automatic would be just as good as a six-speeder, or perhaps eight at a push. Too often it feels like it is searching for the right ratio in and amongst the multitude of options open to it. With the reach and muscle of this V8 it is attached to, that characteristic is mercifully minimised, but by the same token it is not totally eradicated, so if you push the accelerator down hard, sometimes you’re left waiting while the gearbox decides if you’ve opened the taps enough to kick down one, two, three or even four ratios.
Having said that, it’s perfectly fine and unobtrusive in the manner it switches between cogs in regular operation and is a fine enough companion for the Convertible’s laid-back character in general. But we have a few other critical observations of the soft-top Mustang, too. Such as the ride feels too firm at low speeds on poorly surfaced town roads, certainly when compared to the model it supersedes, and this only exacerbates the bigger issue, which is scuttle shake. We don’t remember the older Mustang soft-top being this flexible, but maybe our mind is playing tricks on us. Or maybe the slightly firmer overall set-up of the new car has just proved too much for the Mustang’s frame, which now shudders and twists if you go over really bad lumps with the top down. You’ll also notice the interior mirror jiggling about out of the corner of your eye all too frequently.
However, not wishing to give the Mustang Convertible an easy get-out-of-jail card because we’re hopeless fanboys of the Pony Car, what other convertible these days - this side of a Bentley Continental GTC - gives you such a mellifluous V8 soundtrack to listen to when the passenger compartment is exposed to the air? None of the obvious German rivals, be they extant or out of production, certainly, with the gorgeous Lexus LC being the only one we can think of (and it’s no longer on sale). And that magnificent tune from the engine and exhaust, unadulterated as it is by any sort of artificial augmentation, bestows such an outrageous feelgood factor on the Mustang that you’re almost prepared to forgive it anything.
On smoother surfaces and with a bit more speed dialled in, the ride quality settles down to a comfortable gait, and while the handling is obviously not the Ford’s forte, very few ideologically similar convertibles (save for the Porsche 911) will embarrass it in this regard. It is, as you would expect, a thoroughly characterful big cruiser with an immense ability to put a huge smile on your face even when it’s just tooling about at 50km/h in town, and in our opinion it’s none the worse for that. You want a sharper-driving Mustang, go and buy the Dark Horse instead.
What you get for your money
Ford Ireland is not showing any Mustang in its pricelists at the moment. The high CO2 outputs will mean it will incur the most punitive levels of motor tax and VRT, either if you do get a chance to buy it direct from a dealer or you decide to import one from the nearest right-hand-drive market (the UK), but considering most of its direct rivals are six-figure cars these days - in some instances, being the wrong side of €200,000 - what you’re getting for your money is a genuine automotive legend with a removable roof and a massive great V8 up front. If you desperately want a Mustang Convertible then you’ll undoubtedly think it is worth whatever the price may ultimately turn out to be.
Summary
Let’s not beat around the bush: the automatic GT Convertible is not the seventh-gen Ford Mustang at its finest, and nor is it a particularly accomplished sports car - it’s too heavy and too wobbly of frame to be classified as that. But what it does offer is a unique ownership proposition these days, being a thoroughly characterful, 2+2 convertible with a talismanic 5.0-litre V8 up front. For that reason alone, we wouldn’t blame you in the slightest if you decided to hunt down a Mustang GT Convertible of your very own. Even one in this lurid Yellow Splash paint.
