(Photos by Dave Nutting) – The Mustang has long been known as the automotive version of the man with 100 faces. Between what’s factory available to what aftermarket tuning houses offer, you can literally have one of these things in whatever flavor you want. In the case of the 2015 Mustang GT we got our hands on recently, that flavor was upscale cruiser. This car was not optioned for someone who was going to take it to the drags, take it to the road course, or take it to the autocross. This is a car that was optioned for someone who was going to take it on road trips, cruising, and racking up the miles in comfort while having the wind blow through their hair. The negative Nancys out there may label it as something of a golf course cruiser but the reality is that lots of people simply want the car and the comfort rather than all the hardcore stuff that we like to see. There are actually people who drive around with the traction control on…seriously. Anyway, we digress.

The test car that Ford loaned us for this story is a 2015 Ford Mustang GT convertible in premium trim. Powered by a 5.0L Coyote engine that makes 430hp and backed by an optional six speed automatic transmission, the independent rear suspension arrangement uses a 3.15 gear ratio in the differential. The car did have a limited slip unit in there as you might have noticed in the lead photo. The car weighs 3,852lbs and is the heaviest Mustang you can buy out of the optional packages and engines. The paint color is Ruby Metallic and the option equipment includes the Shaker 12-speaker sound system for $1,795, the paint $395, the six speed automatic $1,195, adaptive cruise control $1,195, premier trim $395, reverse park assist $295, and voice activated navigation for $795. The MSRP of this car is $48,690 out the door. That is stout money, especially when you start to consider what other versions of the Mustang go for. The big question of course comes down to value. Is it worth it? How does the car perform? Who is looking to buy it?

While I do not have the demographic information in front of me, my gut tells me that this car and the way it was optioned reflects the buying taste of an older group of people. This car is clearly one that someone who has wanted to own a Mustang or a “muscle car” their entire life and has now retired and can enjoy it would want. The nice interior, the automatic transmission, the convertible top, etc. Because of that, the car didn’t really hit its mark visually with us. The main culprit there? Wheels and tires.

The wheels and tires on the car softened the look of the Mustang too much for us. The 18″ hoops carried kind of measly 235 rubber on the corners and the tall side walls did not give off the aggressive performance look that we want out of a car like this. The previous generation Mustang convertible had a more aggressive wheel and tire package (along with a six speed) and the car had a far more “attack mode” feel to it than this one which was very much a cruiser. Although that has its merits as well.

While not optioned the way we would have checked the sheet, the car was fun to drive over hundreds of miles of highway and secondary road travel that we put it through. Nutting and I took it up for our rally adventure in New Hampshire and the 2015 Mustang is a car you could plop into and drive across the country in comfort with the top up or down. In the time I had this car, the only time I drove it with the top up was during rain. Other than that the top went up at night and went down first thing in the morning when I took it for a spin. The six speed automatic transmission is good and it is really good in sport mode but it still does not compare to the fun you can have in these cars with a stick shift transmission. The steering feel and handling of the car were both great and definitely follow the legacy of the Mustang as being a driver’s car. With miles of rural and twisty New Hampshire woodland roads to zip down, we had some fun pushing the car. Again, the wheel/tire package was the achilles heel but you could get yourself moving with enough speed to have some fun clipping apexes for sure.

In terms of the body styling, this really is the tale of two cars. From head-on the front end looks like it is out to kill for sure. We really liked the look of the nose and how purposeful and bold it is. The rear of the car is neat as well with the sequential directionals and other purposeful but character building touches. The lack of a roof and that dramatic fastback style roofline adds to the “soft” appearance of the car in our eyes. Convertibles always fall a little short in the stylistic department for us and that’s just because the design always seems incomplete without a fixed roof. The convertible comment is not an condemnation of this specific car but rather a general statement. Few cars have ever looked better without a roof than with one.

Speaking about that convertible roof, Ford’s system of raising, lowering, and latching is brilliant. The top is up and down in seconds and a single handle which twists and folds locks it into place. There is literally no simpler top in the world and when Nutting and I encountered bad weather we had the thing sealed up before a drop hit us.  Ford has done a great job on the design front with respect to passenger comfort as well. The noise levels with the top down were very low and the typically chatty Nutting was yammering the whole way to New Hampshire (about a 3.5 hour drive) and I could hear every incessant word. Kidding of course, but conversation can be had at normal levels at speeds of 70-80mph inside the car between the driver and passenger. The seats are fantastic and the controls are well laid out and easy to use. The 2015 Mustang was a very pleasurable car to pound down the miles in.

How about the engine? The Coyote was very fun and responsive but we think the automatic and the deep 3.15 gearset didn’t do it any favors. While it was certainly not sluggish, it also did not deliver the WOW factor when the pedal was flattened in the 35-45 mph range where you’d expect it. The thing zips down the road, it can do burnouts for days and all of that good stuff but it never really hammers you back in the seat. This car with the optional 3.73 gear and the six speed would be an entirely more angry animal. The six speed automatic has a good personality in sport mode and the shift mapping is certainly designed to keep the engine in the parts of the power band where it will be most useful. Overall on the powertrain front, we’re going back to the cruiser mentality. It makes the right noises, it is fast enough to be fun, and it will get the job done.

