Ford Mustang 2015 News

The Mazda CX-3 is in but the Honda HR-V and Renault Captur are out.The Audi TT is in but the Holden Cascada is out.That's my assessment of the field so far as we search for the best new car of 2015.Good is still good, but it's not good enough when the biggest prize in Australian motoring is on the line.Even a car as initially impressive as the Land Rover Discovery Sport is marked down heavily on value when you consider it as a CarsGuide Car of the Year contender.It's the same for the Ford Mondeo, which looks good, is packed to the hilt with technology but has lost its mojo on the open road.Similarly the Ford Focus ST, which is a great drive, is too narrow in its appeal.The CarsGuide team has already driven more than two dozen good cars in the opening half of the year and it's time to see what's looking good for a spot for the top-10 run-off in December.There are some surprising failures and the line-up could change dramatically with a rush of impressive newcomers booked for the second half but this is how the COTY 2015 contenders are shaping up.The new German coupe is everything the TT always could — and should — have been.It's had a muscle-car makeover that covers a broad spectrum from the sharper body shape to the driving dynamics and cabin space.All right, it should have a standard rear-vew camera, but that omission is offset by gains in other areas that count for a performance car.And the interior, with its integrated display screen in front of the steering wheel, is top-notch.This one is a slow burn because it's not like previous BMWs.For a start, it has front-wheel drive. And it puts family first.It's more like the i3 electric car than a 3 Series which is a good thing for people who put comfort and space and quality ahead of the Ultimate Driving Machine.It might be a clunky in the front suspension but it's classier than we expected and the flexible cabin, which will later include a third row of seats, is up there with the best.Cars as good as the Sorento should allow Kia to make the final breakthrough in Australia.Look beyond the country's longest warranty and you find a family seven-seater that's good-looking, practical and nice to drive.It could do with more steering feel but that's a very minor thing for people who need a seven-seater.Inside, the cheap and cheerful Kias of a decade ago are a distant memory, replaced by quality finishes, soft surfaces and great attention to detail.The best of the new-age mini SUVs wins a spot by trumping rivals including the HR-V and Captur, something it achieves with quality, refinement and a class-leading starting price.It's never going to star for a family with such a small boot but it's developed from the Mazda2 that starred in last year's COTY run-off.It looks good, drives well and works for twentysomethings who crave an SUV, delivering the elevated seating position without being too bulky.The new family sedan is a welcome return to form for a company that went backwards during the global financial crisis.Honda and Mitsubishi are still recovering but Subaru is back to what it does best with a quiet, comfortable, refined and well-priced car for Australian families. It also maintains Subaru's impressive reputation for cutting-edge safety.As always, it comes with all-wheel drive and provides the platform for the equally impressive Outback.The back end of 2015 will bring a number of impressive newcomers, from the baby Skoda Fabia through to the muscular Ford Mustang, bigger Hyundai Tucson and youthful Jeep Renegade.For now, the best of the bunch looks like this:This car could be as impressive, in its own SUV style, as the Volkswagen Golf Mk7. It's first with the mechanical package that will go under several VW Group arrivals, including the next Porsche Cayenne and Bentley Bentayga. So we're expecting class leading comfort, quality and a great family drive.If the born-again Mustang is half as good as the hype it will be a serious COTY contender. Early drives in the US point to best-yet dynamics for the first 'Stang with factory right-hand drive. There is even a four-cylinder EcoBoost engine. More than 2000 Australians are paid-up and waiting for their car to arrive, sometime in November.This one needs to be more than good to challenge the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class. But Jaguar learned bitter lessons from its X-Type, which was no more than a re-bodied Ford Mondeo, and is pushing hard with an XE that gets everything from an aluminium backbone to new-age engines. In Australia, the key will be in the pricing and equipment.The world's favourite sports car is odds-on for a COTY spot. It's been completely reworked for 2015 despite a body that could only be an MX-5. It's promising a much-needed improvement in cabin space and overall refinement, as well as Skyactiv engine technology that already works in Mazda's mainstream models. Add the lightweight body and sharp pricing. There is already a queue for early deliveries.The all-new Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara for 2015 are good but not great, which leaves the Ranger to challenge the all-new Toyota HiLux for the benchmark in utes. This midlife update is more than just a mild makeover. It has new panels, tweaked driving dynamics and on the flagship model it has technology that would make a German SUV blush.More than just a truck, the HiLux has been Australia's favourite ute for more than a generation, not just because it scores with miners but because it can be most things to most people. The new HiLux promises everything from a new turbo diesel to car-like quality and refinement.It's been a very long time since the first XC90, which has given Volvo — after its change from a Ford subsidiary to Chinese ownership — plenty of time to develop a benchmark upscale SUV. Extensive work on everything from cabin comfort and quality to best-in-class safety technology — wrapped in a good-looking new bodywork — should make the XC90 something special and a '15 standout.Alfa Romeo 4C - The Italian version of a Lotus Elise is a looker and a goer, but too costly.Ford Mondeo - Not as good as the previous car, although cabin space is excellent.Holden Cascada - Most impressive of the new Euro Holdens, good but not great.Hyundai Sonata - Not up to the standard of Hyundai's other newcomers, although value is good.Renault Captur - Funky bodywork makes big promises but the undersized engine cannot deliver.Toyota Camry - A top car by any measure but not enough change for a COTY run.

