When I first got to see the in-car video of the Ford Mustang EcoBoost ripping up a track for a press demonstration, the first thought I had was, “Damn, that sounds snotty for a four-banger!” There was a higher pitch and a bit of air rush from the turbo, but for a four-cylinder, that car sounded more Subaru than Honda.

Well, turns out that Ford is jumping on a recent bandwagon of faking the noise. What you’re hearing is a faked V8 track being piped through the sound system. Or, in other words, the driving experience just became a real-life Forza drive. A combination of excellent sound deadening and an aversion to the Mustang sounding any different than the V8 pony car everyone loves and adores has driven this change, and the Mustang isn’t the only Ford that has this feature. The F-series Ecoboost-powered trucks get the same treatment, and there are other manufacturers doing the same thing, including Volkswagen.

Reducing engine noise was part of the big push by manufacturers to get better NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels so that what used to be a buzzy and harsh vehicle could be a lot more bearable. Think about the difference between a 1978 Ford Mustang II’s 2.3 sound and feel versus what the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost’s engine feels like. Improvements are good, but when the cars became so quiet inside that nothing could be heard of the engine, that’s when things became problematic. A manufacturer can’t sell a car that’s loud all the time because then there’s issues with when you don’t want the noise. Vice versa, if the car’s too quiet, the first thing that’s going to go is the exhaust system for something louder, and you arrive at the same issue as before…now the car is too loud.

But is faking the engine sound necessary? For years now Corvette has used a type of valve that opens under heavy or hard acceleration to let some of the V8 scream out. Given that the Mustang is meant to be a sporty car, some sense of noise should be heard, and c’mon…how bad does the EcoBoost motor really sound? If you need the V8 noise….just wondering…shouldn’t you have just spared yourself and bought the V8? If you pride yourself on buying the EcoBoost, does it matter what it sounds like? And can we all agree that faking the noise for the cabin is just as bad as when other noises are faked elsewhere? It’s fine for EV vehicles (the BMW i8 uses a similar system) so that you can keep that audio/visual connection. But when it’s attached to a fuel engine, it’s like “When Harry Met Sally” every time you press the gas pedal.