2024 Ford Mustang GT Review
2024 Ford Mustang GT
Base Price: $39,020
5.0 Liter V8
480 HP / 415 TQ
0-60: 4.2 Seconds
— Guy who did stuff: Yousef Alvi —
Welcome to the new 2024 Mustang GT. The GT trim has been an inbetweener trim for decades now, finding itself above the EcoBoost trim and below the Shelby/SVT/Ford Performance trims. As with any inbetweener trim, this is the model to get. Especially considering the fundamental leap that is this 2024 GT. I said that the Dark Horse is the best Mustang ever made but that may have been a bit premature…because this GT is as good or even better.
The achielles heal to the S550 GT was the awful, unprecise, breakable Getrag MT-82 manual gearbox. It was so easy to bounce out of 2nd and 3rd gear that you might as well just shift from 1st to 4th instead. It wasn’t just high performance shifting that got you, anything above 3/10ths driving was a recipe for the Bankhead Bounce of manual transmissions. Now for the S650 generation, the GT still has the MT-82 but it feels like it has been upgraded from the ground up. I can’t find anything that states that and waiting on Ford to confirm, it’s either that or our test model accidentally had Dark Horse’s Tremec installed instead.
“This revised gearbox is good that I’m fairly convinced that my test unit had the Darkhorse’s Tremec TR6060 instead. ”
No longer the bane of its driver’s existence this GT equipped manual has leap frogged itself to one of the best manual transmissions on the market today. It’s borderline perfect. Every gear is tactile and snickety to engage, the clutch delivers the perfect amount of feedback and the revmatch downshifting just plain perfect.
There is another beauty to the manual equipped GT, off the line torque. While the Dark Horse, to me, felt like it could use a few more ft/lbs off the line…the GT’s lack of a torque converter easily solves that issue. Our tester leaps off the line like a Olympic runner and that power builds to a crescendo level at 4K RPM. That’s when the VEETAK (or the Ford derivative) kicks in, moving the soundtrack up 3 octaves, moving the nose up another ½ inch in the air, rips the tach to the redline and shoves it’s driver into it’s seats. Oh it is glorious.
It’s not all performance and no refinement. Here is the really special thing of this 2024 GT. Equipped with the 19 wheel option, the tires are bulging and meaty. In other words, they have lusciously large and squishy sidewalls, which gives you nothing short of a sumptuous and comfortable ride. Yes, it will still handle and handle very well indeed but it’s the civility the GT affords that makes that magical difference. Especially in this droptop guise.
Dropping the top, you can have the epitome of a cruising machine with a burbly V8 soundtrack. Put on a pair of Randolph’s aviators and enjoy the ride. The new Mustang GT is everything that needs to be and nothing it shouldn’t be. It’s the best Mustang ever.
Let’s go ahead and break it down:
The Great
Transmission: Could be a factory fluke, could be heavily revised or could be that my test unit had the Tremec instead…whatever the reason…the manual GT I reviewed was heavenly.
Engine: It’s a N/A 5.0 Liter V8…so duh
Ride: Blessed with 19 inc wheels and actually meaty tires, this GT ride quality is tremendous. It’s cushiony, responsive and while there is that typical convertible flex…it’s damn good.
The Good
Handling: Our GT Performance Pack should come stock, it’s that good. It’s not just springs and a high five. Its thoroughly revised chassis, suspension, rear end, brakes and wheels. It is what transforms the Mustang into a legitimate sports car.
Looks: Aggressive, low and mean.
The Bad
Manual-ish Top: The convertible top operation feels a bit ancient. It’s not a ‘one-touch’, so you have to flip a handle down, then twist the handle forcefully to unlatch it, then push the top button. To put it back up, push the top button, then grab the handle, forcefully bring the top to the latch points and then forcefully twist to latch it, THEN, pull the window switch to move the windows up and THEN pull the rear quarter window switch to have that move up.
The Ugly
HVAC Controls: Seems to be a running theme but the HVAC controls are only available via the infotainment screen. Ford made switches for everything but the most commonly used one??
The Overall
It’s just good. Just so very good. Bravo Ford.
