First published in the January 2006 issue of Street Machine

I’ve always been a fairly patriotic Aussie bloke. I love our beaches, our beer and hey, all my stuff is here, right? Yet after spending a week zooming around the States in a 2006 Mustang GT, I’ve discovered that the Yanks just do some things better, including the creation of value-for-money muscle cars. My Muzzy sells for $US26K, which translates to about $35K in Aussie pesos. The closest thing to the Mustang that we can buy is Holden’s almost-defunct Monaro, for a tad over $60,000 … you do the maths.

Of course, it is worth pointing out that Ford Australia got the sums wrong when it brought in a limited number of (premium-spec) Mustang Cobras in 2000. The Cobra’s rev-happy 240kW quad-cam 4.6-litre V8 impressed, but Tickford’s clunky right hook conversion didn’t. And neither did the $85,000 price tag for a model that was nearing the end of its life. Ford got its fingers burnt so we’re unlikely to see the new retro Mustang on sale in Oz.

Of course, cheap rarely implies quality but in the Mustang’s case you still get it. For starters, it looks great. Visuals are a matter of taste but I reckon the Mustang’s 60s styling cues work a treat and every Yank I met seemed to agree. Their warm responses to the car’s styling reminded me of the way most Aussies enthusiastically embraced the new Monaro. The nose, twin headlights and grille echo ’67-’69 Mustangs, while the rear roofline and tail-lights scream ’65 fastback.

The interior styling is also retro and unlike driving a new XR8 or SS, the cool details let you know that you are driving a muscle car, not a taxi. The three-spoke tiller, aluminium accent panels, chrome-trimmed air vents, and big speedo ’n’ tacho combination all pay homage to the early Muzzys.

Under the skin, the Mustang has plenty of power and some sophistication. The engine is a new 4.6-litre all-alloy V8, with a single overhead cam and three valves per cylinder, complete with variable cam timing and variable intake runners. It’s rated at ‘only’ 224kW — a new XR8 packs 260kW — but it’s hauling 1580kg, compared to the 1795kg XR8. Depending on which road test you read, this translates to 0-400m times in the low 14s to high 13-second bracket — very impressive and again close to the outgoing Monaro. It’s also worth noting that the Mustang is tuned to run on America’s piss-weak 86-octane fuel.

Behind the mill is the familiar Tremec 3650 five-speed, with a five-speed auto as an option. Suspension specs are basic: live rear axle and twin-piston caliper front stoppers, with ABS and traction control standard on the GT.

So, what’s it like to live with? Damn beaut, starting with a tasty exhaust note, every bit as retro as the styling. Picking our way across Los Angeles, the Mustang revealed itself to be a perfectly happy commuter. The seats are comfy, the car is easy to get in and out of and it handles less-than-perfect road surfaces with aplomb. Controls are simple — a good thing as I was still getting used to the left hooker, switching on the windscreen wipers to change lanes, looking for cars over my left shoulder when turning left …

Away from the madness of LA, the Mustang returned a respectable 19mpg on the highways and proved to be a very relaxing tourer to eat up miles with.

Our trip really hit its stride when we entered the spectacular Death Valley: long straights mixed up with some fast sweeping corners and some tight bits. With so much less weight to haul around than its Aussie XR8 cousin, I found it very confidence inspiring, with loads of grip and minimal body roll. Seems the days of land-barge Yank cars might be coming to an end!

The most we could wring out of the car (and our courage) was an indicated 220km/h. That’s about 10 clicks short of Ford’s claimed top speed but it’s fast enough anyway.

The only real disappointment came when we attempted to leave our calling card in the desert. Try as we might, the Muzzy would lay down some big black lines but precious little smoke. After a few attempts, the clutch was showing signs of distress, so we gave up. We later discovered that the car’s EEC-ECU has a bunch of nasty torque management protocols built in, so even with the traction control turned off, the computer cuts power if it senses any abusive behaviour. The good news is that these can be switched off by canny tuners.

So yeah, I dug the Mustang and had a little cry about the economies of scale that mean we’ll never see genuine muscle cars on sale in Oz for $35K again. Now I’m home, I’ll just have to console myself with our superior beer and beaches!

FIVE THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT THE USA

• Beer is cheap (but weak)
• Highway Patrol is surprisingly low-key and tolerant
• Americans drivers can merge at speed
• They don’t slow down to rubberneck minor bingles
• New cars with mph speedos are cool!

2006 Ford Mustang GT