It was love at first sight, and first drive, for Albertan who revelled in visceral experience
While on vacation in Hawaii more than 11 years ago Chris Skelton drove a rental Mustang. The Airdrie-based driver says it was a very brief encounter, but it was an experience he thoroughly enjoyed. Recently, Skelton was handed the keys to a 2024 Mustang GT Premium fastback. This time around, he got to spend a week with a Mustang and his enthusiasm for the model has not waned.
“Did I fall in love with it? Yes. Do I want one? Yes,” he says of the GT Premium fastback.
Since its introduction close to 60 years ago, the Mustang has become an iconic nameplate for Ford. In fact, it’s the only ‘car’ the manufacturer continues to produce – the rest of its passenger vehicles are CUVs, SUVs and, of course, trucks. Now in its seventh generation with the 2024 model, the rear-wheel drive Mustang has been revised inside and out. According to Ford’s news release, “The seventh generation adds modern chiseled looks to its heritage-inspired design, which sets out to appeal to the broadest Mustang customer mindset yet.” The automaker has refined the front end with an upper grille, “influenced by the original 1960s design.” Also harkening to the past are the tri-bar head and taillights while the new Mustang is now wider over the rear wheels with an abbreviated rear overhang.
Powering the 2024 Mustang are two different engines, a 2.3-litre turbocharged EcoBoost 4-cylinder or a 5.0L Coyote V8. The EcoBoost Mustangs are only available with a 10-speed automatic, while the Coyote-powered GT versions come equipped with a standard 6-speed transmission. Optional in the GT is the 10-speed auto-box. Convertible Mustangs are available in the EcoBoost and GT trims. Top tier here is the Dark Horse with a tuned version of the Coyote V8 that’s capable of producing 500 horsepower, and the model features several upgrades, including Brembo brakes.
Skelton’s tester was the Vapor Blue Metallic GT fastback with a base MSRP of $54,400. Adding the Premium trim and options such as a 3.55 limited-slip differential, bronze appearance package, active valve exhaust and the 10-speed automatic tacked on more than $8,000. With freight and PDI but before taxes, had Skelton bought this Mustang, he would have shelled out just a bit less than $65,000.
“It was glorious to see when I picked up the Mustang,” Skelton says of his first impression. “It was low and wide and looked the business, but this wouldn’t have been my first colour choice. I think I’d go for a dark red without the bronze package. The Mustang’s stance really gives the car a presence.”
He continues, “Ford has made the seventh generation a very handsome car and it’s a conversation starter; several people wanted to talk to me about the Mustang.”
Skelton, at 5-feet 11-inches tall, says getting into the driver’s seat was an easy proposition. Once behind the steering wheel with its new flat bottom, he found the accommodations comfortable and well-bolstered. The cockpit has been redesigned and Ford says it was inspired by the design of a fighter jet.
“It is very driver focused and the display wraps around you when you’re seated,” Skelton says. “The touchscreen was sensitive to the touch, and responded as you’d like it to. Everything was relatively intuitive to set up, but I know the car can be customized to the driver’s satisfaction to the Nth degree. For the most part, I left it as was, and enjoyed the experience just driving in the Normal mode.”
As for the 480-horsepower V8 Coyote engine and 10-speed transmission, Skelton says, “It was a magnificent piece of kit. You never feel short of power, there’s plenty to play with, and the transmission is quick and seamless. I was also able to just cruise along at 2,000 rpm and burble away down the highway.”
Handling was sharp and crisp. In the Normal drive mode, Skelton says the Mustang was very stable. When placed in Sport mode, “Everything tightens up even more and the suspension is just glorious when you throw it into a corner.” Likewise, the disc brakes at all four corners of the Mustang were sharp, powerful and easy to modulate.
Skelton commutes daily from his Airdrie home to work in northeast Calgary so much of his time in the Mustang was at highway speed. He also got out for a longer run to Cochrane. “It’s a quiet vehicle, and the engine noise, while lovely, is not intrusive,” he explains. “Wind noise is minimal, at best.” Fit and finish was impressive, he says, adding that everything closed with a solid ‘thunk.’
Although configured as a four-seater, Skelton figures the Mustang would be tight for adult-sized rear passengers. And while Skelton says he knows people who do drive a Mustang year-round, he wouldn’t want to drive it in the winter. During his time in the Mustang, he was surprised by how relatively fuel efficient the car was. At some points he was seeing 9.9L/100km, and he averaged 11.0L/100km.
“There’s no other experience quite like it,” Skelton says of driving the ’24 Mustang. “It’s quite visceral.”
Back to Skelton wanting a Mustang. He concludes, “If the funds were there, I had the ability to store the Mustang over the winter, and I had access to another vehicle for the winter, then yes, I would order one.”
DRIVER’S JOURNAL
DAY 1
Car sits low and wide on its bronze-coloured wheels. With this being the GT, it has a full-throated V8 engine under the hood, and it sounds magnificent. Spent a good 25 minutes setting up the car prior to driving home as I wanted to fully concentrate on getting to know how the car drives.
DAY 2
Raining this morning and there was standing water on some parts of the road, so ideal to try out one of the multiple driving modes – Slippery. Even with this mode engaged, I could feel the car moving around underneath me as the traction control was constantly adjusting the power to the rear wheels, and very gentle throttle inputs were required. The roads had dried out when I came home from work, and I got to test out the cruise control which is easy to set, and fully adjustable.
DAY 3
Dry overnight, and on the drive to work time to test out another driving mode – Sport. As the name suggests it makes everything sportier. The exhaust gets even louder, the throttle response is quicker, and it tightens up the suspension settings. There were mixed weather conditions, and terrible traffic hold ups on the way home, so the car started off being driven in Slippery mode as there was persistent rain and standing water in Calgary, however the road became dry a short distance away, so I switched back into Normal mode. Arriving home, and after three days of mostly highway driving, the trip computer is showing 11L/100km, which I think is reasonable given the size of the engine, and the power it produces.
DAY 4
Running errands around Airdrie and Calgary I found the car is quite easy to drive in slower city traffic. The fuel consumption dropped, but only marginally and is now showing as 11.3L/100km. Today was the first chance my wife Jacqui had a chance to ride in the car and made a few observations of her own. She especially liked the dashboard screens, and I would agree, they are very clear, easy to use and well laid out. Another small thoughtful touch she noted was that the volume control dial for the radio is located closest to the passenger side of the vehicle as the driver has volume control directly on the steering wheel.
DAY 5
Due to commitments over the next couple of days, it was time for a fuel stop even though it had a quarter tank left. It cost just over $60 for three quarters of the tank. For a car with an engine of this size pumping out the power it does, I’m quite impressed with the fuel economy, even more so as the engine is not even run in thoroughly yet. A few of my friends were very interested to hear about the car and asked a lot of questions. It is quite the conversation starter.
DAY 6
Watching YouTube videos from people who review cars for a living about this car, and for the majority of what I saw, they had drawn the same conclusion I had. One video showed a very cool little Easter Egg — at the bottom of the rear window there are silhouettes of the seven generations of Mustang etched into the glass. If you didn’t know, you’d likely never have spotted it.
DAY 7
Last full day with the car, and finally, some sunshine, dry roads, and time to go exploring. A trip to Cochrane tested the navigation system, easy to set and use. Ford has done a magnificent job with this generation of Mustang! There is so much you can customize to your liking, however, most of it I’d never use in real world driving. You can just leave it in Normal Mode, not think about anything and you’d still have a great experience.
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