They would have learned everything they need to know at the world's most successful new car show, the Goodwood Festival of Speed.Goodwood has been running for many years, but more recently it's morphed from a garden party at the stately home of the Earl of March into a genuine motor show which draws every major maker in the UK - and beyond.So what began as a chance for the owners of historic racing cars to exercise their old-timers is now a major event that draws more than 200,000 people each June on the same weekend as the Glastonbury music festival.Some fantastic retired racers still sprint up the Earl's driveway but it's the modern stuff which is drawing the big crowds and the big brands.Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of peopleMercedes-Benz uses the weekend to unveil its facelifted A45 AMG and new C63 S, Aston Martin rips the covers off its $2.5 million Vulcan and launches it up the hill, and Peugeot shows its 308 GTI for the first time. Mazda, which is the star brand at the show and has its Le Mans winning rotary 787B doing noisy demonstration runs, has its all-new MX-5 in action.There is also a moving motor show where ordinary fans can take a passenger ride and a supercar cavalcade including all of the world's most desirable cars, right up to the 400km/h Ferrari FXX K.And that's the real key to the Festival of Speed. The cars move and there is lots of interactivity for visitors, from off-road driving events to racing car simulators and even kiddie slides.Did I mention Ken 'Gymkhana' Block in the outrageous Ford Mustang that starred in his most-recent internet video hit?Old-school motor shows are just giant showrooms, but Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of people. If it can work in Britain then the same formula should be just as tasty in Australia.

Ford has unleashed its new range of performance cars at the U.K’s annual Goodwood Festival of Speed exhibition.Headlining Ford’s display at the show was an appearance from drifting sensation and rally driver Ken Block who piloted the new Focus RS hot hatch up the Goodwood hill climb.Ken Block was a consultant during the development of the 257kW all-wheel drive Focus RS and played a role in defining how the car handles. We suspect Block who is famous for his viral drift videos may also be behind the ‘drift’ mode that has been integrated into the hot hatch’s selectable drive modes.Ken Block was a consultant during the development of the 257kW all-wheel drive Focus RS and played a role in defining how the car handles."I've had so much fun helping Ford develop this next generation of ultimate hot hatch and I'm stoked about the thought of blasting up Lord March's Hillclimb with 350 PS and all-wheel drive at my disposal," said Block before the run.During the run, Block kept it pretty tame adopting a fast and straight style instead of the sideways and smokey we're used to seeing from him and the Focus RS. The RS’s clever all-wheel drive system can send up to 50 per cent of the available grunt to the rear torque-vectoring differential which can then send up to 100 per cent to either wheel. Ford says this all-paw system in conjunction with the active stability control allows for controlled oversteer.The new Focus RS also incorporates a launch control function – a first for an RS – though Ford remains tight-lipped about any acceleration figures.Block made full use of the Focus RS’s tail-happy handling balance, sliding his way up the hill climb in the bright blue monster.Ben Collins, formerly known as ‘The Stig’ on Top Gear, also drove up the Goodwood hill climb in the hardcore U.S-spec Shelby Mustang GT350R track car.The Shelby ‘Stang features a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated flat-plane crank V8 pumping out over 373kW and rides on lightweight carbon fibre wheels sourced from Australian company Carbon Revolution.At this stage Ford is keeping the high performance coupe for left-hand drive U.S markets only, however the dynamic display in the U.K (a RHD market) could indicate the brand is considering a right-hook Shelby for the future.The new 447kW mid-engine Ford GT supercar also made its first official public appearance in the U.K but the carbon fibre stunner did not hit the track for a flat-out blast up the hill.It’s the second time this month we’ve seen the Ford GT in Europe with a race car version starring at the Le Mans 24 hour race a few weeks ago when Ford announced it would compete in the endurance event next year. 

