Actually, despite bearing a great deal of its weight on a live rear axle, a pretty sophisticated three-link version with a
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| Despite bearing a great deal of its weight on a live rear axle, the car is wonderfully stable at high speed, only getting ruffled when a particularly large bump on the road would raise its ugly head. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Panhard rod, mind you, but still not an independent setup, the car is wonderfully stable at high speed, only getting ruffled when a particularly large bump on the road would raise its ugly head. Part of the reason for its agility is the independent front suspension setup and power actuated rack-and-pinion steering system, but more so the new Mustang's tight body structure is its greatest boon, unusual in relatively long-wheelbase convertibles. You can spend $100,000 more for a fully optioned version of Ford's premium brand convertible, the Jaguar XKR for instance, and not get as tight a structure, and therefore not get a car that delivers such a confidence inspiring handling package. The supercharged Jaguar will be quicker, however, at least when comparing it to the base Mustang convertible. Still, at 210-horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque my tester's 4.0-litre SOHC V6 offered plenty of fun in the sun driving enjoyment. Actually, the burble emanating from the twin exhaust pipes sounded very V8-like - my compliments to the fine tuners.
Another reason the V6-equipped Mustang convertible sped away so quickly from stop signs has to do with its five-speed automatic
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| At 210-horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque my tester's 4.0-litre SOHC V6 offered plenty of fun in the sun driving enjoyment. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
transmission, benefiting performance and fuel economy due to shorter shift intervals, and greater opportunity for the engine to remain revving in its sweet spot - or more specifically, where it makes the most power and torque in its rev range. I wouldn't go so far to say that the Mustang's five-speed automatic is the smoothest and most refined five-speed automatic on the market, and it is glaringly missing any sort of manual-mode operation, but it goes a long way to making the car more competitive with Asian and European sports models which offer five-, six- and now even seven-speed automatic transmissions - the latter only among high-priced premium brands.