Other stuff? Well the factory line lock is genius and we loved testing it out. We took a couple of attempts to get the hang of it but whoever thought it up and whoever signed off on it from Ford need raises. That was a great move and a fun thing to mess with. There is a pretty straightforward procedure involved with setting it and you can literally feel it work when the fluid is pumped out of the rear calipers and your foot rises. After that, pick a gear and let the fun begin until you hit the button to shut it off and roll out in a cloud of your own smoke.

When we get cars to review we have to review them for what they are, not what we want them to be. This is NOT the Mustang we or most BangShifters would order up but it is interesting to see a car that is pretty far off of what we would consider cool and how its personality is different from others in the same line. This car on its own merits is very good. It delivered nearly 25mpg on the highway and nearly 20 around town for cruising and people love looking at it. We would drive it across country starting tomorrow if you asked us. Perhaps the neatest thing is that while this car is definitely more about shuttling your clubs to the course and evening drives on a beachfront road, many of the hardcore attributes of others in the line are present and occasionally rear their heads out. This may be the softest 2015 Mustang GT you can buy but it would still eat up every previous generation and come back asking for seconds.

Now…about that 2.3L coupe with the track pack on it. Stay tuned…..

WE’RE GOING TO TELL THE REST OF THE STORY THROUGH NUTTING’S PHOTOS!

Up in the wilds of New Hampshire is where we stopped to take photos. Here’s the car with the top down. It is a clean, handsome, and nice cruiser. Yes, we had our criticisms but the car is a nice driver for sure.

The way this car was optioned meant that comfort took precedence over performance. The Mustang GT styling and badging is nice and the sales numbers this year prove that people love it. They are trouncing the Camaro.

Interior comfort and refinement have reached new levels in the Mustang GT with the 2015 model. The car feels like it should for the asking price. Materials are nice and you are not surrounded by a black cave of plastic.

The little 235/50/18 tires didn’t really do much for us. In the looks department that 50 sidewall makes the car look like a V6 model from days of yore and the 235mm section width meant that the car would start to howl and push long before we expected it to on highway ramps. Definitely move to an optional wheel if you are in the market.

Different generations of Mustangs all have their own take on the badging and looks side of things. We like the relatively subtle usage of badges on these cars. Simple and clean.

You can’t….

help but…

love the progressive turn signals.

Here’s the workhorse 5.0L Coyote engine that powers the car. Backed with a six speed automatic and a 3.15 gear, the engine has to work harder to pull all the gearing and weight in this car. It felt slightly off the pace of other Mustangs we have driven.

Lots of Mustangs get modified like crazy by their owners. Engine access is not bad at all compared to that of years past. We’d start out back with a set of gears though.

Here’s the famous Ford “sound tube”. This tube moves engine sound to the firewall so that things sounds more aggressive inside the cockpit. The exhaust from the factory is way too quiet on this car. A set of mufflers would be on our upgrade list as well.

Looking at the car head on, the angry appearance cannot be denied. The lines and bulges in the hood are great, the corporate grill opening shape looks good, and the headlights are just narrow enough to look mean.

One of the nicest lines on the car starts at the nose, comes through the hood and actually carries, unbroken, the length of the car.

Heat extractors help keep the under hood situation good. Looking out over the hood from the driver’s seat is cool. It looks really mean.

Here’s a look at that line we talked about before. See how it travels through the hood and right along the upper edge of the door? Very nice.

For some reason when we see Mustang coupes we see something ready to pounce and when we see a convertible we see something that older people would be motoring down the highway in.

Visually the wheel is nice but it would be nicer an inch or two larger with tires to math. As you have figured out that was our biggest pet peeve with the car.

This is the rubber you should find on a rental car or a V6 model…not the GT, right?

Interior-wise Ford CRUSHED it. The car is super comfortable and the seats are really nice. You can talk with the roof own at speed and it feels like an upscale place to be hanging out.

Three spoke wheel was comfy and the silver accent panel in the dash was just right for making the place fee more luxurious than it likely should have. Steering weight and feel was great in the car as well.

Our favorite feature? The factory line lock! It is a couple of step process to engage it but once you get the hang of it, you’ll own the strip burnouts for life.

The car can overwhelm the little 235s pretty much at will when the traction control is off. Were kind of jaded here with regard to performance cars but for the greater portion of the population this thing would be the highest level of performance career that they will experience and there’s nothing wrong with that.

So that’s it! We tested, drove, cruised, and smoked this 2015 Mustang for your viewing benefit. Final verdict? The 2015 Mustang is a spectacular car. This particular car isn’t optioned the way we would buy it but for anyone who wants one like it, you will not be disappointed. Especially in the line lock!