The dream of a Ford Mustang in the V8 Supercars series is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Ford dealers are prepared to put in more than $1 million a year to save one of Australia's greatest sporting rivalries in a move that could see a Mustang take on the Holden Commodore in 2017.

Ford put a brand-new Mustang on a high-rise rooftop for Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations, but it won't put one on a truck to Adelaide for the nation's biggest gathering of the classic muscle cars this weekend.Ford fans are upset the company won't be sending a new Mustang for the show, even though there are three display models in Australia ahead of the car going on sale later this year."Not in my wildest dreams did we expect Ford to let us down," said John Greco, the president of the Mustang Owners Club of South Australia, which is hosting the annual gathering of every Mustang club across the country in Adelaide on Saturday."Ford likes to say that it is in touch with its fans, but you'd have to say that's not the case, we're bitterly disappointed."Big corporations need to support the people at the grass roots levelMr Greco suspects Ford did not support the event because it wrongly believes Mustang enthusiasts can't afford one of the new models, which will cost from about $50,000."What Ford probably doesn't realise is that more than a dozen club members have already ordered a new one, and many of the classic Mustangs are worth as much as, if not more than, a new one," said Mr Greco."At some point, big corporations need to support the people at the grass roots level, who support you."More than 250 classic Mustangs will be on displayMore than 250 classic Mustangs will be on display, including cars from interstate clubs.Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood confirmed there was "dialogue" with the Mustang club about displaying a new model "but no commitments were given"."We always live up to our commitments and we've not reneged on anything," said Mr Sherwood."Our global approach is that car clubs are self sustaining, in general we don't have a regular role with the clubs," said Mr Sherwood. "That's no different to what we do anywhere in the world."Ford said it would be "there in spirit" at the Mustang event this weekend. "We're connected to them no matter what," said Mr Sherwood.

A vote by 75 motoring journalists from 22 countries has awarded the compact prestige car the World Car of the Year award for 2015.It finished on top of a 24-car field and eventually beat the two other finalists, the Ford Mustang and Volkswagen Passat.The other big prizes for 2015, Green Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year, went to the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 and the Mercedes-AMG GT coupe.The winners were announced at the New York Motor Show today at an event hosted by Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum at the culmination of a six-month voting process.The C-Class delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.The awards are in their 11th year and previous winners include the Audi A6, BMW 3 Series, Lexus LS460 and Volkswagen Golf, Polo and Up.To be eligible for the overall World Car award, candidate cars must have become available for sale on at least two continents between January 1, 2014 and May 31, 2015.The WCOTY wins by Mercedes-Benz follow its victories in the Green Car contest in 2007 with the E320 Bluetec and 2012 with the S 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY and its Luxury Car success with the S Class in 2014.“We are extremely delighted of winning the honour of World Car of the Year,” says the chairman of Daimler, Dr Dieter Zetsche.The WCOTY victory follows a similar success for the C-Class in the CarsGuide Car of the Year award.The WCOTY judging panel says: “Taking its design and technological cues from the S-Class, the C-Class employs an all-new aluminium/steel hybrid platform and updated rear-drive powertrains that delivers levels of refinement, luxury, safety, ride and handling that challenge best-in-class.” WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2015Overall winner: Mercedes-Benz C-ClassGreen Car: BMW i8Performance Car: Mercedes-AMG GTLuxury Car: Mercedes-Benz S CoupeDesign: Citroen CactusPREVIOUS WORLD COTY WINNERS:2014: Audi A32013: Volkswagen Golf2012: Volkswagen Up2011: Nissan Leaf2010: Volkswagen Polo2009: Volkswagen Golf2008: Mazda22007: Lexus LS4602006: BMW 3 Series2005: Audi A6

