Mustang GT & Darkhorse Long Term Review

[DFB5.0]

Interesting to hear that the Darkhorse may return to Australia in 2026.

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[Binchicken1979]

I wonder how the Trump tax will effect car coming over in 2026

 

[5.0ALM]

More from Chasing cars, published today.

Spoiler alert: if you bought an auto, don't watch!!!

The Ford Mustang is perhaps the most iconic muscle car ever made, famous not just for its V8 growl but also its relative affordability and everyday livability.

The question of affordability has been stretched in recent years with the new model attracting a near six-figure price tag once it’s on the road. That’s roughly double that of a Subaru BRZ or Mazda MX-5, but it also offers considerably more performance, especially for this generation.

Over the last few months, we’ve sampled several flavours of the current generation Mustang to see if it’s still worthy of this reputation, spending time in the manual GT, the enhanced and limited production ‘Dark Horse’ and, finally, the popular auto GT variant.

All have impressed in one way or another but none are perfect and in this video, editor-at-large Nathan Ponchard breaks down our top hits and misses for the Mustang in our final wrap-up video.

Seven Months In Ford’s V8 Weapon (Ford Mustang 2026 Long-Term Review)

 

[DFB5.0]

Complaining about fuel economy on a V8 muscle car?

Or the lack of cup holders? Perhaps drink in the kitchen before you go for a drive, like a grown up.

I have to admit, I do miss the manual transmission I had in my S550, but only when I feel like "driving", if that makes sense? The automatic is otherwise suiting me more of the time than the manual did previously. I especially love how it how it fires through the gears under heavy acceleration. And the rev-match downshifts are addictive.

Having said that, I'm not totally satisfied with the 10-speed. I said this early on, but I wish Ford weren't as conservative with the manual mode calibration. While the actual gear shift itself is extremely quick, especially in track or drag mode, the response to a paddle input is just waaaay too slow. Sometimes it will refuse a downshift, and I've also had it refuse an upshift in track mode and under a certain rpm. You can excuse that in a Ranger or F-150, but not a performance orientated vehicle like this.

I'd also like a manual gate for the gear shifter, sometimes nice to have that option. And considering the level of customization they offer in regard to drive modes and custom settings, I'd like to be able independently select a transmission setting rather it being paired with the overall drive mode. In my mind, I'd want normal dampers, comfort steering, sport exhaust and sport gearbox mode.

The short gearing of the 10-speed does suit the rev-happy nature of the Coyote engine. Having said that, I'd also agree with the video in that an 8-speed would be better.

Swings and roundabouts.

 

[Deano1978]

Interesting article, I'm happy with the manual but do get lock out or grinding with the GetRag at high revs, I wince and cross my fingers when I'm about to push the clutch at anything over 5500rpm. I find the no lift shift feature works better in preventing this though

As an aside, during the loooong wait for our cars to arrive ppl were going on about not reversing the centre console. At the time I thought that's a bit of a princess complaint, how annoying could it be - but after a year of ownership I totally see why!

 

[VB50GT]

In an auto it also depends which mode you drive in - in sports mode the gear changes are extended, so effectively you are not using all 10 gears until you get to highway cruising - much the same as using 6th gear in the manual...

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