A new Ford Mustang will cost half what it did a decade ago when it goes on sale later this year – but Australians will still pay up to $20,000 more than US buyers for the exact same car.Ford Australia has confirmed the starting price for the new Mustang range is $44,990 plus on-road costs.The price is a little more than half the cost of the 2001 Ford Mustang, which was $85,000 for a coupe and $89,000 for a convertible.TESTED: The four-cylinder Ford MustangMORE: Police could get Ford MustangsBut there are a couple of caveats. The $44,990 price is for the four-cylinder version of the new Mustang; the V8 that most buyers will want is $54,990 plus on-road costs.In both cases Australians are paying about $20,000 more than buyers in the US, where the four-cylinder is listed for sale on the Ford website from $25,300 and the V8 from $32,300.The US prices don't include state taxes and dealer delivery fees but even taking those into account there is still a large gap.However, Ford fans don't seem to mind, with 700 confirmed paid deposits for the new Mustang with a further 15,000 "expressions of interest" from prospective buyers, says Ford Australia.Furthermore, the new Ford Mustang is cheaper than the last iconic two-door muscle car sold locally, the Holden Monaro.The Holden Commodore-based coupe cost $47,990 for a V6 and $56,990 for a V8 in 2001; both versions of the new Mustang are cheaper than the Monaro, more powerful and yet more fuel efficient.Ford is banking of having more success with the new model than it did with the locally converted Mustangs sold from 2001 to 2003, when fewer than 400 were sold.At the time, those Ford Mustangs were rushed on sale to compete with the Holden Monaro; in the end 12,829 Holden coupes were sold from October 2001 to December 2005. More than 31,000 were exported to the US and sold as Pontiacs.The first shipments of the new Mustang – the first to be made in right-hand-drive on a Ford production line – are due to arrive in local showrooms before December.Four-cylinder manual: $44,990Four-cylinder automatic: $47,4905.0-litre V8 manual: $54,9905.0-litre V8 automatic: $57,490Four-cylinder automatic: $53,9905.0-litre V8 automatic: $63,9902.3-litre turbo four-cylinder (233kW/432Nm)5.0-litre V8 (303kW/525Nm)When the original Mustang was unveiled at the New York motor show in April 1964, Ford expected to sell 100,000 examples in the first 12 months. In fact, Ford sold more than 1 million Mustangs in the first 18 months. It took Chevrolet 40 years to reach the same milestone with the Corvette. More than 9 million Mustangs have been sold since 1964.Ford made four-cylinder Mustangs from 1978 to 1993, including a turbocharged 2.3-litre version from 1984 to 1986. The plan was to sell 10,000 turbo four-cylinder Mustangs in the US per year, but Ford ended up cancelling the model after selling only 10,000 over two-and-a-half years.Ford Australia's fast-car division converted a small number of Mustangs locally between 2001 and 2003. They were rushed in to compete with the modern Holden Monaro, but priced close to $90,000 fewer than 400 were sold.Have you owned or do you plan to own a Mustang? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year today, Ford has farewelled the outgoing Year of the Horse with a smoke-laden Mustang video.Pro-drifter Vaughan Gittin Jr takes a Mustang V8 GT on a tour of Ordos, China in a manner similar to Ken Block's tours of Los Angeles and San Francisco.Unlike like the Mustang's last tyre-shredding appearance on film, Gittin Jr is not trying to impress a romantic interest; instead taking in the completely vacant city on his own.This new video encompasses the impressive Genghis Khan Plaza along with other areas of what is said to be China's biggest ghost town.The lack of... well, anything, really... gives Gittin Jr the opportunity to demonstrate just how effectively the Mustang can remove rubber from its rear tyres has he slides around the city through plazas, empty six-lane highways and bridges.The choice of location does, however, raise a few questions.For example, is Ford suggesting the new Mustang will conquer the known world as Genghis Khan did in 13th century?Or, will the new Mustang be a spectacular piece of engineering on a grand scale...that no one will actually use?We're guessing the former, but we'll find out for sure in November when new Mustang arrives in Australian showrooms.

Ford's take on speed dating.The Blue Oval delivers surprise of a different type to their Halloween car wash, setting up a group of guys who think they're on a date with someone that checks a few boxes on a certain stereotype checklist.Expectations are shattered, however, when our driver "just needs to make a quick turn" in an empty carpark...The new Mustang will arrive locally in November and be available with either a 233kW/432Nm 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine or the more traditional 5.0-litre V8, which will produce 325kW and 540Nm.